Exploring the School Attendance Crisis: School Refusal or Truancy?

Whether you’re ready for Spring Break or still have a few weeks until Spring Break, the reality is that there isn’t much of the school year left. There are many assessments and IEP meetings that need to be scheduled now. In today’s episode, we are talking with a wonderful guest, really getting into the trenches of evaluations and the escalating attendance crisis of the last few years. Join us to learn more! Dr. Dennis Lefevre recently served as the Executive Director of Student Support Services in a small, high-performing school district in southern CA. Prior to that role, he worked in various capacities in public, non-public, and private school settings with thousands of preschool, elementary, and secondary students. He had a front-row seat to the unfolding attendance crisis and became increasingly frustrated by the lack of ownership among school, home, and community. He is now piloting a new kind of evaluation that is an intensive data collection process designed to lower the threshold enough to get students back on campus. As an educational psychologist in private practice, Dr. Dennis started an agency called Back at School , which offers consultations, advocacy, targeted data collection, interventions, workshops, and more to help the attendance crisis. Show Highlights: Understanding the crisis and the disconnect between school districts and parents Prioritizing the fidelity of “the data” is not the solution Different categories of school team perspectives: those who are competent and conscientious, those who are “just okay,” and those who aren’t competent and are just waiting for summer break The benefit of school study team meetings in identifying school refusal/avoidance or simple truancy A truism in school attendance: “The longer you’re out, the harder it is to go back.” Understanding external and internal behaviors in crafting solutions When the IEP program/curriculum is the root cause of attendance issues The facts: 19-25% of students remain chronically absent since COVID (Neurodivergent/special needs students are affected about 3x more than their peers.) Specifics about the MDAE, Multi-Domain Attendance Evaluation Resources: Connect with Dr. Dennis Lefevre: Website Contact us on social media or through our website for more information on the IEP Learning Center: . Thank you for listening! Don’t forget to

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Exploring the School Attendance Crisis: School Refusal or Truancy? is an episode from Inclusive Education Project Podcast by Inclusive Education Project.

This episode is 31:48 long.

This episode was published on Mar 17, 2026.

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