Linguistically Diverse Caregiver Perspectives on Barriers and Facilitators of School Attendance and Engagement During the COVID-19 Pandemic

School attendance and engagement were crucial to students’ academic success and well-being before the pandemic but were severely disrupted when schools closed during the COVID-19 pandemic. The present study examines the research question: What do linguistically diverse caregivers perceive as multilevel facilitators and barriers to school attendance and engagement among students across grade levels before and during the COVID-19 pandemic? Caregivers (N = 1575) at a Pacific Northwest school district completed a survey about their child’s attendance in May 2020. Quantitative data were analyzed using multilevel models adjusting for school nesting. Open-ended responses were coded using conventional content analysis. Findings report on the many external non-school-related factors (e.g., caregivers’ work schedule, new caregiver expectations, etc.) and factors within the schools’ and teachers’ control (e.g., school-family communication, student-teacher relationships, etc.) impact student attendance. Significant differences were found whereby Spanish-speaking caregivers reported different reasons for attendance problems before and after the pandemic and different factors that would promote school participation compared to English-speaking caregivers. Vietnamese speaking caregivers reported different factors that would promote attendance, and Vietnamese and Chinese speaking caregivers reported that making the school safer would promote attendance.