New Hanover Schools approve five-year mental health improvement plan

The New Hanover County Board of Education unanimously approved a revised school mental health improvement plan on July 29, directing staff to implement an updated training schedule, suicide-risk referral protocol and continuing partnerships with community providers. The plan responds to a state requirement that districts adopt and review a school-based mental health plan every five years and lays out required components including universal prevention, early intervention, referral/treatment and reentry procedures, according to district staff. District staff said the plan aligns with North Carolina State Board of Education guidance and includes school-based therapists at every school, an annual staff training schedule, and memoranda of understanding (MOUs) with community providers to expand capacity. Lisa Brenner, who the district identified in the meeting as director for student support, and a district leader presenting the plan said the district is using partnerships with Trillium and Coastal Horizons to limit wait lists and provide parent workshops and substance-use prevention programming. Board members raised implementation questions about staffing and classroom workloads. Board member Judy Justice, who represents one of the board seats, said families had reported incidents of bullying not always being intervened on by staff; the district responded that it uses an investigation protocol and the Say Something anonymous-reporting system to route concerns to school teams for follow-up. Presenters said written parent consent is required before school-based therapy is initiated for an individual student. The board packet attached a multi-page training schedule that identifies who must receive two-hour refreshers and which staff must complete a six-hour initial training. Presenters said the district had submitted DPI reports required by statute, and that the plan’s components will be reported to the state school board as required. The vote was 7 to 0 in favor. Board members thanked staff and community partners for work on the plan and asked for continued reporting on implementation metrics, including use of the anonymous-reporting system and counts of school-based mental health contacts.