Special educators are responsible for providing quality reading instruction to students with emotional and behavioral disorders (EBD), but they often experience difficulties fulfilling this responsibility, especially for students with EBD who are placed in dedicated settings, including self-contained classes. Administrators can help by ensuring special educators have what they need to provide effective reading instruction. We highlight how administrators can leverage special educators’ working conditions to improve the reading instruction that students with EBD receive in self-contained settings.

Using data from the National Longitudinal Transition Study 2 (NLTS2), we examined risk and protective factors associated with post-secondary outcomes among youth with emotional and behavioral disorders (EBD). Results indicate that, compared to their male peers, females with EBD demonstrated higher levels of social and behavioral skills and higher grades. We also discovered discrepancies between teacher reports and female students’ self-reports of academic, social, and behavioral competencies, suggesting females with EBD underestimate their own skills or that teachers are not fully aware of these students’ areas of difficulty. We discuss implications of these results related to existing prevention and intervention strategies for females with EBD.

Accessible summaryWhat is known on this subject? Police are often called on to respond to student mental health needs in schools. School nurses, who are part of interdisciplinary mental health teams, may collaborate with responding police officers. Currently, there are no reviews of the literature describing the use of police to respond to mental health crises in schools. What this paper adds to existing knowledge? This systematic review found six articles addressing police response to student mental health needs in elementary and secondary schools. Articles primarily focused on the School Resource Officer programme; however, there was a lack of research on the effectiveness of this and other programmes in addressing the mental health needs of students. This paper highlights a significant gap in knowledge about how police are involved in responding to student mental health crises within schools. What are the implications for practice? Understanding how police respond to mental health crises on school campuses will help nurses serve in collaborative roles with responding officers. This study highlights gaps in research that need to be addressed for researchers and policymakers to best support students in crisis. AbstractIntroductionResponse to student mental health crises involves interdisciplinary school–community teams, which can include police officers. This paper presents the first systematic review of literature on how police address mental health in school settings. Results have implications for school nurses interacting with responding police.Question/AimHow are police involved in responding to student mental health needs in elementary and secondary schools?MethodUsing the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta‐Analyses (PRISMA) framework, six articles met criteria for inclusion in this review.ResultsTwo themes were identified: (1) descriptions of roles of police in schools and (2) studies presenting programmes or models of police engagement. The most common use of police in schools is through the School Resource Officer model.DiscussionThere are very few studies examining police involvement in mental health response in schools and little data available on whether prevailing models are effective. We are therefore unable to ascertain what impact school police have in responding to mental health crises or the extent to which they interact with school nurses.Implications for practiceUnderstanding mental health crisis responses in schools can inform policy, practice, research and education for police and school providers, including nurses.

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