Our policy
School letters, and the school day
Schools often ask for a letter, and a family should know what to expect before they ask. This is how we do it.
What a letter says
That your child is in therapy with us, and the days and times of their sessions. If you ask us to, it can include supports that tend to help at school, such as a gradual return, a quiet place to start the day, or a check-in with one adult.
What a letter doesn't say
That an absence is excused: the school decides that. A diagnosis, unless you ask for one and your clinician agrees it fits. An opinion on grades, placement or discipline. Anything about custody or a parent's fitness.
Meetings
With your written permission, a clinician can join an attendance, 504 or IEP meeting by phone, and can help you prepare what to ask for. We don't attend in person during a school day.
How long it takes
We write a letter within five school days of a signed release. Letters are written by your child's clinician, and you read it before it goes anywhere.
How to ask
Asking for a letter, in four steps
Step 1: Tell us what the school asked for
Send us the request or tell us what it said. You don't need to explain more.
Step 2: Sign a release
It names the school, the person who gets the letter and what it may say. You can change it at any time.
Step 3: We write it, you read it
Your child's clinician writes it and sends it to you first.
Step 4: You hand it in, or we send it
Your choice. If we send it, we send it only to the person on the release.
The school-day schedule
When we meet, around school
Before school: 7:15 or 7:45 a.m. After school: 3:45 to 6 p.m. Saturday: 9 a.m. to noon.
- MondayMonToday7:15 a.m. – 7 p.m.
- TuesdayTueToday7:15 a.m. – 7 p.m.
- WednesdayWedToday7:15 a.m. – 7 p.m.
- ThursdayThuToday7:15 a.m. – 7 p.m.
- FridayFriToday7:15 a.m. – 7 p.m.
- SaturdaySatToday9 a.m. – 12 p.m.
- SundaySunTodayClosed
*Sessions during school hours only when a parent, the school and your clinician agree it is the right call. It is never the default.
Questions
Three questions about letters
Will you write a letter for my child's school?
Yes, with your signed release. A Nook letter says that your child is in therapy with us and when sessions are, and can include supports you ask for. It does not excuse absences or give a diagnosis unless you ask and your clinician agrees. School letters has the policy.
What happens in the first session?
A parent or guardian comes with the child. We explain how we work and the limits of confidentiality, you tell us what the school mornings are like, and we agree on a first step. Your first session page has the details.
What is confidential, and what are the limits?
What your child says stays between them and their clinician, apart from a few limits we explain in writing before the first session: when someone's safety is at risk, when the law requires a report, and when a court orders records. Parents get updates on the plan, not a record of what was said.
Need a letter, or a school meeting?
Tell us what the school asked for when you call. We'll say how we can help.