The Office of the State Superintendent of Education (OSSE) unapologetically supports the mental and behavioral health of students and staff by promoting safe and supportive learning environments. The US Surgeon General reports one in five children and adolescents experience the signs and symptoms of a diagnosable behavioral disorder each year, resulting in significant disruptions of school classrooms, increased truancy, increased risk for alcohol and drug abuse, and decreased graduation rates.

OSSE equips educators and staff with the tools to recognize the warning signs and risk factors of youth mental health crisis, develops workforce programs to increase recruitment and retention of school-based behavioral health providers, and supports local education agencies (LEAs) and schools in the implementation of best practices for mental health promotion, prevention, intervention, and response.

This work thrives in partnership with LEAs and the Department of Behavioral Health’s School Behavioral Health Program through the District’s Comprehensive School Behavioral Health System (CSBHS). Comprehensive school behavioral health systems provide a full array of tiered supports and services that promote a positive school climate, social and emotional learning, and mental health and well-being, while reducing the prevalence and severity of mental illness and substance use through the provision of timely high-quality services for children, youth, and their families.

OSSE offers tools and resources to support schools, staff, and families in addressing mental and behavioral health and well-being:

• Guidance to assist LEAs in developing and adopting policies and procedures for addressing student mental and behavioral health;
• A catalog of professional development and training programs; and
• Curriculum and implementation resources to support schools in the delivery of a high-quality, multi-tiered system of supports (MTSS) framework for school mental health programs and services.