ORLANDO, Fla. — Orange County Public School leaders put mental health center stage during Tuesday's board meeting, putting forth a framework for additional help during the 2022-2023 year.


What You Need To Know

  • Tuesday night's Orange County Public Schools board meeting focused on supporting student with mental health resources

  • As part of a new initiative, there will now be full-time social worker positions in all high schools, middle schools and K-8 schools

  • Each school will also have a mental health designee who facilitates collaboration with all student services team members

When it comes to the topic of mental health, OCPS leaders said the main goal is supporting the students.

This year, they said the goal is to improve students’ self-management skills, in order for classroom success. They also want to increase mental health services for students that need them.

The framework for this year is to increase the number of social workers, mental health counselors and psychologists at county schools.

"It has been an incredible lift, it has been an incredible time and we are excited we’re bringing on more on more support for our students," said Superintendent Maria F. Vazquez.

This move is something leaders say has been in the works for a while, and as part of this plan, each school will also have a mental health designee who facilitates collaboration with all student services team members.

District leaders said they hope to continue this trajectory by adding more support staff to ensure student safety.

"I’m so happy that this goes so deep with helping our children in our schools in our community," said District 3 board member Linda Kobert. "But we talked about the importance about our PTAs knowing about these services that are available," 

The school district also has a list of mental health resources posted on the OCPS website, which includes signs parents can look for if they think their child is struggling.