Costly Absences (IMAGE) University of Texas at Austin Caption This is an artist's depiction of the estimated 10.4 percent of secondary school students in California who report missing school because they feel unsafe there. Absences such as these cost the state an estimated $276 million annually, and many of the cases involve bias against students for their race, ethnicity, religion, gender, disability or sexual orientation. Credit Jenna Luecke, University of Texas at Austin Usage Restrictions Use with credit to the artist License Licensed content Disclaimer: AAAS and EurekAlert! are not responsible for the accuracy of news releases posted to EurekAlert! by contributing institutions or for the use of any information through the EurekAlert system.