Safe and Supportive Schools

Safe and Supportive School Program

Texas Education Code §37.115 establishes the Safe and Supportive School Program as a systemic, coordinated, multitiered framework designed to improve school climate and address student behavioral and mental health needs. The program emphasizes multidisciplinary collaboration and tiered supports, incorporates required behavioral threat assessment processes, and integrates a comprehensive multi-hazard approach to prevent, prepare for, respond to, and recover from crisis situations within school communities.

Program Structure and Areas of Responsibilities

Work related to the Safe and Supportive School Program is organized into two distinct workstreams: school safety and student support.

School safety focuses on behavioral threat assessments, Sentinel reporting, safety and security audits, crisis preparedness, and physical hardening efforts; additional information is available by contacting schoolsafety@tea.texas.gov. 

Student support is centered on a coordinated, systems-based approach to addressing students’ non-academic needs and is anchored in the Texas Education Agency’s Student Support Framework, which guides school systems and campuses in implementing practices that strengthen school climate, improve student well-being, and establish the conditions necessary for learning.

Together, these two workstreams form an integrated approach to meeting the Safe and Supportive School Program requirements established in Texas Education Code §37.115 through prevention, early intervention, and sustained implementation. The sections that follow focus on the student support components of this work, including the frameworks, systems, and resources campuses and school systems use to implement and sustain effective practices.

Student Support Framework

The Student Support Framework addresses the conditions that influence student success beyond academics by defining essential actions and key practices that support safe, supportive, and responsive learning environments. Organized across interconnected focus areas including mental health, safety, physical wellness, supportive discipline, systems and structures, capacity building, partnerships, and climate and culture, the framework establishes a comprehensive foundation that enables students to thrive academically, socially, emotionally, physically, and developmentally, while supporting overall well-being and readiness for learning.

Click on the link to learn more about the Student Support Framework.

Multi-Tiered System of Supports

Multi-Tiered System of Supports (MTSS) is a research-based, agencywide framework used across multiple initiatives to systemically align schoolwide practices, programs, and services. It supports students’ academic development and non-academic needs, including social, emotional, mental health, and student behavior, while also addressing the physical and psychological safety of the school community.

MTSS provides the organizing structure for aligning academic and non-academic supports through a multidisciplinary, collaborative process involving school staff, students as appropriate, families, and community partners. Supports are delivered across tiers, beginning with universal practices for all students and increasing in intensity through targeted and intensive interventions that are implemented with consistency and fidelity and adjusted based on student need.

Within the Student Support Framework, MTSS-related work focuses on non-academic domains such as mental health, supportive discipline, physical health and wellness, and climate and culture, strengthening systems that improve engagement, reduce barriers to learning, and support overall readiness for learning.

Click on the link to learn more about the Multi-Tiered System of Supports.

Statewide Technical Assistance Network

The Student Support Framework is implemented through a statewide technical assistance system designed to promote consistency, sustainability, and local ownership, with an emphasis on ongoing implementation support rather than one-time training.

Within this system, the Texas Center for Student Supports (TCSS) at Education Service Center (ESC) Region 16 serves as the statewide hub for coordination, alignment, and resource development, providing tools, guidance, and implementation supports that promote fidelity and scalability.

Regional Education Service Centers function as the primary delivery partners, working directly with districts and campuses to provide coaching, professional learning, and implementation guidance aligned to the Student Support Framework and local context.

Click on the link to learn more about the Texas Center for Student Supports and the ESC Technical Assistance Network.

Contact Information

For questions related to Student Support Framework implementation or technical assistance, districts and partners are encouraged to work through their regional Education Service Center or connect with the Texas Center for Student Supports at ESC Region 16 at info@texascss.net

For questions related to the Safe and Supportive School Program, contact the program team at safeandsupportiveschoolprogram@tea.texas.gov

For questions related to the School Mental Health and Wellness, contact the program team at mentalandbehavioralhealth@tea.texas.gov

For questions related to School Safety, contact the program team at schoolsafety@tea.texas.gov