You do not say which country your text comes from, but if it is from Spain "atención educativa" means special arrangements made for those who, for whatever reason, are unable to keep up with the normal curriculum and have abilities well below those of their age level. This can be because of learning difficulties, disabilities or psychological problems of various kinds. In Spanish state schools they are not (usually) segregated; they are in with the rest of their peer group but are working with different materials to a different curriculum. There are two categories, Adaptación Curricular Significativa, when the pupil is a whole ciclo (two years) behind, and Adaptación Curricular No Significativa, when he or she is only a year behind.

This really corresponds to Special Education, which in the UK is known as SEN or Special Educational Needs. However, this may not be what it means in your particular case, though it certainly could be, and in principle it should be. You say the student is of immigrant background. In so far as this creates (short-term) diminished ability because of language difficulties, it does not fall under the heading of Special Education/Special Needs either in Spain or the UK, thought this would arise if there were others sorts of learning difficulties. So I think that, although "atención educativa" would normally be translated "special education", it might be better to use the expression "remedial teaching" in this case, since it might just refer to a special programme provided while the immigrant student learns the language. However, if there are learning difficulties beyond linguistic ability, "special education" is the term.

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Note added at 1 hr (2011-01-20 14:13:23 GMT)
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Although "Atención educativa" refers officially to a form of remedial teaching ("atención integral al alumnado que presenta necesidades educativas especiales"), according to the Spanish Ministry of Education document to which I posted a link in the discussion, it is also used in practice nowadays in a different sense: to refer to the "alternativa", the classes (in practice just "guardias", with no actual teaching) provided for those who opt out of the official Religion classes in Spanish state schools (which, as is well known, are classes in Catholic doctrine given under the aegis of the Church). My wife is a secondary school teacher in Spain and this is what "atención educativa" means in her school (it is actually on the timetable as AE). This is not a unique case:

"La atención educativa (alternativa a Religión) en Primaria
Ante las consultas que nos habeis dirigido, os enlazamos aquí algunos documentos de interés sobre la organización y contenidos de la "atención educativa" alternativa a las horas de religión en los ciclos de primaria."
http://www.marianoaroca.es/ampa/2008/doc_687

This could well be what it refers to in your text!


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Note added at 2 hrs (2011-01-20 14:49:04 GMT)
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I've taken further advice, and "atención educativa" must definitely have this second meaning here: the alternative to Religion. The point is that in this case AE is an "área", a subject, for which the student has received a mark. This can only be "alternativa", which is called AE on school reports and for which pupils do receive a mark (at least in ESO, which is relevant here; the pupil is in 3º). The other sort of AE, the special/support/remedial kind, is not a subject but a teaching arrangement applicable to any or all of the core subjects, so it could not be called an "Área" with an associated mark or grade.