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Slide #1 Professional Perspective/ Audience/ Topic

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Slide #1 Professional Perspective/ Audience/ Topic

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As a middle school counselor, it is imperative to increase our teachers' awareness of mental health issues and provide the staff with effective tools to attend to situations that arise within the school day. According to the National Alliance of Mental Illness (NAMI), 16.5% of U.S. youth aged 6-17 experienced a mental health disorder in 2016 (Mental health, 2020). Addressing the mental health needs of middle school students as well as educating the staff on those needs must become a priority for middle school campuses.

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Slide #2 Interview with Kim Bird, LMFT-S, LPC-S

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Slide #2 Interview with Kim Bird, LMFT-S, LPC-S

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Mental health curriculum and training should become an integrated part of the school day. Mental health concerns are often first noticed by educators. Students typically show signs of declining mental health prior to being diagnosed with a mental illness. Death by suicide is a serious concern for children ages 10 -18. Students are lacking social and emotional skills to deal with daily struggles.

Best practices in education that align with mental health include: Attending professional development on mental health awareness, training staff to make solid decision in regards to student health, fully implementing Social and Emotional learning into daily routines, and protecting confidentiality with students and staff.

Ethics is an emerging issue in mental health in middle schools. Counselors are required to follow the Code of Ethics in the Texas Administrative Code §247.2. Determining whom to contact when an issue arises is an example. Parents could be divorced but have equal rights according to the divorce decree. Determing whom to obtaining consent for services could become an issue. It is important to be diligent in obtiaing consent, protecting confidentiality, and following the code of ethics.

I interviewed Kim Bird, LFMT-S, LPC-S. We are fortunate to have her on our campus. She is a licensed mental health professional and counsels students on our campus. She is generous with her knowledge and highly motivated to implement best practices on our campus.

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The American School Counselor Association (ASCA) website is a great resource for guidance counselors. The website is easy to navigate and the ASCA National Model, Ethical Standard for School Counselors and current legislative affairs are just a click away. A video library, webinar series, and podcast series are also available on numerous topics, including Addressing School Climate, Igniting Change for Equity and Inclusion, and Social Emotional Learning. One of the most helpful and informative tabs is the professional development on helping students after a shooting. Some of the information is directly related to school shootings, but the articles, websites, videos and other resources on helping students in crisis seems endless and very helpful (ASCA, 2020).
https://schoolcounselor.org/

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"Do Distressed Students Have the Right to Trauma-Sensitive Schooling"
https://www.edweek.org/ew/articles/2019/09/04/do-distressed-students-have-a-right-to.html
Three current court cases claim that school districts are not doing enough to address or alleviate the effects of trauma on education. The lawsuits seek to change practices that districts have in place that contribute to or worsen the effects of trauma.

The three students in the lawsuit have learning disabilities, have experienced a trauma, and their past traumas are being retriggered at school.

The school does not acknowledge or address how the students' trauma is impacting their academics.

Some schools have a lack of funding for special education services or mental health services and would like money redirected from other services to fund these programs.

One school in Compton has suspended its lawsuit as the district and lawyers work together to implement trauma-informed practices and training in their schools, open wellness centers, and implementing restorative discipline (Sparks, 2019).

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"Schools Struggle to Help Students Return to Class After a Mental Health Crisis"
https://hechingerreport.org/schools-struggle-to-help-students-return-to-class-after-a-mental-health-crisis/
Without a national plan, school districts are struggling to implement first aid for students suffering from mental health issues. Schools often lack a sufficient number of staff members to keep up with mental health issues. Students who are returning to school after a traumatic event are often at a higher risk of not being able to recover academically and may end up dropping out. The Bridge for Resilient Youth in Transition (BRYT) program is being utilized to aid students, whom have experienced a crisis, return to school and stay there. The program provides training for the school's staff to implement a one-period per day class for students to help with academics, communicate with teachers, and provide a safe place to destress or recharge. Schools acknowledge that while BRYT program is a short term crisis intervention that is having a positive impact, they also realize that a school wide initiative needs to be implemented at a younger age to better address the growing concerns of mental health issues (Serrano, 2020).

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19 TAC § 247.2
Code of Ethics for Educators, Administrative Law

http://ritter.tea.state.tx.us/sbecrules/tac/chapter247/ch247.html#247.2

This law requires counselors to act and behave appropriately to students, parents, and staff at all times. Counselors shall not knowingly or intentionally cause physical or mental harm to students. All actions and interactions shall remain professional and a student's confidentiality shall remain unless the student presents a danger to themselves or others (19 TAC § 247.2).

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TEC § 11.252 (3)(B)(i)
Texas Education Code, Statutory Law
https://statutes.capitol.texas.gov/SOTWDocs/ED/htm/ED.11.htm

School districts are required to utilize best practices when meeting the needs of special populations, specifically in regards to suicide prevention. The school district shall provide a program to educate students, staff, and parents on suicide prevention and have procedures in place to notify parents or guardians if their child is in danger of harming themselves (TEC § 11.252).

