Madison County plans districtwide MTSS behavioral rollout and proposes five additional school psychologists

Madison County Schools officials presented a districtwide behavioral support plan on March 7, describing steps to expand Multi‑Tiered Systems of Support (MTSS) for behavior, add at‑risk options and staff the district with more clinical capacity. The presentation outlined phased implementation, training expectations and a staffing proposal for five additional school psychologists.

District staff said the goal is to ensure “100% of every child in our district should get what they need every single day,” and framed MTSS behavioral work as required by the state and necessary to respond to rising student mental‑health and disruptive behavior trends. “What we wanna do is just kinda talk about, a behavioral support plan, and it's comprehensive and it covers multiple areas,” said a staff member leading the presentation. The team said the state Department of Education (ALSDE) is directing districts to implement MTSS and that Madison County is coordinating with ALSDE coaches.

Why it matters: School leaders told the board that large numbers of students are using school mental‑health services and that a comparatively small group of students with severe needs is consuming disproportionate staff time. Presenters said strengthening MTSS will both support students and reduce classroom disruption that contributes to teacher burnout.

Key details and next steps

- Scope of existing services: staff cited 7,293 mental‑health sessions logged from August through January in district support programs (enrichment/NOVA center) and described additional counseling and outside‑agency sessions not captured in that tally.

- Discipline and referrals: staff reported data including 234 referrals for assault, 953 referrals for disorderly conduct, 719 instances labeled ISS (in‑school suspension), 234 out‑of‑school suspensions (context varied by category), 745 referrals for defiance and additional totals for ISS/out‑of‑school suspensions cited during the presentation. The presenters said these figures reflect early‑grade and district‑wide problems as well as higher‑severity cases concentrated among a smaller number of students.

- MTSS rollout: staff laid out a multi‑phase timeline. Phase 0 (current): district MTSS team is working with ALSDE coaches to create shared language and foundational work; local schools are asked to form MTSS work teams (about five members, including an administrator, nurse, counselor/social worker and strategically chosen educators). Phase 1 (next school year): local MTSS teams will meet three times with ALSDE coaches; Phase 2 will expand tier‑2 interventions and coaching; Phase 3 will continue tier‑1 and tier‑2 work and develop tier‑3 structures for a small cohort of students.

- Training and staffing: the district proposed focused training for MTSS teams (ALSDE‑led sessions dispersed over the next year), coaching for teachers and aides, and voluntary short instructional modules ("make and take" strategy clips) for classroom staff. District staff emphasized that MTSS work teams, not every classroom teacher, will take the lead in building infrastructure intended to reduce long‑term classroom workload.

- At‑risk program expansion: staff reviewed current temporary placements (PACE) and homebound services for students who need short‑term or medically‑driven support and outlined a proposed MCVA LEAP pathway (Learning, Empowerment and Progress) for grades 9–12 that would allow flexible enrollment, virtual or hybrid options and targeted at‑risk supports. MCVA LEAP would be monitored and staffed by district at‑risk personnel and include action plans to reintegrate students.

- Therapeutic day school concept: district staff described an intention to design a narrow, small‑cohort therapeutic day school for students with severe behavioral and emotional needs. Presenters said the program would prioritize intensive structure and mental‑health services, with a goal of reintegrating students into their neighborhood schools when data show improvement.

- Proposal for school psychologists: staff proposed adding five full‑time school psychologists (and converting four current staff who already hold school‑psychologist credentials from psychometrist roles), assigning eight psychologists to the elementary schools with the highest need plus one lead psychologist. Presenters said psychometrist roles would remain for special‑education evaluation work but that adding psychologists would expand capacity for functional behavioral assessments, behavior intervention plans and schoolwide supports. The proposal included an example of different contract lengths (a proposed lead on a 202‑day contract vs. the standard 187‑day schedule for others) and noted salary‑schedule considerations.

What board members asked and cautions

Board members pressed presenters for examples of “expansive opportunities” under tier‑2 interventions, asked how MTSS work teams will avoid adding teacher workload, and sought clarity on how training will be scheduled around testing and other high‑demand periods. Staff responded that the ALSDE requirement specifies MTSS work teams, that the district negotiated to spread ALSDE training across the year to avoid concentrated absences, and that MTSS teams are expected to front‑load work that reduces classroom burden over time.

Direct quotes from presenters included: “An ACE … every time we put into place a teacher, a program, something that positively impacts that child, that positive interaction eliminates the ACE,” and district student‑services staff said plainly, “Restorative comes after the consequence,” to clarify how restorative practices fit alongside discipline.

Funding and approvals

No formal board action was taken at the March 7 meeting on staffing or budget changes tied to the MTSS plan. District staff said they will bring formal personnel requests (job descriptions and budget impacts for the proposed school‑psychologist positions) to the board at a later date for approval. The timeline presented aimed to make new positions effective for the 2025–26 school year if the board approves the requests when they appear.

Community context and partners

The district said it is partnering with ALSDE (Alabama State Department of Education), and identified a Dr. Solis from the University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB) as a technical partner. Staff cited examples of other Alabama districts’ therapeutic programs (including Tuscaloosa) as models under consideration.

Ending

District leaders characterized the MTSS behavioral plan as a multi‑year, state‑aligned effort intended to shift the system from reactive discipline to tiered prevention and to add clinical capacity so that teachers, principals and students can operate in safer, more stable classrooms. Staff emphasized they will return to the board with concrete personnel and budget requests before positions are created or funded.