Description:
Understanding Tier 2 Mental Health Supports involves establishing a systematic process for identifying students who may need additional social, emotional, or behavioral support and connecting them with appropriate interventions. Schools use multiple sources of information—including universal screening, academic and behavioral data, attendance, student and family input, and teacher observations—to identify needs and make data-informed decisions about support.
Importance:
Students experiencing mental health or wellness concerns do not always demonstrate obvious externalizing behaviors. Anxiety, withdrawal, depression, school avoidance, changes in engagement, and other internalizing concerns may be less visible and can interfere with learning and participation. A systematic Tier 2 process helps schools identify students earlier and provide support before concerns become more significant.
Critical Features:
- Clear criteria and procedures for identifying students needing additional support
- Multiple sources of student data
- Appropriate use of universal social, emotional, and behavioral screening
- Team-based data review and problem solving
- Student and family voice in decision making
- Matching interventions to identified needs
- Evidence-based or evidence-informed interventions
- Clear intervention goals and progress-monitoring procedures
- Defined procedures for intensifying, fading, or changing support
- Coordination with Tier 1 and Tier 3 systems
The Center on PBIS identifies universal screening, data-based decision making, coordinated intervention selection, and progress monitoring as important features of an integrated mental health and MTSS approach.
Implementation Tips:
- Establish a consistent process for requesting assistance for academic, behavioral, social-emotional, and mental health concerns.
- Use multiple data sources rather than relying on a single indicator.
- Consider both externalizing and internalizing patterns of concern.
- Establish clear decision rules for when students receive Tier 2 support.
- Match interventions to the student's identified needs rather than simply assigning a standard intervention.
- Include students and families in intervention planning whenever appropriate.
- Establish a baseline and clearly defined outcome measures.
- Monitor both intervention fidelity and student response.
- Establish a clear pathway for moving students to more intensive support when Tier 2 is insufficient.
Websites for Additional Information:
Description:
Connecting Mental Health & MTSS involves integrating mental health and wellness supports within the school's existing multi-tiered system rather than creating a separate system of services. The Interconnected Systems Framework (ISF) provides one approach for aligning mental health, PBIS, social-emotional-behavioral supports, data systems, and community partnerships within a unified MTSS.
Importance:
When mental health services operate separately from schoolwide systems, students and staff may experience fragmented supports, unclear referral pathways, and duplicated efforts. Integrating mental health within MTSS creates a more coordinated continuum of support and allows schools to use shared systems, data, teaming structures, and practices to address students' academic, social, emotional, behavioral, and mental health needs.
Critical Features:
- Mental health integrated within existing MTSS structures
- Shared leadership and teaming
- Common data-based decision-making processes
- Alignment of mental health and PBIS/SEB practices
- Clearly defined roles for school and mental health professionals
- Collaboration with community mental health providers
- Student and family engagement
- A continuum of prevention and intervention
- Shared progress-monitoring and evaluation processes
- Attention to cultural and contextual responsiveness
Implementation Tips:
- Identify existing mental health, SEL, PBIS, and wellness initiatives.
- Map existing services across Tiers 1, 2, and 3.
- Identify gaps, duplication, and opportunities for alignment.
- Include mental health professionals and community partners in MTSS planning.
- Establish common referral and problem-solving processes.
- Use existing MTSS/PBIS teams whenever possible rather than creating parallel teams.
- Clarify responsibilities among educators, school mental health professionals, and community providers.
- Include student and family perspectives in system planning.
- Use data to determine whether integrated supports are improving student outcomes.
Websites for Additional Information:
Description:
Team-based problem solving is a structured process in which school teams use data to identify concerns, analyze contributing factors, develop action plans, and monitor outcomes. Effective Tier 1 teams collaborate regularly to make informed decisions that strengthen schoolwide systems and supports.
This process promotes shared ownership, efficient meetings, and consistent implementation of prevention-focused practices.
Importance:
When problem-solving is unstructured or inconsistent, schools may struggle to move from identifying problems to implementing effective solutions. Team-based problem solving creates systems for collaborative decision-making and ensures actions are linked directly to data and outcomes.
Effective team-based problem solving supports:
- More efficient and productive meetings
- Improved consistency in decision-making
- Stronger alignment between identified needs and action plans
- Increased staff collaboration and shared ownership
- Better implementation and monitoring of schoolwide practices
Critical Features:
- Representative team membership: Teams include individuals with varied roles and perspectives
- Defined meeting structures and roles: Teams use agendas, facilitators, data analysts, and action planning processes
- Data-based decision-making: Discussions and solutions are guided by data rather than opinions alone
- Clear problem identification: Teams define concerns specifically and objectively
- Action-oriented planning: Meetings result in clear next steps, responsibilities, and timelines
- Ongoing monitoring: Teams review progress and adjust plans based on outcomes
Implementation Tips:
- Establish regular meeting schedules and consistent routines
- Use a structured problem-solving model such as TIPS (Team-Initiated Problem Solving)
- Define meeting roles clearly to improve efficiency and participation
- Focus on solvable problems and measurable goals
- Document decisions and action steps consistently
- Build time for reviewing implementation and outcomes—not just identifying concerns
Description:
Data systems and sources are the foundation of effective Tier 1 decision-making within a multi-tiered system of support (MTSS). Schools use multiple sources of academic, behavioral, attendance, climate, and engagement data to understand student and system needs, identify trends, and guide action planning.
At Tier 1, data systems help schools move from reactive decision-making to proactive, prevention-focused practices that support all students.
Importance:
Without reliable and accessible data systems, schools may rely on assumptions or isolated incidents when making decisions. Comprehensive data systems allow teams to identify strengths, detect emerging concerns early, and evaluate whether supports and practices are effective.
Strong data systems support:
- More proactive and efficient problem-solving
- Early identification of schoolwide needs and trends
- Improved alignment between data and interventions
- Greater consistency and transparency in decision-making
- More equitable practices and outcomes for students
Critical Features:
- Use of multiple data sources: Schools review academic, behavioral, attendance, climate, and engagement data together
- Accessible and organized systems: Data are easy for teams to access, interpret, and use
- Regular data collection and review: Teams examine data consistently throughout the year
- Clear definitions and procedures: Staff use consistent methods for entering and interpreting data
- Disaggregation of data: Data are reviewed across student groups to identify patterns and inequities
- Alignment with school goals: Data systems support school improvement priorities and MTSS implementation
Implementation Tips:
- Start with a small number of meaningful data sources before expanding systems
- Develop consistent routines and schedules for data review
- Train staff on accurate data collection and interpretation practices
- Use visual displays (graphs, dashboards, summaries) to improve accessibility
- Focus on trends and patterns rather than isolated incidents
- Ensure teams understand how data connect to action planning and decision-making