State education official reports kindergarten-high share of staff assaults, expands regional behavior supports

Superintendent Blatt told the committee the state is expanding targeted behavioral supports for elementary schools after a review of discipline data showed a concentrated share of serious incidents in early grades.

The Strive initiative creates regional networks that connect counties and schools with state-funded supports, Superintendent Blatt said, and the department has hired behavior specialists assigned to four geographic quadrants to provide training and direct classroom assistance for students who have not responded to local interventions.

The update matters because the department’s discipline data show the highest share of incidents coded as battery against a school employee occurred in kindergarten: 19 percent of 131 students identified in the system, Superintendent Blatt said. The department will send teams that include staff from the Marshall Behavioral…