REMARKS
DOE's efforts to address behavioral and social-emotional needs in special education
1:06:12
ยท
92 sec
Deputy Chancellor Christina Foti outlines the Department of Education's efforts to prioritize behavioral and social-emotional needs in special education. She discusses recent organizational changes, challenges in supporting students with behavioral issues, and initiatives to improve mental health services.
- Transition of District 75 oversight to the Division of Inclusive and Accessible Learning
- Acknowledgment of the intersection between disability and mental health in behavioral challenges
- Collaboration with the Department of Health and Mental Hygiene (DOHMH) to provide mental health services
- Ongoing efforts to learn from high-quality mental health and behavioral support programs
Christina Foti
1:06:12
Yes.
1:06:13
So, I'm gonna begin the answer, and then I'll I'll hand it over to, Suzanne.
1:06:18
But to your point, it's it's essential that we prioritize behavioral and social emotional needs.
1:06:25
This, I don't know if folks are aware, but when we formed the division back in June, we said that we would be transitioning district 75 over to our, our division, in in January.
1:06:36
And so as of this week, we've transitioned district to district 75, under our oversight, which we're really excited about.
1:06:44
Supporting kids with behavioral challenges is difficult mainly because those kids are at the intersection of disability and mental health.
1:06:53
And, typically, when students have behavioral challenges, the most significant challenge is that children are referred to district 75 for those supports.
1:07:02
But as you see, as you work with different agencies across the city, some of our most challenging issues as a city are when 2 agencies intersect.
1:07:11
And so we're proud of the work that we've done with DOHMH to provide mental health services, to our students.
1:07:20
However, there's certainly much more work to be done.
1:07:22
As a division, we are, visiting programs that provide high quality mental health and behavioral supports, both in the city and outside of the city, to learn how other school districts and other programs are working with mental health, partners to bring more clinical support for children with with more significant psychiatric and mental health needs.