STATES INCORPORATE MENTAL HEALTH INTO STRATEGIES TO IMPROVE ATTENDANCE
Several school districts in South Dakota hired attendance liaisons to work with students and families to overcome barriers to attendance. Liaisons also work to strengthen the relationships between schools and communities.
Virginia recommends schools consider Relationship Mapping, a strategy in which schools identify students who do not currently have a positive connection with an adult in the school and assign these students an adult mentor as a strategy to improve attendance outcomes.
SUPPORTIVE ABSENTEE PRACTICES
AASA, The School Superintendent’s Association (AASA) aims to support district leaders in addressing student absenteeism by reviewing current state policies related to absenteeism and student mental health.
Some states also provide guidance on how to support students with mental health challenges to attend school regularly. The Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction provides the following resources for district leaders:
FAQ SHEET ON MENTAL HEALTH CHALLENGES AND SUPPORTING STUDENTS
COMMUNITY LEARNING TOPICS AND RESOURCES
States like Ohio, New Mexico, and Connecticut integrate mental health supports and SEL into MTSS frameworks for attendance. For example. The Ohio Department of Education recommends districts develop a Whole Child Framework for comprehensive student supports.
INTERVENTIONS FOCUS ON POSITIVE RELATIONSHIPS BETWEEN STUDENTS AND ADULTS
Tier I: Universal Prevention
Student Focused Interventions
Family Focused Interventions
Tier 2: Early Intervention
Student Focused Interventions
Family Focused Interventions
Tier 3: Intensive Intervention
Student Focused Interventions
Family Focused Interventions
OHIO SAMPLE TIERED INTERVENTION PLAN FOR ABSENTEEISM
TRUANCY BEST PRACTICES APPROACHES
Integrate attendance supports into a multi-tiered systems of supports (MTSS) that addresses barriers to attendance such as mental health challenges, school climate issues, and lack of awareness of the importance of attendance.
RECOMMENDATION FOR LEADERS
© Hanover Research 2024
SUPPORTIVE ABSENTEE PRACTICES
SOME STATES REQUIRE FORMAL IMPROVEMENT PLANS
STATE AGENCIES COLLABORATE WITH OTHER AGENCIES
STATE ATTENDANCE INITIATIVES BUILD UPON OR IMPROVE PRE-PANDEMIC INITIATIVES
New Jersey recently updated guidance published before the pandemic to emphasize using student data to identify effective attendance interventions.
Connecticut published guidance to address chronic absenteeism for school districts in 2017 and launched an attendance initiative for chronically absent students focused on home visits as students returned to in-person learning following the COVID-19 pandemic.
New Mexico requires all districts to establish Attendance Improvement Plans that will include mental health and SEL supports when needed for those students.
State education agencies collaborate with other state agencies interested in promoting positive outcomes for youth to provide guidance on best practices for improving attendance and support for attendance initiatives.
New Jersey requires schools with high chronic absenteeism rates to develop corrective action plans by establishing problem-solving teams made up of diverse constituents to implement data-based decision-making processes.
CALIFORNIA TRUANCY TOOLKIT
The Office of the Attorney General of California developed the Truancy Toolkit to reduce truancy in collaboration with several government agencies, community groups, and professional organizations across the state, including the California Department of Education.
The Toolkit provides recommendations for SEL-based MTSS, as well as research and recommendations on attendance developed by the Ad Council, a consortium of advertising agencies that researched effective messaging strategies to encourage positive attendance among parents of elementary students in California in 2015.
The Toolkit also identified a number of potential barriers to attendance including mental health, challenges facing parents, physical illness facing children, and negative perceptions of safety in the school or community.
Engage constituents across the district and community in identifying challenges and solutions for attendance. Many states expertise and resources of community partners to support attendance improvement efforts.
Districts are expected to develop four tiers of intervention which include mental health counseling, family supports, and collaboration with community service providers in Tier 4.
The planning process must include family engagement through at least one family survey assessing family members’ perceptions of the reasons for chronic absenteeism and recommendations for improving attendance.
RECOMMENDATION FOR LEADERS
© Hanover Research 2024