TRANSFORMING TRUANCY PREVENTION

IMPLEMENTATION ISSUES AND

ORGANIZATIONAL CHANGES NEEDED

Community Involvement

Establishing a community truancy prevention committee, involving school, law enforcement, parents, and the community, can enhance prevention efforts. Activities like clarifying school policies, educating about consequences, and providing positive role models can be effective.

Research Challenges

There's a huge scarcity of research on the effectiveness of truancy prevention programs, particularly in terms of generalizability and comparison of techniques. Many programs lack comprehensive data collection and may miss significant effects, hindering their evaluation. See comments on inappropriate use of the BASC.

Needs Assessment and Action Research

Unveiling educational disparities starts with data that illuminates, not hides, the struggles of every student.

Action research guides organizational development by diagnosing current issues, projecting outcomes without changes, and determining preferred states. A truancy needs assessment should document absenteeism prevalence, staff efforts, and dropout reasons, providing a basis for prevention strategies.

PREVENTION IMPLEMENTATION PREPARATION:

Implementation Issues

Creating inclusive spaces requires us to confront resistance with resilience and empathy.

Assessing readiness for change is crucial, including staff turnover, collaborative ability, and commitment. Administrative, parent, staff, and student concerns should be addressed to minimize resistance to new programs and prevent anticedents to school aversion.

Administrators

 Leadership for justice means championing policies that uplift every student, especially those with disabilities.

Administrative support is vital for program success. Consultants should effectively communicate the need for truancy prevention, provide evidence of program rationale and effectiveness, anticipate costs, define program beneficiaries, and address staff opposition strategies.

School Staff

Educators as advocates: nurturing understanding and support for students of all abilities.

Staff concerns about workload and skepticism require proactive communication and reinforcement strategies. Programs like DURABLE (Discussing, Understanding, Reinforcing, Learning, Building, Evaluation) facilitate implementation by addressing concerns and fostering participation. 

Parents

Partners in progress: informing, involving, and inspiring parents to champion their child's right to education.

Communicating program rationale, goals, and effectiveness to parents is essential. Group discussions and active participation in needs assessment can involve parents in the prevention process and help address their concerns.

Student Issues

Empowering students: shaping educational environments where every voice is heard and valued.

Involving students in diagnosis, problem-solving, and planning empowers them and increases program acceptance. Considering student scheduling preferences can improve participation in prevention programs.

NAVIGATING SPECIAL EDUCATION ADVOCACY

& TRUANCY ADVOCACY

The Crossroads of Legal Expertise and Educational Insight

The landscape of advocacy for children with special needs and their families is multifaceted and often challenging, particularly when it comes to navigating the intricacies of Individualized Education Programs (IEPs) and legal processes. In this complex arena, there exists a notable distinction between advocates who are solely legally trained or eclectically trained versus those who are cross trained across systems and possess expertise in IEP development. Parents must exercise caution and be aware of the potential pitfalls when engaging advocates or legal representatives.

Advocates who are solely legally trained may excel in understanding legal procedures and regulations related to special education law. However, they may lack a comprehensive understanding of educational systems, including the nuances of disability identification, IEP development, implementation, and monitoring. This can result in advocacy efforts that focus primarily on legal compliance without addressing the broader educational needs and goals of the child. This leaves us with a lot of legally compliant IEPs that don’t truly benefit the child in developing independent and generalized goals.

Cross-trained advocates bring a unique advantage to the table. They possess a deep understanding of both legal aspects and educational systems, allowing them to advocate effectively for comprehensive and meaningful IEPs. These advocates can collaborate closely with parents, educators, and other professionals to develop IEPs that not only meet legal requirements but also address the specific learning needs, accommodations, and services essential for the child's academic and developmental progress. 

Parents should be cautious of legal representatives who may prioritize quick settlement agreements over thorough IEP development. The cost and complexity of due process proceedings often make settlement agreements an attractive option, but they often do not comprehensively address all the educational issues and goals of the child. It’s a Band-Aid for a while till parents must go back to fight again. Parents may feel pressured into settling due to financial constraints or the daunting prospect of prolonged legal battles. It should be noted that lawyers can get paid by the school district for settlements quickly (it is fast and easy money for some) and not so easily in due process since the majority of them are settled with the school district winning. Parents must pay for qualified advocates.

