Baldwin County Schools to consider moving forward with mental health school

The Baldwin County Board of Education could vote this week on a measure to move forward on a plan to bring an AltaPointe mental health day school to the county.

Previous discussions revealed AltaPointe would model the school after West Mobile Academy, a day treatment program operated by BayPointe Hospital. Representatives from AltaPointe will present a plan at the BOE work session on Tuesday.

The Mobile school is for students who are unable to maintain appropriate behaviors in a public school setting due to issues such as anxiety, aggression and hyperactivity, among other issues.

AltaPointe and Baldwin County Public Schools already have day treatment services for students, which is staffed by special education teachers and AltaPointe’s treatment team. Those classrooms are provided in Fairhope and require a psychiatric diagnosis and approval by the school system.

Concerned citizens are asking the school board to table the initiative to allow for more information to be made public.

In a letter to Superintendent Eddie Tyler, obtained by 1819 News, citizens are asking for transparency. They want to know about costs to the school system and state taxpayers. They also want to know if parental consent and a mental health diagnosis will be required for students to attend the school.

“Our children deserve thoughtful, transparent, and accountable leadership—especially when their education and mental health are at stake,” the letter states.

The letter also inquired about the safeguards that would be implemented to prevent inappropriate referrals and how parental consent would be managed.

“The community deserves transparency on how student progress will be tracked and how long-term outcomes will be measured,” the letter states. “What plan(s) and measurements do you have in place that demonstrate aggregate scores of improvement?  The public deserves the right to know if programs are successful and worth their taxpayer dollars.”

Another concern is the potential unintended consequences for students who attend the school, such as being denied future opportunities due to the student’s history of counseling.

Baldwin County Schools told 1819 News many of the questions will be answered on Tuesday evening.

The work session will be in Loxley, starting at 5 p.m. The board meeting will be on Thursday in Bay Minette, starting at 5:30 p.m.

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