Mental Health Services in Massachusetts IEPs
What mental health services are available through an IEP in Massachusetts?
Massachusetts IEPs may include a wide range of mental health and related services when necessary for a student to benefit from specially designed instruction or to access the general curriculum. Under 603 CMR 28.02(18), 'related services' incorporates the full federal definition at 34 CFR § 300.34, which includes counseling services, psychological services, social work services, and parent counseling and training. Massachusetts-licensed school psychologists, licensed school social workers, and licensed school adjustment counselors deliver these services in educational settings, with licensure standards governed by 603 CMR 7.00. Students placed in approved out-of-district therapeutic day or residential programs receive services under 603 CMR 18.00, and DESE maintains a system of approved therapeutic settings with distinct staffing and programming requirements.
What Massachusetts Requires
Related services including counseling, psychological services, and social work services are available through the IEP when necessary to allow the student to benefit from specially designed instruction or access the general curriculum; the definition of related services in Massachusetts incorporates the federal standard at 34 CFR § 300.34 (603 CMR 28.02(18)).
An IEP may consist solely of related services (including mental health supports) when those services are necessary to allow the student to access the general curriculum, without requiring a separate specially designed instruction component (603 CMR 28.05(4)(a)).
Psychological assessments used to identify the need for mental health-related services must be conducted by a licensed school psychologist, licensed psychologist, or licensed educational psychologist; the optional psychological assessment under 603 CMR 28.04(2)(b) may include an individual psychological examination and may be recommended by the Administrator of Special Education or requested by a parent.
A required component of the initial educational assessment under 603 CMR 28.04(2)(a)(2) must evaluate the student's attention skills, participation behaviors, communication skills, memory, and social relations with groups, peers, and adults; the regulation does not use the phrase 'social-emotional development' but these domains effectively capture social-emotional functioning and are mandated for every initial evaluation.
School social workers and school adjustment counselors providing IEP-related services must hold Massachusetts educator licensure under 603 CMR 7.00, requiring a master's degree in Social Work or Counseling and a practicum of at least 900 hours, of which 450 hours must be working with children, adolescents, and families in an educational setting; the remaining 450 hours may be completed in other relevant settings.
Students whose mental health needs require a more intensive setting may be placed in approved therapeutic day or residential special education schools governed by 603 CMR 18.00; DESE must approve such programs and monitor them for compliance with safety and programming standards.
Key Timelines
The IEP Team must consider the need for mental health-related related services as part of the annual IEP review; parents may request an unscheduled IEP Team meeting at any time to discuss adequacy of mental health supports (603 CMR 28.04(3), 603 CMR 28.05)
Initial evaluation must be completed within 30 school working days of parental consent, and the full process including Team meeting and proposed IEP must be completed within 45 school working days of written parental consent (603 CMR 28.05(1))
Progress on IEP goals addressing social-emotional and mental health needs must be reported to parents at least as frequently as progress reports are issued for non-special education students (603 CMR 28.07)