The principle of buyer beware applies when seeking advocacy or legal support for children with special needs. Parents should strive to work with advocates who are cross-trained across systems, possess expertise in IEP development, and prioritize the holistic educational needs of the child while predicting and preventing issues before they affect the child’s education or the parent’s checkbook. Additionally, they should approach settlement agreements with careful consideration, ensuring that the agreements align with their child's best interests and educational objectives. Settlement agreements make parents give up all their rights to go back afterward.

FACING THE UNCOMFORTABLE TRUTH:

Acknowledging the Messy Realities of Special Education and Truancy

Before we can effectively address any issue, we must first be honest about its complexity and depth. In the realm of education, particularly in special education and truancy matters, honesty means acknowledging the multifaceted challenges faced by students, parents, educators, and advocates. It involves recognizing the systemic barriers, financial constraints, and power dynamics that often influence decision-making processes. Being honest means understanding that solutions are not always straightforward or easy, and they may require collaboration across various disciplines and systems. Only by honestly confronting these realities can we begin to develop meaningful and sustainable strategies for improvement.

BUILDING A FUTURE OF EQUITY MEANS DISMANTLING BARRIERS

Amplifying voices and championing every child's right to thrive.

Truancy has far-reaching consequences, and a comprehensive service delivery model involving primary, secondary, and tertiary interventions is crucial. Implementing these inequitable and inappropriate programs requires addressing organizational change issues and obtaining support from administrators, staff, parents, and students.

By examining the complexities of truancy prevention, considering the impact on students with adjustment disorder and school phobia, and advocating for inclusive educational practices mandated by IDEA and Child Find regulations, we can move towards a more equitable and supportive approach. This journey involves breaking down barriers, fostering understanding, and championing the rights of every student to access education without fear or stigma. Through social justice and disability advocacy, we can undo the harm of criminalizing manifestations of disability and create a more inclusive, empathetic educational landscape.

 *** 

We need you to be part of the conversation that shapes a brighter future for all students. The following lays out the article  "REDEFINING TRUANCY PREVENTION AND FAILURE" by DR. MARIE LEWIS, PHD, BCEA to be published over the next six blogs.

COMING UP NEXT

6.  WHAT SHOULD A PARENT DO WHEN SCHOOL REFUSAL OR TRUANCY RAISES ITS UGLY HEAD?

  1.  BREAKING THE CYCLE OF TRUANCY

A HIDDEN EPIDEMIC

ARE TRUANCY INTERVENTIONS NEGLECT?

PREVALENCE AND IMPACT

HEADS IN THE SAND

2.  THOSE NOT DOING THEIR JOBS

HISTORY OF TRUANCY LAWS

SCHOOL PSYCHOLOGISTS

SCHOOL SOCIAL WORKERS

EMPOWERING PARENTS

CROSS-TRAINING SPECIAL EDUCATION ADVOCATES

3.  DEFINING TRUANCY VS SCHOOL AVERSION / SCOLIONOPHOBIA

SYSTEMIC CHAOS

DIFFERENTIAL DIAGNOSIS CRITERIA FOR SCHOOL REFUSAL AND TRUANCY

DEFINING TRUANCY

TRUANCY RISK FACTORS

DEFINING SCHOOL AVERSION

SCHOOL REFUSAL RISK FACTORS

4.  TRUANCY INTERVENTIONS

A COMPREHENSIVE MODEL OF INEFFECTIVENESS

RESEARCH BASED INTERVENTIONS

INAPPROPRIATE USE OF TOOLS

ASSESSMENT TOOLS

SECONDARY INTERVENTIONS

TERTIARY PREVENTION INTERVENTIONS

MULTILEVEL INTERVENTION

5.  PREVENTION of SCHOOL REFUSAL AND TRUANCY

IMPLEMENTATION ISUES AND ORGANIZATIONAL CHANGE NEEDED

PREVENTION IMPLEMENTATION PREPARATION

NAVIGATING SPECIAL EDUCATION ADVOCACY AND TRUANCY ADVOCACY

FACING THE UNCOMFORTABLE TRUTH

BUILDING A FUTURE OF EQUITY MEANS DISMANTLING BARRIERS

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AUTHOR

Marie Lewis is an author, consultant, and national speaker on best practices in education advocacy. She is a parent of 3 children and a Disability Case Manager, Board Certified Education Advocate, and Behavior Specialist Consultant. She has assisted in the development of thousands of IEPs nationally and consults on developing appropriately individualized IEPs that are outcome-based vs legally sufficient. She brings a great depth of expertise, practical experience, and compassion to her work as well as expert insight, vision, and systemic thinking. She is passionate and funny and she always inspires and informs.