ISBE Guidance on Screening: What Administrators Need to Plan For

The screening itself is not the hardest part. For most school teams, the bigger questions are what happens before and after it:

• Who communicates with families?

• Who reviews results?

• Who can access the information?

• What happens when a student needs support

ISBE's new universal mental health screening guidance addresses all of these issues as Illinois districts prepare for the 2027–28 school year.

Start With Consent

Districts need a process for notifying parents or guardians before screening takes place. That communication should explain the purpose of the screening, the general nature and sensitivity of the questions, who will administer it, how the information will be used, and whether screening records will be maintained.

ISBE also makes an important distinction between permission to participate in screening and consent to use, maintain, store, or disclose screening results.

Those are not automatically the same thing. Districts should work with legal counsel to determine which consent framework applies to their specific program.

Then Think About Privacy

Mental health screening produces sensitive student information. ISBE says districts should have clear procedures for secure data collection, storage, access, flagging, retention, and destruction.

Access should be limited to people with a legitimate educational or professional need to see the information. Screening records may fall under FERPA and the Illinois School Student Records Act, while other confidentiality requirements may apply depending on the screening and any subsequent services or referrals.

This is an area where districts should be precise rather than assume that one privacy framework covers everything.

What Happens When a Student Screens at Risk?

This is where the screening program becomes part of the broader student support system. ISBE recommends establishing follow-up procedures before screening begins.

Depending on the student and the results, follow-up might include a conversation with the student, communication with a family, additional monitoring, school-based intervention, or referral to a community provider.

Districts should maintain an inventory of available school- and community-based services so staff know where to turn when a student needs more support. And one point is worth repeating: A screening result is not a diagnosis.

Screening provides information that can help schools determine whether further attention, monitoring, or evaluation may be appropriate.

How Does This Fit Into MTSS?

This is where universal mental health screening can become much more useful than a standalone survey.

ISBE describes screening as a foundational strategy within Multi-Tiered Systems of Support.

The idea is straightforward:
Screen → Understand need → Match support → Monitor

Students don't all need the same intervention, and screening doesn't mean every student who flags receives intensive services.

Instead, screening can give school teams another source of information to help determine where support may be appropriate.

What Should Teams Be Asking Now?

Before the first required screening cycle, school teams should be able to answer:

• Who owns the program?

• How will families be informed?

• What consent process will be used?

• Who can access results?

• Where will screening data be stored?

• What triggers follow-up?

• Which school and community resources are available?

• How will the district evaluate the process?

Those questions are much easier to solve before screening starts than after the first results are sitting in a dashboard.

How Maro Helps

Maro was built around the operational side of school mental health screening. Our platform supports digital consent, screening administration, results management, documentation, and follow-up workflows in one place. That means school teams can spend less time piecing together processes and more time using screening information to support students.

For Illinois districts preparing for universal screening, the goal isn't to add another disconnected initiative. It's to build a process that works alongside the systems you already have.

Click here to learn how Maro supports Illinois schools

Read the full ISBE Universal Mental Health Screening Guidance →

This article is for informational purposes only and is not legal advice. Districts should consult qualified legal counsel regarding their specific screening, consent, privacy, and follow-up requirements.