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Unfortunately, teachers indicate that they do
not always possess the resources or knowledge
base to function as part of a successful mental
School administrators health team or to repair behaviors disrupting
their classrooms (Kraft et al., 2018). School-
must...determine the critical based mental health supports assist in removing

components necessary to barriers that may be present in accessing mental
health services (Vidourek et al., 2014). Support
promote teacher success as they for mental health provided by school personnel
can offer potential prevention efforts as well as
work to address mental health intervention strategies. All this sounds positive
and appropriate but is not easily accomplished
issues in the classroom. by a single teacher in a typical classroom.

School administrators must do their homework
and determine the critical components
necessary to promote teacher success as they
work to address mental health issues in the classroom. Daily, on-the-job support for
classroom teachers providing mental health instructional programming is a critical
responsibility for school administrators.

District-wide Support Plan Development
The data for RQ 3 concerning the comparison of students with disabilities and
those without indicated that general education students are referred for mental
health issues more often than their peers in special education or with Section 504
accommodations. This is a surprising finding that does not support the assumption
of equal representation between the two populations. Although this study does not
explain why this is the case, it leads to some specific questions. First, the two most
common reasons for referral as a whole were those concerning “behavioral” and
“emotional” issues. Is it possible that general education teachers perceived that
the mental health referral process was the only avenue available in the schools
for obtaining behavior-based services for students without identified disabilities?
Second, is it possible that some special education students exhibiting maladaptive
classroom behaviors were already being served through a personal behavior plan
or even a Behavior Intervention Plan (BIP) developed by the Individual Education
Plan committee? RQ 4 found that the categories of SLD and OHI represented those
with the highest number of mental health requirements for students being served
in special education. These students are most often served in inclusionary general
education classrooms rather than in self-contained settings. These findings further
reinforce the need for an overarching mental health support plan. Obviously, more
whole-school mental health support must be available as teachers cannot address
this issue in isolation. Addressing “behavioral” and “emotional” issues requires a
consistent and detailed set of responses that are readily known and available to all
teachers at the onset of classroom concerns.
Schools are in a prime position to provide needed support and preventative
measures for all students to increase their mental health. For students to achieve,
they need not only a strong education but also support to help foster strong mental
health habits. Trauma, adverse childhood experiences, extreme school discipline
policies, and poverty are just a few of the issues that impact children (Schwitzer et al.,

28 The Delta Kappa Gamma Bulletin: International Journal for Professional Educators