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…