Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Regional ESDs expand behavioral‑health services; telehealth and Student Assistance Program pilots show early promise
Summary
OSPI told the House Education Committee funding to ESDs has increased in recent biennia and described pilots — including telehealth in five ESDs and an expanded Student Assistance Program evaluated by the UW SMART Center — that officials said are producing positive results but remain limited in scale.
OSPI officials told the House Education Committee that Educational Service Districts (ESDs) have taken on a growing role in delivering or coordinating school‑based behavioral‑health services and that state funding for those regional services has grown substantially.
"We rely on [ESDs] quite heavily," Dixie Groenenfelder, executive director of student engagement and support at OSPI, said. OSPI said funding for ESD behavioral‑health work in recent years rose ‘‘from $17,000,000 to $40,000,000 per biennium’’ in the most recent budget cycles.
Committee members heard specifics about several pilots and programs:
Already have an account? Log in
Subscribe to keep reading
Unlock the rest of this article — and every article on Citizen Portal.
- Unlimited articles
- AI-powered breakdowns of topics, speakers, decisions, and budgets
- Instant alerts when your location has a new meeting
- Follow topics and more locations
- 1,000 AI Insights / month, plus AI Chat
