The Student Health Working Group of the Select Committee on School Safety met on Monday, April 23, during which Committee Members continued review of the roles of school personnel as related to student mental health. The Joint Legislative Task Force on Education Finance Reform (2017) met on Wednesday, April 25 to hear an extensive presentation on the impacts of different funding models on schools. 

In the coming week, the Joint Legislative Education Oversight Committee will meet on Tuesday, May 1 for discussion on a draft report and approval by the Committee. See meeting agenda. Also, the Select Committee on School Safety will meet on Wednesday, May 2.

General Assembly Focused on Teacher Pay

Speaker Tim Moore (@NCHouseSpeaker) tweeted at 9:33 am on Fri, Apr 27, 2018: 

The N.C. House will provide its 5th consecutive teacher pay raise to educators in 2018. Our state is top-2 for fastest rising teacher pay in the U.S., 2 years in a row. For example, 11th year teachers received a $10,000 raise since 2014, a 32% increase. https://t.co/3gMtD58OUX

(https://twitter.com/NCHouseSpeaker/status/989860121466503170?s=09)

The Joint Legislative Task Force on Education Finance Reform

The Joint Legislative Task Force on Education Finance Reform (2017) met on Wednesday, April 25 and heard a presentation from Dr. Marguerite Roza, Director, Edunomics Lab, Georgetown University and Senior Research Affiliate. Dr. Roza described the current funding system for North Carolina and emphasized local flexibility. She focused on factors around schools she called "return on investment superstars" that manage great student outcomes for their level of funding. Dr. Roza also noted the existence of funding disparities at the local level and highlighted that ESSA requires reporting of individual school funding levels. Her presentation can be found here. 

House Select Committee on School Safety

The Select Committee on School Safety met on Monday, April 23 to consider student mental health and safety. They heard a variety of presentations on the roles of school personnel, programs, and partnerships in student safety. Before closing, the committee considered draft recommendations for school psychologist licensure reciprocity, required threat assessment teams in every school, and peer to peer counseling programs.

Liz Newlin, RN, BSN, NCSN, Immediate Past President of the School Nurse Association of North Carolina (SNANC) presented on the current abilities and roles of school nurses in the mental health of students. Her presentation can be found here. Newlin emphasized the fact that school nurses are the only clinical health care professional on school campuses. Furthermore, only 10% of LEAs provide one nurse per school. In North Carolina, each school nurse serves between 1 and 6 schools. Newlin concluded by emphasizing the high level of training that nurses have and the large role they are able to play in student mental health. 

Sandra Williams-McGlone, Bertie County Schools, President-elect, North Carolina School Social Workers Association described the role school social workers play in meeting the physical and emotional needs of students. Her presentation can be found here. Williams-McGlone emphasized that school social workers provide important support to students, school staff, parents, and the LEA. In particular, school social workers ensure that children are well taken care of and they provide crisis intervention for students. A recommendation highlighted in the presentation included increasing the number of school social workers to meet the needs of the students.

Deborah Richardson, Alliance Behavioral Healthcare School Based Care Coordination Supervisor described the work of Alliance Behavioral Healthcare in partnership with Wake County to improve student mental health. Her presentation is linked here. Richardson explained the disconnect between psychiatric care and schools. To address this disconnect, Alliance Behavioral Healthcare partnered with Wake County to facilitate the exchange of information about students who have received psychiatric care. This has allowed schools to provide more effective care for students. This partnership also allows schools to refer students directly to high quality professional psychiatric care. 

Dr. Sue Kreuser, Healthful Living Director of Carteret County Schools and individuals from Newport Middle School presented on the Signs of Suicide (SOS) program that they have implemented in their school. They emphasized their SOS curriculum that addresses mental health and the many preventative benefits of discussing suicide that occur through that program. Students learn to recognize warning signs and take care of themselves as well as their peers. This program also educates parents on mental health crisis warning signs. Presenters from Newport Middle School included Don Griffin, Newport Middle School Counselor; Robbie Coleman, Seventh grade student; Ally Dew, Seventh grade student; and Amber Lugo, Seventh grade student. The presentation can be found here.

See this link for a complete list of bills impacting K-12 education.