Mental health training grade: F
Audit: Majority of school districts failed to give staff required instruction
Most school districts didn’t provide required mental health training for all staff by the Sept. 15 deadline during the 2020-21 school year, according to a new audit from state Comptroller Thomas Dinapoli’s office.
Of 20 school districts outside New York City sampled in the report, just two had met all 12 training components required by the state Education Department; Burnt Hills-ballston Lake and Canandaigua.
Most districts either did not offer mental health training at all or provided training that lacked some or all the recommended components, including how to access crisis support and recognizing warning signs for conditions like obsessive-compulsive, psychotic behavior, and eating disorders, Dinapoli’s office found. “School personnel are often the first to notice if a student is having mental health challenges, and they need effective training to help them understand the signs and symptoms early on,” Dinapoli said in a statement. “Failure to do so can have devastating consequences for students, staff, families and communities. Unfortunately, my office has found much of this vital training is not taking place ... Our nation is facing a mental health crisis, and we need to help our students.”
The districts were randomly selected and have varying enrollment sizes. Six districts (30 percent) did not offer training that included any of the 12 components, according to the audit. Twelve districts (60 percent) offered training that included at least one but not all the components.
The New York Safe Schools Against Violence in Education Act was intended to help improve school safety. It requires districts to develop a comprehensive, school safety plan that addresses crisis intervention, emergency re
sponses and management.
The safety plan developed by each district must include policies and procedures for annual safety training for staff and students, among other things.
At a minimum, staff must be trained on the mental health components recommended by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services addressing “what educators should know.”
School districts are also required to certify to the state Education Department that all staff have undergone training, including mental health training and the date the training was provided.
The most common component included within the training materials at the districts (13 districts) was “Whom to Turn to,” according to the audit.
“Trauma and stressrelated disorders” was the most addressed warning sign in training offered in 11 of the districts.
Only seven of the districts provided guidance on how to access crisis support, Dinapoli’s office said.
Of the 14 districts that offered some training, just five maintained records supporting which staff attended the training. At the five districts, auditors found 162 staff (51 percent) completed the mental health training by Sept. 15, 2020; the other 158 staff (49 percent) did not.
The staff who didn’t complete the training by the required date included teachers, assistants, aides, substitutes, coaches, nurses, principals, assistant principals, superintendents, counselors, and bus drivers.
District officials had various explanations for why the components were not included in training content provided to district staff, including a lack of awareness of state guidance on the SAVE training. Some school officials said mental health training was provided throughout the year, instead of by Sept. 15, as required.
Most district officials told auditors that the pandemic impacted the school’s ability to provide timely mental health training.
Dinapoli said it’s imperative that staff be provided on-time training on warning signs that may be an early indicator of mental health issues and concerns.