Exploring the Alignment of Behavior Screening Policies and Practices in US Public School Districts

Abstract

BACKGROUND Although recent studies provide information regarding state‐level policies and district‐level practices regarding social, emotional, and behavioral screening, the degree to which these policies influence screening practices is unknown. As such, the purpose of this exploratory study was to compare state‐ and district‐level policies and reported practices around school‐based social, emotional, and behavioral screening. METHODS We obtained data for the present study from three sources: (1) a recent systematic review of state department of education websites; (2) a national survey of 1330 US school districts; and (3) a Web search and review of policy manuals published by the 1330 school districts. Comparative analyses were used to identify similarities and differences across state and district policies and practices. RESULTS Of the 1330 districts searched, 911 had policy manuals available for review; 87 of these policy manuals, which represented 10 states, met inclusion criteria, and thus, were included in analyses. Discrepancies were found across state and district policies and across state social, emotional, and behavioral screening guidance and district practices, but consistencies did exist across district policies within the same state. CONCLUSION District‐level guidance around social, emotional, and behavioral screening appears to be limited. Our findings suggest a disconnect between state‐ and district‐level social, emotional, and behavioral screening guidance and district reported practices, which signifies the need to identify the main influences on district‐ and school‐level screening practices.

Teacher and School Characteristics Associated with the Identification and Referral of Adolescent Depression and Oppositional Defiant Disorders by U.S. Teachers

“…Understanding how teachers make decisions about mental health referrals has implications for practice and policy efforts that can target improved access to mental health services and decrease disparities in service access. Although researchers and policymakers have called for schools to conduct regular emotional and behavioral screenings, which are designed to identify any students who may need mental health supports (Auerbach et al, 2020;Briesch et al, 2018), estimates suggest that the actual usage of screenings in schools is quite low (e.g., 12.6%; Bruhn et al, 2014). As such, in most schools, receipt of mental health services relies on students to initiate services themselves or on adults to facilitate the referral process.…”

“…Screeners ideally are paired with data on mental health service use (Green et al, 2021), so that schools can identify local disparities in service access among students who may need services, and then can actively address barriers to care. However, as noted above, most schools do not currently use universal screeners (Auerbach et al, 2020), indicating the need to continue to improve teacher preparation, even when screeners are available.…”