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20 USC § 1232g
Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act, Statutory Law
https://uscode.house.gov/view.xhtml req=20+USC+1232g&f=treesort&fq=true&num=14&hl=tru

e&edition=prelim&granuleId=USC-prelim-title20-section1232g

Parents and students of age have the right to inspect and review educational records pertaining to the student in a timely manner. Records that do not fall under this law are personal records made by a teacher, counselor, or educator for their sole use and records created and maintained by law enforcement (20 USC § 1232g).

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34 CFR § 99
Family Educational Rights and Privacy, Administrative Law
https://www.ecfr.gov/cgi-bin/text-idx?rgn=div5&node=34:1.1.1.1.33

Parents and students of age have the right to inspect, review, and amend educational records pertaining to the student. If there is a discrepency in the records, parents must make a written request to amend the misleading or incorrect information. This law also states that parental consent is necessary to release information with the exception of directory information, schools seeking enrollment information, compliance of judicial orders, or in an emergency situation (34 CFR § 99).

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Dripping Springs ISD District Improvement Plan
Mental Health Initiative
https://www.dsisdtx.us/cms/lib/TX02204855/Centricity/Domain/63/19-20%20DSISD%20Improvement%20Plan.pdf
Dripping Springs ISD in connection with the Dripping Springs Education Foundation funded mental health training for the 500 staff members of DSISD. The training aids staff in learning about mental health issues, identifying students that need assistance, and providing the staff with the tools to support students that are in immediate danger (DSISD, 2018).

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A.6 Appropriate Referrals and Advocacy
a. Collaborate with all relevant stakeholders, including students,
educators and parents/guardians when student assistance is
needed, including the identification of early warning signs of
student distress (ASCA Ethical Standards for School Counselors, 2016).
https://www.schoolcounselor.org/asca/media/asca/Ethics/EthicalStandards2016.pdf
Counselors have an ethical responsibility to maintain confidentiality with students and staff members. There is also an ethical standard of collaborating with others to determine when additional assistance is needed. It is important to consult with other professionals an issue arises of the need to break confidentiality in order to provide the parents/guardians with information or to refer the student to outside resources.

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Texas Education Agency (TEA) Website
Mental Health and Behavioral Health
https://tea.texas.gov/about-tea/other-services/mental-health
The TEA Mental Health and Behavioral Health portion of the website has an abundance of information that is helpful to students, staff, and parents. It has general information about mental health, suicide prevention, positive behavior supports, and positive school climate. It is update yearly in connection with Health and Human Services Commission (HHSC) and Department of State Health Services (DSHS).  There are resources for educators as well as hotline numbers in case of crisis (Mental Health and Behavior, 2020).

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Reading, understanding, and complying with the Code of Ethics for Educators. The Code of Ethics defines self conduct, conduct toward colleagues, and toward students.

Address mental health issues with all staff members . Train all staff on signs of mental illness, crisis, and suicide prevention through state approved resources.

Educate parents, students, and all staff on their rights in regards to educational records. Make the process to inspect, review, and amend records transparent.

Inform parents and staff about consent for release of information. Educators as well as parents should be informed that educational records are protected under FERPA and should be trained on what violates FERPA law.

Utilize the many credible resources available for information to stay current on new laws, policies, and best practices.

Provide professional development for all staff members in regards to mental health issues, updates on legislation, and compliance with laws related to education annually.

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American School Counselor Association (ASCA).(2020). Schoolcounselor.org. Retrieved from https://www.schoolcounselor.org/

American School Counselor Association. (2016). ASCA Ethical Standards for School  Counselors. Retrieved from https://www.schoolcounselor.org/asca/media/asca/Ethics/EthicalStandards2    016.pdf

Dripping Springs Independent School District (DSISD) (2018). Strategic Plan. Retrieved from             https://www.dsisdtx.us/cms/lib/TX02204855/Centricity/Domain/63/19-     20%20DSISD%20Improvement%20Plan.pd

Educators’ Code of Ethics. 19. Tex. Admin. Code § 247.2

Family and Educational Privacy Rights 20 USC § 1232g

Family and Educational Privacy Rights 34 CFR § 99

Mental Health and Behavioral Health. Texas Education Agency. (2020). Tea.texas.gov.     Retrieved from https://tea.texas.gov/about-tea/other-services/mental-health

Mental Health By the Numbers | NAMI: National Alliance on Mental Illness.       (2020). Nami.org. retrieved from https://www.nami.org/learn-more/mental-   health-by-the-numbers.

Serrano, A. (2020, February 5). Schools Struggle to Help Students Return to Class After   a Mental Health Crisis. Retrieved from https://hechingerreport.org/schools-struggle-to-help-students-return-to-class-after-a-mental-health-crisis/