Improve Competencies for School Administrators in the Areas of Mental Illness, Autism Spectrum Disorders and Positive Behavior Interventions and Supports Fact Sheet

Position
Amend licensure requirements for school administrators to require participation in initial and on-going training on recognizing signs of potential mental illness among students, understanding basic information on autism spectrum disorders and applying positive behavior interventions and supports.

Background Information
Drop out rates for Minnesota students who have emotional-behavior disorders are approximately 69% according to the U.S. Department of Education. In 2004 schools educated 7,307 with autism spectrum disorder, a tenfold increase over the past ten years. Students who have these disorders often encounter an education system that does not understand their disabilities. The 2003 Legislature passed a bill requiring teachers to receive training to understand the early warning signs of mental illness in children and adolescents. School administrators should be required to have the same expertise as teachers in recognizing signs of potential mental illness, understanding autism spectrum disorders and applying positive behavior supports and interventions.

Reasons to Support Improving School Administrator Competencies

• School administrators play a key role in the operation of local schools. They provide training and leadership to teachers. They are often the public face of the local school district and they impact the daily operations of schools.
• Many students with disabilities are being educated in neighborhood schools, in regular classrooms by regular education teachers. Teachers and other school staff interact frequently with students who have disabilities. Sometimes they need support and guidance from administrators. Therefore, school administrators need to have an understanding of potential mental illness, autism and how to use behavior interventions and supports. Without this understanding too many students with these disabilities are not educated appropriately and don’t succeed in school.
• For Minnesota’s businesses to succeed, they need all students to obtain a high quality education so they can become part of the future workforce. Drop-out rates for students with emotional-behavior disorders are too high. The prevalence of autism spectrum disorders is growing.
• A similar law was passed in 2003 applying to teachers. Common sense dictates that if teachers need training in these areas so should school administrators.
• There is a wealth of research which indicates that usage of whole school positive behavioral supports increases the amount of instructional time for teachers and improves the behaviors of students. School administrators should be aware of this research.

This document was prepared using private funding.