CHICAGO – Nearly 32,000 elementary school students in Chicago Public Schools – roughly 1 in 8 – missed four weeks or more of class in the 2010-11 school year, according to a published report Sunday.

The Chicago Tribune reported (http://trib.in/VTKyW3 ) that the problem often starts young – about 19 percent of kindergarteners were listed as chronic truants – is highly prevalent in black neighborhoods on the city's south and west sides and that children with learning or emotional disabilities missed school in disproportionate rates.

The newspaper also highlighted issues with the way the school district keeps attendance records and said CPS could benefit financially by boosting its attendance. Anti-truancy efforts have suffered as city resources have been cut in budget shortfalls, it said.