Name: When Suspension Is the Default: Building a DIY MTSS for Substance Use in Schools
Start: 2026-09-11T08:00:00-0700
End: 2026-09-11T09:00:00-0700

When Suspension Is the Default: Building a DIY MTSS for Substance Use in Schools

Friday September 11, 2026 8:00am - 9:00am PDT

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Across many school systems, substance use is still met first with suspension, even when educators know exclusion alone rarely changes behavior and often disconnects students from support. This session opens with a brief rural school context and invites participants to quickly map the systems currently in place within our own settings, surfacing the tension between suspension-based responses and alternatives.

The session moves into a tiered MTSS approach to substance use intervention, from prevention to intervention to maintenance, discussing what is and is not working at each level, including prevention efforts, first-time and repeat suspension responses, and the complexity of recurring substance use.

Participants explore coordination across administration, counseling, and prevention programs such as YVAPE to strengthen alignment. A key focus is how brief, harm-reduction informed interventions can extend beyond discipline into ongoing support, including the “build your own quit kit” model as a student-centered tool for goal setting and engagement.

The session introduces a practical pathway informed by motivational interviewing and used in real school settings, including a 3-session individual model for first-time substance-related suspensions and a structured group counseling format. Our goal is to provide prevention, but when met with intervention have the option for maintenance, not just consequence.

We conclude with a vision for the future, engaging in a professional learning community setting building shared language and supporting staff in carrying this work collectively. Participants engage in dialogue on scaling these practices within our individual contexts and identify what is needed to make intervention more sustainable and coordinated.

Continuing Education Session Information:

Course Syllabus | Speaker Resume | Session Flyer | Course Attendance | Course Evaluation

Upon completion of the course, attendance form, and evaluation, you will receive a Confirmation of Attendance Certificate through email. If you do not receive your Confirmation of Attendance Certificate within ten business days, please contact [email protected]

This course meets the qualifications for 1.0 hours of Continuing Education Credit for LMFTs, LCSWs, LPCCs, and/or LEPs as required by the California Board of Behavioral Sciences. Wellness Together, Inc., Provider #141369, is approved by the California Association of Marriage and Family Therapists to sponsor Continuing Education for LMFTs, LCSWs, LPCCs, and LEPs. Wellness Together maintains responsibility for this course and its content.

Speakers

Alex Kunesh

Mental Health Clinician, Bret Harte Union High School District

Hi! Let’s talk all things travel, anything along the river - fish, raft, dip, and the best way to our hearts - food, sourdough and other great recipes, San Diego eats.

As for our profession - I am classroom instruction converted to mental health and program leadership. I bring a educationally based approach to clinical work. I love being embedded in my school, collaborating with teachers and systematizing programs so that we can keep moving. At the... Read More →

When Suspension Is the Default Flyer pdf

When Suspension Is the Default Building a DIY MTSS for Substance Use in Schools (1) pdf

Friday September 11, 2026 8:00am - 9:00am PDT
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Continuing Education Tracks BBS Continuing Education

10th Annual Wellness Together Conference

Alex Kunesh

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10th Annual Wellness Together Conference

Alex Kunesh

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