Emotional Intelligence –
September 21, 2019 – “I think whenever we have any issues pertaining to students dealing with violence the first thing we hear is ‘mental health,’ but we don’t see a lot of changes when it comes to embracing the mental health of our students,” she said. Nebraska state law prohibits schools from using illness “that makes attendance impossible or impracticable” as a basis for referring students to the county attorney for possible truancy violations.
“From our point of view, this is all around treating mental health like physical health and removing the stigma that keeps people from getting the help they need,” Fennel said. The law now requires that school boards create a policy on attendance developed with the county attorney, which includes provisions on handling cases in which excessive absences are caused by illness and that set out at what point the school will get involved. School administrators or social workers must meet with the student’s parents or guardians and create a plan to reduce the barriers that keep the child from coming to school. The change wouldn’t create additional work or requirements for schools, she said.
