Exploring the Alignment of Behavior Screening Policies and Practices in US Public School Districts

Although recent studies provide information regarding state-level policies and district-level practices regarding social, emotional, and behavioral screening, the degree to which these policies influence screening practices is unknown. As such, the purpose of this exploratory study was to compare state- and district-level policies and reported practices around school-based social, emotional, and behavioral screening.

We obtained data for the present study from three sources: (1) a recent systematic review of state department of education websites; (2) a national survey of 1330 US school districts; and (3) a Web search and review of policy manuals published by the 1330 school districts. Comparative analyses were used to identify similarities and differences across state and district policies and practices.

Of the 1330 districts searched, 911 had policy manuals available for review; 87 of these policy manuals, which represented 10 states, met inclusion criteria, and thus, were included in analyses. Discrepancies were found across state and district policies and across state social, emotional, and behavioral screening guidance and district practices, but consistencies did exist across district policies within the same state.

District-level guidance around social, emotional, and behavioral screening appears to be limited. Our findings suggest a disconnect between state- and district-level social, emotional, and behavioral screening guidance and district reported practices, which signifies the need to identify the main influences on district- and school-level screening practices.