Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Student Mental Health topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Lincoln Public Schools approves school-based therapy contracts and remote school-psychology support
Summary
The Lincoln Public Schools Board approved renewal of in-school therapy contracts with five community providers and a new agreement for remote school-psychology services intended to support special-education compliance, with board members noting demand and wait lists.
The Lincoln Public Schools Board of Education on July 22 approved continuation contracts with five community behavioral-health providers to deliver therapy in schools and also approved a separate agreement for remote school-psychology services to support special-education teams.
The board approved the student services agreements with Blue Valley Behavioral Health, Family Service, HopeSpoke, Lutheran Family Services and Morning Star Counseling and waived a second reading so the providers could begin outreach as administrators return to campuses. The board separately approved an agreement with ProCare Therapy Incorporated for remote school-psychology services aimed at assessment, record review and compliance work for individualized education program (IEP) teams.
District staff told the board these in-school contracts provide about 700 hours of therapy support each week and are offered free to students and families through the student’s community school. Mike (staff), who presented the item, said, “What you have before you on this item is a continuation of service to provide, therapy through local schools for our students and families.” He said the partnerships “help provide approximately 700 hours of therapy support each week for our students and families.”
Board members emphasized the contracts’ value while noting access limits. One board member said the providers still maintain waiting lists “of 6 months to a year” depending on staffing and location. The board approved waiving second reading and passed the contracts by roll call.
On the separate ProCare item, district staff described the agreement as a resource to help school psychologists complete assessments, review records for reevaluations and participate in IEP team meetings. Dr. Gilotti (staff) told the board the remote services are designed as supplemental professional support rather than remote therapy, saying, “It is not individuals who be on the phone or on remote, doing Zoom therapy sessions.” The district said in-person therapy for students would continue through the local provider contracts already approved.
Board members said the ProCare agreement is intended to relieve workload pressures in an area with staffing shortages and to support compliance and timeliness for special-education work. The board approved the ProCare agreement by roll call.
The board discussion included requests to monitor the new remote arrangement’s effect and gather feedback from the school psychology team; staff said they will report back through committee work during the school year. No change to the cost of the in-school therapy program or specific contract dollar amounts were announced during the meeting.
The approvals come as the district highlighted broader efforts on student well-being and said administrators are preparing for the start of the school year.
