The IDEA and Children with Mental or Emotional Disorders

Introduction The IDEA and Children with Mental or Emotional Disorders IDEA Identification Rates Inappropriateness of the Federal Definition An Alternative Definition Comparison of Definitions The Alternative Definition and Identification Rates Discussion Recommendations for Action Conclusion Notes Table 1: Number of children 6-21 served under part B, IDEA, compared with estimated number of children with mental disorders and functional Table 2: States' identification rates and modifications to the federal definition of emotional disturbance

Currently, schools often take a punitive, exclusionary approach to the problems exhibited by children with mental and emotional disorders. Zero tolerance is now common for certain behaviors. Such "get tough" policies encourage the exclusion from school of disruptive children, particularly adolescents. Instead of offering special education and related services early, many schools now pass their responsibilities on to the larger society, leaving children in need of help to flounder.

Federal law calls for a better approach to assisting youngsters who are found to have emotional disturbance and who have been referred for special education. The 1997 IDEA amendments renewed the emphasis on addressing behavioral problems proactively and effectively. The law requires inclusion in the child's Individualized Education Plan (IEP) of positive behavioral interventions, which are more appropriate and effective for troubled students than punitive approaches.

While education policy focuses heavily on academic achievement, this should not lead schools to overlook early signs of problems, such as a young child's failure to establish relationships with teachers and peers, that often foretells later school failure.3 Children at the greatest risk for later behavior problems can be identified through effective screening in the early grades,4 and effective interventions exist. But without such interventions, risk factors have a cumulative effect.5 The inevitable result is greater expense and more serious problems for communities down the line.

Correct identification is also critical, to ensure that each child receives appropriate, effective services. Children who have academic difficulties stemming from a mental or emotional disorder will likely not improve their educational performance without mental health services; a program designed for learning-disabled students will probably not be nearly as helpful.

Children with mental disorders are even less likely to succeed if subjected to suspension or expulsion. A recent study found that 73 percent of youth identified with serious emotional disorders who have dropped out of school are arrested within five years. A major national study in 1991 found 35 percent of such students were arrested within two years after leaving school.6 In fact, the prevalence of youth with emotional disabilities is estimated to be at least three to five times greater in juvenile correctional facilities than in public schools.7 School policies that lead children to drop out are not in the best interest of either the child or the wider community.

Schools are increasingly being encouraged to collaborate with local mental health systems to develop services both for students in special education and for students with mental health problems not severe enough to qualify them for such designation.8 The President's Commission on Excellence in Special Education urges that states have the flexibility to combine IDEA funds with those of other agencies.9 Recently, state directors of special education and mental health joined together to issue a concept paper on the importance of such collaborations, with concrete suggestions on how this can be done.10

Collaborative efforts will lessen the burden on the schools and promote school-wide policies that both reduce the effects of mental or emotional disorders in students eligible for IDEA and prevent behavioral problems.11 Schools then should either offer pre-referral mental health services and supports or place children appropriately in special education.

Next: IDEA Identification Rates