Nebraska special education, mental health needs increasing

“What we’re seeing, through the court appointments, is many children, once they stopped (going to school) during COVID, they didn’t come back,” Elizabeth Eynon-Kokrda, general counsel of Omaha’s Education Rights Counsel, told the panel. “Right this minute, we are representing well over 20 children that have missed two or more years of school. They just didn’t come back. And part of the reason they didn’t come back is because their disability is standing in their way of access.”

She and others testified about the continuing impact of COVID-19 Wednesday as part of the final briefing from the Nebraska Advisory Committee to the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights, which is collecting information about the pandemic on K-12 education. Past briefings featured perspectives from higher education officials and discussions about the state’s teacher shortage. 

The Nebraska committee, a 13-person group of volunteers, will provide findings and recommendations from public testimony to the federal commission. 

Eynon-Kokrda said need for services for special education students has continued to grow each year since 2020. Her nonprofit works with local school districts to increase access to school services for all students, especially those with special education or with disciplinary needs.

Teacher shortages, which are also more extreme in the special education field, have contributed to special education students not receiving the services they need in Nebraska schools.

At the beginning of the 2023-24 school year, Nebraska had more than 900 reported unfilled teaching positions, according to the latest data from the Nebraska Department of Education.

Almost one in four of those unfilled positions were in special education — 209 jobs in total. Last year, Nebraska had 143 unfilled positions in special education. In the 2018-19 school year, there were 73.

Eynon-Kokrda said special education teachers are leaving — especially in the larger school districts — because as special education needs are growing, children are suffering more, are becoming more violent in school and are less equipped with social emotional skills.

“Special education teachers have not returned,” Eynon-Kokrda said.

At the beginning of the 2023-24 school year, Omaha Public Schools, where more than one in five children receive special education services, had to reassign students in three North Omaha elementary schools because there were no special education teachers. Plus, more than 1,200 special education students had to switch to virtual speech therapy because of a lack of staff. 

The district has recently implemented changes to increase special education recruitment and retention, such as a pay increase for special education teachers who work after hours or teachers who have higher caseloads because of vacant positions.

The pandemic also exacerbated youth mental health issues and those challenges continue, said Zainab Rida, an equity officer with the Nebraska Department of Education.

“We don’t have the infrastructure, we don’t have the services, we have shortage in providers,” Rida said. “When you talk about…refugees and immigrant (students), we don’t have services for them, and it’s continued as a result of COVID. Mental health needs — especially when it comes to K-12 — it’s really significant, but unfortunately, we do not have the infrastructure to address that.”

Rida said Nebraska students, along with students around the nation, experienced increased anxiety, depression and trauma through the pandemic and are still struggling today.

One in 6 children in the U.S., from age 6 to 17, experience a mental health disorder, according to 2023 data from the National Alliance on Mental Health. Suicide was the second-leading cause of death among all U.S. children ages 10 to 14.

Jon Cerny, superintendent of Bancroft-Rosalie Public Schools and Nebraska Rural Schools Association board member, said he’s seen youth mental health issues grow “exponentially.” But he’s also seen school districts across the state ramp up efforts to offer more resources to students.

Cerny said school districts are more willing to spend money on mental health personnel and invest in initiatives like telehealth counseling.

“There are lots of things going in place right now across Nebraska,” Cerny said. “I think the mental health needs are now more important in the school environment. They’re seen as more important and our policies, I think, are addressing that.”

Rida said the shortage of mental health providers and stigma around mental illness is still contributing to chronic absenteeism in schools.

More than 1 in 5 Nebraska students are chronically absent, she said, meaning they miss 10% or more of school days in an academic year. Many state officials have blamed the pandemic for the high numbers, saying it changed students’ attitudes about attendance.

The rate of absenteeism has dropped from previous years — in the 2021-22 school year, almost 1 in 4 students were chronically absent. 

“I think one of the problems that resulted from COVID is that we sent a message to kids that school isn’t necessary for you to attend,” Cerny said. “You can miss a whole quarter of school and it doesn’t make a difference. So now kids come back to school with the attitude of ‘You know what, why am I here?'”

An aversion to school has contributed to Nebraska’s chronic absenteeism, plus challenges with discipline and school climate, Rida said.

“There is a growing recognition of the significant impact that health-related factors really have on educational outcome, addressing gaps and barriers to mental health services is important for reducing chronic absenteeism and to promote students’ well-being and academic success,” she said. “And unfortunately, in Nebraska, these gaps and barriers are significant, particularly in small districts.”

Eynon-Kokrda said each Nebraska school district deals with absences differently. 

It’s each district’s responsibility to alert their county attorney’s office about students who accrue more than 20 days of excused or unexcused absences, but state statute also allows districts to come up with a collaborative plan with families who have children with a lot of absences instead.

“School districts make a judgment call about when they’re going to refer and why they’re going to refer. Unfortunately, what happens sometimes with the referrals is that our perception gets in the way of our reality,” Eynon-Kokrda said. “Some school districts may say, ‘You know, after 20 days, I’m done. That’s it.’ Others wait until 60 (days).”

Members of the public can submit written comments to the commission about these topics. Comments will be considered until June 15 and can be sent to Victoria Moreno at vmoreno@usccr.gov.