School-Based Intervention Teams, School Avoidance, School Refusal, and Truancy
When a child begins missing school consistently, families often hear a mix of terms—school avoidance, school refusal, and truancy. These words are sometimes used interchangeably, yet they describe very different realities. Understanding these distinctions is essential, not only for parents, but for schools tasked with responding appropriately.
More Than a Tardy Slip: Georgia’s SB 123 Marks a Turning Point in School Attendance and Why School Avoidance Training Is the Missing Link
Georgia’s new attendance law, SB 123, is here, and it’s a major shift. No longer can schools expel students solely for absenteeism. Instead, the law, effective July 1, 2025, mandates a deeper look at the root causes of why students are missing school.
This article explores why SB 123 is a critical opportunity, not a compliance burden. It’s a chance to move from punishment to empathy. But to succeed, schools must address one critical, often-overlooked piece of the puzzle: “school avoidance.” Discover why training staff to recognize and support emotionally-based absenteeism is the key to unlocking the true, positive potential of this new law.
What You Need to Know About Accommodations
There are effective new tools families and schools can use to help kids w anxiety disorders or school avoidance get back to school. These interventions have created some confusion around the meaning of the word “accommodations.”
A big challenge for schools and families right now
Children are supposed to go to school. We could equate kids going to school with adults working every day. So, when your child starts to avoid or refuse to go to school, it throws you for a loop. Going to school is their job, right? When kids begin missing school days at a time or […]
Feel Safe and Supported When You Need it Most
School avoidance is challenging on so many levels. One aspect that doesn’t get much attention is the judgment and blame assigned to parents of kids with chronic school absences. There are a few reasons for this: There has been little to no discussion, education, or awareness about school avoidance in our schools, media coverage, and […]
Get Your State’s Guide for Parental Rights in Special Education
Your child has the right to an education regardless of their school attendance problems. Getting your individual state’s guide to parental rights is the first step to understanding how your school can help your child.
Just Released ! The Ultimate Guide to Working with Your School
Many schools don’t understand school avoidance, so parents must take on the role of advocate and educator. You may feel judged at times and resentful if you are not getting the help you need. Introducing, the Ultimate Guide to Working with Your School. Parents get easily overwhelmed when they start hearing about IEPs and 504s […]
The Anxiety Institue Explains How To Help Your Acutely Anxious Child
School avoidance families will be nodding in agreement and appreciation when reading this series of information from Anxiety Institute Co-Founder Linda Geiger. In addition to being the CEO of a leading school avoidance treatment program, Linda is also a mother who lived through the trauma of her son’s school avoidance. Linda addresses the fundamental questions […]
School Avoidance Expert Dr. Albano: How To Help Your Child’s Anxiety
School avoidance families will find value as Dr. Albano addresses escape as avoidance and how natural parent instincts lead to accommodations that enable our kid’s avoidance. Her guidance and insight are helpful for us to understand so we can work on correcting this pattern.
Hear a 15-year-old describe how CBT & Exposure Therapy helped his school avoidance
Parents, clinicians, and researchers covet school avoidant kids’ insights and thoughts to help us find better solutions. So, when we see a teenager who speaks about it, wow, we surely want to hear what they have to say.
