By DAVE RANNEY
KHI News Service

TOPEKA — A panel of school officials today urged members of the Governor’s Behavioral Health Services Planning Council to propose a major overhaul of the state’s approach to educating children with serious emotional and behavioral problems.

“So many of these children are not seen as young people with mental health needs,” said Vicki Vossler, special education director in Holton. “They’re seen as young people with behavior problems or conduct problems. And the solution to those problems, all too often, is punishment.

“But punishment isn’t going to solve the problem,” she said. “We need to recognize that, and we need to be coming up with strategies for dealing with those behaviors.”

Dee McGee, who runs the special education program in Marysville, said she has been frustrated with state and federal policies and “red tape” that limit students’ access to school nurses, counselors and social workers.
“We’ve got to think differently,” McGee said.

Policymakers, she said, should rethink the practice of tying the students’ high school graduation to completion of college-bound coursework, which often has the effect of setting them up to fail.

“Since 70 percent of the future jobs