An essential part of addressing chronic absenteeism is creating an inclusive school experience for students with disabilities, writes Dr. Kara Stern, director of education and engagement at SchoolStatus, providing K-12 data-driven solutions addressing communication and attendance, in an eSchool News article.
Recent data shows students with disabilities miss substantially more school compared to their peers. In Minneapolis Public Schools, for example, rates of chronic absenteeism among students with disabilities rose from 29 percent in 2019 to 53 percent in 2022. Schools need to build strategies to remove attendance barriers and create inclusive, supportive learning environments for students with disabilities.
An “Equitable Blueprint” is a framework to proactively address absenteeism and better serve students with disabilities, explains Dr. Stern. This blueprint has three pillars:
Leverage data
Inspect and analyze current conditions. Objectively identify attendance challenges specific to students with disabilities.
Assess attendance data by disability status, grades, demographics and reasons for absences. Analyze patterns such as whether mental health needs, lack of access to accommodations or feelings of isolation are contributing factors. Then develop targeted action plans customized to each student’s situation.
Create a sense of belonging
Design from the start the effort to create a sense of belonging and community for students with disabilities. Allow every student to fully participate. Research shows that chronically feeling excluded or unwelcome can significantly undermine engagement.
Best practices include disability awareness professional development for all staff; student-led social-emotional learning lessons; and peer mentorship programs. Allow students with disabilities to get involved in extracurriculars, leadership roles, and relationship-building with staff. Support programs such as Positive Behavioral Interventions and Supports (PBIS) that embed inclusive practices school-wide.
Collaborate with families
Even the most well-designed blueprint can’t succeed without the partnership of those who will inhabit and experience the finished structure. Students with disabilities and their families must be involved as essential collaborators throughout the entire construction process.
Establish regular communication with families of students with disabilities through text messages, home visits, meetings, webinars, and surveys. Create feedback sessions to understand families’ perspectives on existing challenges and needed resources. Bring them into intervention planning and goal setting.
Give families guidance on rights, accommodations, self-advocacy, and how to navigate potential obstacles. A student/family council can maintain consistent external input and ensure initiatives are sustainable.
Data foundations, accessible design, and stakeholder partnerships provide the comprehensive plans needed to proactively address absenteeism and foster a positive school experience for students with disabilities, says Dr. Stern.
eSchool News
