The COVID-19 crisis and subsequent school closures forced many districts to make a rapid switch from traditonal in-person schooling to remote virtual learning instruction. The move to virtual learning was an espcially significant change for those students and families actively struggling with school refusal — a type of chronic absenteeism that is emotionally based. Historically, interventional strategies in school refusal cases have been predominantly aimed toward the goal of returning to in-person instruction. Homeschooling or home instruction has typically been seen as a last resort, with minimal evidence to support its effectiveness in school refusal cases. However, the COVID crisis has unexpectedly accelerated development in the field of virtual learning. As the educational landscape undergoes this significant transformation, virtual learning may represent a more effective solution for students who demonstrate an aversion to attending in-person school.

In this qualitative study, three cases are presented based on interviews with students who struggled with school refusal prior to COVID. Their unique experiences were analyzed in order examine [sic] the impact made by the shift to virtual learning on those students' academic outcomes, own perceptions of learning, willingness to complete schoolwork, overall perceptions toward school, and attitudes toward their academic futures. Contrary to what the previous literature would suggest, each of the school-refusing students interviewed were equally unwilling to participate in school remotely, and the change to virtual learning made no tangible impact in any of the areas considered by the study. The findings of the study indicate a new and distinct set of dynamics of school refusal in a virtual setting. A change of venue from an in-person platform to a virtual platform was not adequate to transform these students' fundamental relationships with school. Regardless of delivery method, an increased emphasis on SEL and proactive measures to foster student engagement with school culture are of critical importance. New ways to achieve this in the context of a virtual setting must be developed by future researchers in order to effectively mitigate school refusal in the future. Ultimately, this data will inform school districts and families when making decisions about where to invest time, energy, and resources most effectively to best serve this at-risk population, as the future potential of remote learning continues to evolve.