At least 50,000 students are still missing from the nation's schoolrooms more than three years after the pandemic lockdowns and school closures led to an increase in chronic absenteeism.

According to a review of U.S. Census Bureay data in 22 states and Washington, D.C., by the Associated Press, an estimated 50,000 students are still not attending any kind of public, private, or home school. The number of children who have effectively vanished from the education system nationally is likely even greater.

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The analysis is the latest evidence showing the COVID-19 lockdowns still have a lingering effect on families and students, along with the widely discussed learning loss wrought by school closures.

Older students left the school system to take jobs, aged out without graduating, or became homeless, among other reasons experts have cited for the dramatic drop in school enrollment.

But the 50,000 figure indicates more students have returned to some form of school. In 2021, the number of missing students was as high as 230,000 in 21 states and likely even higher nationwide.

Still, that tens of thousands of students may not be receiving any education is concerning.

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Truancy laws that require students to attend some form of school once they reach a certain age kept most students in the system before the pandemic. In fact, data to show what the problem looked like before 2020 is hard to come by.

Public school enrollment declined significantly as pandemic lockdowns and school closures pushed many families into home schooling or private schools that offered in-person instruction. Catholic schools especially saw an increase in enrollment during the pandemic, reversing years of decline.