Why Are So Many Students with Disabilities Being Referred for Mental Health Crisis Assessments?
- Mary Patton
- 4 days ago
- 4 min read
What one Kentucky district’s data can teach us about supporting students with disabilities.
Every Parent Should Ask This Question
Schools have an important responsibility to respond when a student experiences a genuine mental health crisis. Crisis response protocols save lives and are an essential part of school safety.
But another important question deserves attention:
Are students with disabilities being referred for mental health crisis assessments at rates far exceeding their representation in the student population?
Recently, I reviewed records from a Kentucky public school district that prompted me to ask exactly that question.
The Numbers
In the district I reviewed:
• Students with disabilities represented approximately 16% of total enrollment.
• Yet approximately 47% of all school-based mental health crisis referrals involved students receiving special education services with an IEP or Section 504 accommodations.
In other words…
Students with disabilities accounted for nearly one out of every two crisis referrals despite representing only about one out of every six students enrolled. This raises important questions about whether students with disabilities are being referred at disproportionately higher rates than their nondisabled peers.
That disparity alone does not prove discrimination or that any individual referral was inappropriate.
However, it does raise important questions.
Questions Worth Asking
When students with disabilities are disproportionately represented in crisis referrals, families and school teams should consider:
• Are disability-related behaviors being mistaken for mental health emergencies?
• Are positive behavioral interventions and supports being implemented consistently?
• Have Functional Behavioral Assessments (FBAs) been completed when appropriate?
• Are Behavior Intervention Plans (BIPs) individualized and effective?
• Are repeated crisis referrals prompting ARC meetings and IEP revisions?
• Are staff adequately trained in disability-specific supports before a situation escalates?
These are questions about educational systems—not blame.
What IDEA Requires
The Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) requires schools to consider:
• Positive behavioral interventions and supports when behavior interferes with learning.
• Parent participation in educational decision-making.
• Appropriate evaluations.
• Individualized educational programming.
Repeated crisis referrals may indicate that additional supports, evaluations, or IEP revisions should be considered.
What the Data Cannot Tell Us
It is important to be careful with conclusions.
The data do not tell us:
• whether any individual referral was appropriate;
• whether any district violated IDEA;
• whether students actually experienced mental health emergencies.
Most importantly this data cannot tell us to the degree parents were included in the referrals, whether consent was provided or to the extent parent participation is accepted and welcomed. Please refer back to my previous blog post regarding Pasco Florida school district and Department of Justice Investigation.
The DOJ investigation concluded that the district failed to adequately modify policies and improperly excluded students with disabilitics through the use of:
• Suspensions
• Threat assessments
• Law enforcement referrals
• Crisis interventions
Key provisions required by DOJ included within Settlement Agreement:
FBA/BIP Review: School District must consider whether students need:
• New FBAS
Updated FBA:
• Revised BIPs
when students experience:
• Repeated suspensions
• Law enforcement involvement
• Mental health crisis events
• Multiple threat assessments
Disability Considerations: Threat assessment teams in this district must consider:
• Whether the student has a disability
• Whether behavior is related to disability
• Whether accommodations were implemented
• Whether supports were implemented
Parent Participation within Pascoe Agreement: Parents must be given opportunities to provide input during threat assessment processe nvolving students with disabilities.
IEP Team Involvement: IEP teams must be informed when significant threat assessment findings occur.
Reintegration Planning: Schools must conduct reintegration planning following:
Threat assessments
Law enforcement involvement
Mental health crisis removals
Other significant behavioral events
Data Collection: Districts must track:
mcal assessments
Disability status
Referrals
Behavioral supports
FBA/BIP implementation
Outcomes
The data reviewed regarding the mental health referrals for crisis in Ky simply show a pattern that deserves closer examination.
Why This Matters
When almost half of all crisis referrals involve students with disabilities, we should ask whether schools have sufficient guidance on distinguishing:
• disability-related behavior,
• communication challenges,
• emotional regulation,
• and true mental health emergencies.
Those distinctions matter for students, families, educators, and first responders.
My Hope
This is not about criticizing schools.
It is about improving them. This is about protecting children whose behavior is a manifestation of their disability- there is a difference.
Kentucky educators work hard every day to support students with complex needs. Families want the same thing schools want—a safe, supportive learning environment where students receive appropriate educational services. Parents of children with disabilities and those who live with a disability also deserve to be safe.
Conversations about these issues should be driven by data, collaboration, and a shared commitment to improving outcomes for students with disabilities.
Important data information regarding this application: all referrals were not provided as graduates or transfers were not provided.
The data referenced in this report was obtained through a lawful request made pursuant to the Kentucky Open Records Act, KRS 61.870–61.884, which provides the public with the right to inspect and obtain nonexempt public records maintained by public agencies.
DOJ Pascoe Florida link : https://www.justice.gov/archives/opa/pr/justice-department-secures-agreement-florida-school-district-protect-civil-rights-students
DOJ Pascoe Florida Agreement :
Mary Beth Patton is the founder of M. Patton Special Education Advocacy & Consulting. She works with families across Kentucky to help parents understand special education, participate meaningfully in ARC/IEP meetings, and advocate for individualized educational supports for students with disabilities.
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