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Parents and providers press work group for clearer school accountability and family supports
Summary
During public comment several parents and providers urged the work group to ensure the school behavioral-health framework includes clear complaint processes, technical assistance for districts, family-initiated supports and mechanisms that protect people who share lived experience.
Multiple public commenters told the work group that current systems often fail families seeking behavioral-health supports in schools and urged concrete accountability and parent-accessible complaint processes.
Kashi Arora of Seattle Children's asked that provider perspectives be represented on the Leadership Council and urged public accessibility of council meetings. Several parents, including Michelle Whitehead, described years of difficulty obtaining services, obstacles to referrals and investigations they said were inadequate; Whitehead asked the school-based committee to include a formal mechanism for parental complaints, investigations of retaliation or discrimination, and clearer pathways to hold districts accountable beyond IDEA processes.
Commenters also urged that lived-experience participants not be made responsible for enforcing norms and recommended facilitators ensure safety and enforce the full value agreement. Speakers called for family-initiated treatment options, workforce training (for school social workers and other staff), and better outreach to families about programs such as community connectors and state supports.
Work group staff acknowledged the comments will be included in the public record and encouraged written submissions; several presenters and members said the public-comment feedback will inform the draft framework and follow-up implementation planning.
