Rye Neck Didn't Provide Enough Mental Health Training: DiNapoli

MAMARONECK, NY — When it comes to tackling mental health needs of students, Rye Neck schools did too little, too late, according to a state audit.

According to the just released report issued by NYS Comptroller Thomas DiNapoli, an audit that sampled 20 school districts statewide found they did not provide sufficient mental health training to all staff for the 2020-21 school year by September 15, as required by NYS Education Department regulations. What's more, 90 percent of those districts either did not offer mental health training or provided training that lacked some or all of the recommended components, including how to access crisis support and how to recognize warning signs such as obsessive compulsive, psychotic and eating disorders.

The New York Safe Schools Against Violence in Education Act (SAVE Act) was introduced to help improve safety in schools in 2000. It requires school districts to develop a comprehensive, district-wide school safety plan to addresses crisis intervention, emergency responses and management. The plan developed by each district must include policies and procedures for annual safety training for staff and students, among other things. Based on NYS Education Department guidance, at a minimum, staff should be trained on the mental health componenets recommended by the U.S. Department Health and Human Services addressing "what educators should know." School districts must also certify that all staff have undergone the training, which must contain a component on mental health, along with the date the training was provided.

The Rye Neck Union Free School District was one of those 20 audited school districts. The NYS comptroller's office found that the district did not provide sufficient mental health training to any staff for the 2020-21 school year by September 15, 2020, as required by the NYS Education Department regulations. Ten of the 12 recommended components of mental health that educators should know were not included in the district's training. The auditors also found that district officials did not maintain documentation to support attendance for training so it could not be determined which staff members participated.

SEE: 'Growing Mental Health Crisis In Schools,' DiNapoli Warns

Rye Neck school district officials generally agreed with the comptroller's recommendations and indicated that they would take corrective actions, according to DiNapoli.

"The Rye Neck UFSD will be in compliance with SAVE legislation regarding staff training in mental health for the 2022-23 school year," Superintendent Eric Lutinski wrote in response to the report. "The three components will be addressed by training conducted no later than Septermber 15th and attendance will be documented. Rye Neck was found in compliance with two of the three areas of Mental Health Components (Whom to turn to and How to access support and services) and needed to provide training on Warning signs."

The full report, including the Rye Neck school district's full response, can be found here.

“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. “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. School districts should follow SED guidance so everyone from the superintendent to the substitute teacher is properly trained to identify problems. Our nation is facing a mental health crisis, and we need to help our students.”

The 20 districts audited outside New York City were randomly selected and had varying enrollment sizes. Among those 20, DiNapoli's auditors found just two districts that offered training with all 12 HHS-suggested mental health components. Six districts did not offer training that included any of the 12 components. 12 districts offered trainings that included at least one but not all components.

The most common component included within the training materials in 13 districts was "Whom to Turn To." Only seven districts provided guidance on how to access crisis support. "Trauma and stress-related disorders" was the most addressed warning sign in trainings offered in 11 districts.

Of the 14 districts that offered training that included at least one recommended mental health component, only five maintained records of which staff attended the training. Of those five, auditors found only 51 percent completed the training by September 15, 2020. The staff who did not complete the training by the required date included teachers, assistants, aides, substitutes, coaches, nurses, principals, assistant principals, superintendents, counselors and bus drivers.

The varied explanations district officials provided for why the components were not included in training content, included a lack of awareness of suggestions by HHS, a lack of clear guidance from the NYS Education Department on the required SAVE training and mental health training at some districts was provided throughout the year, instead of by September 15. Most district officials told auditors that the pandemic caused them to focus their attention on returning students to school safely for in-person training which impacted the schools's ability to provide timely mental health training.

DiNapoli said that it is imperative that staff be provided on-time training on warning signs that might be early indicators of mental health issues and concerns.

The full "Mental Health Training Component of the New York SAVE Act" report can be read here.

Detailed reports for all 20 school districts statewide that were audited can be found here.