A group of parents are arguing that the New York City public schools are failing to provide adequate education and resources for their children with disabilities who are experiencing 鈥渟chool avoidance鈥� in a federal class action filed this week.
, filed Tuesday in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York against the New York City district, alleges that schools are not properly identifying and supporting students who are school-avoidant due to social or emotional disabilities, like severe anxiety and depression. School avoidance, also known as school refusal, means students have severe discomfort or fear about attending school or remaining there for a complete day of classes.
The filing comes as, nationally, schools are grappling with a wave of chronic absenteeism, made worse by the COVID-19 pandemic. Mental health challenges have soared for adolescents, more of whom report feelings of sadness and hopelessness. Though schools mental health services in recent years, they鈥檝e faced headwinds of shortages of mental health professionals and inconsistent funding. Meanwhile, special education has likewise been hard-hit with staffing shortages and retention woes.
Lawyers believe this could be the first class action on school avoidance.
In New York City, the lawyers representing the families argue that chronic absenteeism has increased in the nation鈥檚 largest district by nearly 10 percentage points since before the pandemic, to 31.7 percent of students missing 10 percent or more of school for both excused and unexcused reasons during the 2023 school year. It was higher for students with disabilities鈥攚here nearly half (46 percent) were chronically absent in 2023. One reason for the high absenteeism rate is school avoidance.
鈥淚t is fundamentally an equity access issue,鈥� said Jeffrey Metzler, a partner at Pillsbury Winthrop Shaw Pittman, one of the firms representing the plaintiffs. 鈥淭here鈥檚 reports all the time about the rise in mental health concerns with adolescents. Schools need to adapt to that rise and provide access to students.鈥�
In a statement, a New York City district spokesperson said the school system is committed to reducing barriers for attendance and providing resources to students experiencing school refusal. They have invested in school-based attendance teams and professional development for staff.
鈥淲e know that this is an issue among our most vulnerable students, including students with [individualized education programs], and as such, we provide instructional supports, paraprofessional services, and mental health services based on students鈥� individual needs,鈥� the spokesperson said.
School avoidance causes 鈥榗ascading effect鈥� for families
The complaint calls on the city鈥檚 schools to implement a process that identifies, evaluates, and establishes a program to assist students with school avoidance. Though the district identifies students who are chronically absent and investigates to see if it is a matter of neglect, the lawyers maintain that the system doesn鈥檛 adequately address other cases of chronic absence outside of neglect.
The lawyers are hoping the case will force the city鈥檚 schools to adopt a systemic solution: making sure the administration is tracking chronically absent students鈥攑articularly those with known disabilities and those who have, or are in the process of getting evaluated for, an IEP鈥攁nd then developing strategies and services to get students back to school.
The four students in the complaint, whose ages range from 10 to 16, have received diagnoses such as agoraphobia, major depressive disorder, social anxiety disorder, autism spectrum disorder, and attention deficit/hyperactivity.
One student began experiencing school avoidance in 2018 and allegedly went the entire 2022-23 school year without a school placement. Another student鈥檚 school counselor allegedly suggested her parents drive her to school each day; her parents, who were both employed full time, would remain outside the school for up to two hours until she ultimately stopped attending altogether.
A separate student received small incentives from their school for attending classes鈥攁 small prize awarding attendance and a set of headphones to address sensory difficulties鈥攂ut lawyers argue they 鈥渇ell short of the accommodations and services necessary鈥� for the student to return full time.
In some cases, schools counseled children out of the public school system, suggesting home schooling, the complaint charges. Students were also allegedly placed on 鈥渉ome instruction鈥濃�攊ntended as a short-term service to provide some instruction in students鈥� homes when they cannot attend school for at least 10 days in a three-month period due to physical or psychiatric disorders, according to the complaint鈥攚hich the parents argue is not adequate and only offers a few hours of instruction a day.
鈥淲hen we look at what happens, it鈥檚 not just about the student staying in bed, not going to school. It鈥檚 about the parent not being able to work,鈥� said Susan Horwitz, the supervising lawyer of The Legal Aid Society鈥檚 Education Law Project, which is also representing the families in the suit. 鈥淭he whole family structure becomes so stressed by the one member of the family who is struggling so, so deeply that it just has these cascading effects around income, food, housing.鈥�
School avoidance has long flown 鈥榰nder the radar鈥�
It鈥檚 a 鈥渓ight bulb moment鈥� to see a spotlight on school avoidance, which often is 鈥渦nder the radar,鈥� said Jayne Demsky, the founder of the . Demsky was prompted to start the organization, which provides interventions and resources to help schools and parents navigate school refusal, after she experienced the issue with her own child.
School avoidance, she said, is usually caused by a mental health disorder or learning difference, coupled with contributing factors at school. Schools often don鈥檛 have the staff, or the funding, to properly identify and support students who are experiencing this. Parents are isolated, because many don鈥檛 understand what school avoidance is.
鈥淭hink of being a parent and walking into your child鈥檚 bedroom in the morning and not knowing what鈥檚 going to happen: if they鈥檙e going to hide, if they鈥檙e going to cry or scream,鈥� Demsky said. 鈥淭hen your school is calling you, the robo-calls with the principal saying, 鈥榃here is your child?鈥� If a parent doesn鈥檛 know that there鈥檚 something called school avoidance, they鈥檙e ditching the phone calls. They think there鈥檚 something wrong.鈥�
Tackling school avoidance can鈥檛 fall just to the parents or be a piecemeal effort with a number of educators and a few schools, the lawyers argue.
鈥淩ight now, by them ignoring it at the central level, it鈥檚 pushing the responsibility down onto schools, often an individual guidance counselor. Then that gets pushed down onto the parents when the guidance counselor is unable to find an adequate solution,鈥� Metzler said. 鈥淲hen you鈥檙e looking at a problem at this scale鈥�46 percent of students with disabilities are chronically absent鈥攖here鈥檚 got to be a systemic solution to that.鈥�
