An increasingly vexing problem for school administrators is managing students with mental health issues who struggle to attend school regularly, directly compromising their academic progress.
This session, presented by Jose Martín, Esq., will offer data on how attendance impacts ultimate educational outcomes, dispels some common misconceptions with respect to child-find and IDEA eligibility. Martín will also present various practical measures an IEP team can take to address the problem, including: behavioral intervention planning, counseling (and dealing with students who resist counseling services), targeted IEP accommodations, adjusting course schedules, considering parent training and coordination, identifying relevant IEP goal areas and framing measurable goals, the role of homebound services, and helpful ideas for attendance support services. Recent cases will serve to illustrate how this problem presents itself in real-life situations.
By attending this session, you’ll gain:
- Clear identification of key misconceptions surrounding student attendance issues that create serious legal liability in child-find and IDEA eligibility determinations.
- An expanded toolkit of actionable IEP supports and services designed to address significant attendance difficulties, school refusal, and student resistance to counseling.
- Practical frameworks for framing measurable goals, leveraging behavioral intervention planning, and determining the appropriate role of homebound services.
- Critical insights from recent case law illustrating how courts evaluate district compliance and defensibility in attendance-related disputes.
Who Should Attend?
- Directors of Special Education / Special Services
- Supervisors of Special Education / Special Services
- District Leadership
Meet your host
Jose Martín is a partner with the school law firm of Richards Lindsay & Martín. For nearly 35 years, Martín has focused exclusively on matters involving the education of students with disabilities under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) and Section 504. He is a graduate of the University of Texas and the University of Texas School of Law and has tried cases at the due process, district court, and court of appeals levels. He is a long-time contributor to the national LRP web-based publication Special Ed Connection and presents numerous sessions on disabilities laws to audiences at local, regional, state, online, and national conferences.
