Serious Emotional Disability (SED)

Definition

A child with a Serious Emotional Disability (SED) shall have emotional or social functioning which prevents the child from receiving reasonable educational benefit from general education. Students with serious emotional disabilities are diverse learners with needs in the areas of:

Social Skills Training (relationships, problem-solving, focusing, conflict resolution, self-advocating, building support systems)
Emotional regulation training (impulse control, anger management, anxiety and depression management, coping with trauma, increasing frustration tolerance)
Behavioral supports (functional behavior assessments, behavior intervention plans, accommodations)

SED Webinar Series

Every-other-month Bill Brown will be posting webinar on the at how mental health and behavioral approaches can work together to better meet the complex needs of students.

Learn more about the SED Webinar Series.

What's New

Mental Health Office Hours

Please join us for the 2025-2026 Mental Health Office Hours Series hosted by Bill Brown and presented by Dr. Tyler Anderson.

One of the requests from the mental health practitioners from across the state of Colorado includes more in-depth clinical mental health knowledge to be able to better address the mental health needs of students in schools. The Mental Health Office Hours series will take a deep dive into the world of clinical mental health diagnosis and clinical mental health services and treatment approaches. The discussion will focus on how the presented clinical mental health information can be adapted and used appropriately within schools to better meet the needs of students with significant mental health needs.

Logistics

Mental Health Office Hours will be the first Tuesday of each month from 8:00 AM - 9:00 AM.
Each session will have a 30-minute presentation and a 30-minute question and answer period.
All participants must register no later than two weeks in advance for each office hour.
Registration links will be sent out through the Serious Emotional Disability (SED) Listserv

Dates & Topics

The Mental Health office hours will be held from 8:00 - 9:00 AM on the Tuesday dates:

October 14, 2025: Neurodevelopment Disorders Part 1
November 18, 2025: Neurodevelopment Disorders Part 2
December 16, 2025: Schizophrenia Spectrum and other psychotic disorders
February 10, 2026: Bipolar and Related Disorders (Pre-Adolescent Bipolar Disorder)
April 14, 2026: Obsessive-Compulsive Disorders

View the 2024-2025 Office Hour Recordings

View the 2023-2024 Office Hour Recordings

Manifestation Determination Review (MDR) Course

Participants who complete this course will receive a CDE certificate for 2 hours.

In this course participants will:

learn how to conduct the Manifestation Determination Review process.
learn what questions needs to be asked in the Manifestation Determination process and the possible outcomes of the Manifestation Determination Review.
learn about how Functional Behavioral Assessment and Behavior Intervention Plans fit into the Manifestation Determination Review Process.

This course is designed for and open to State of Colorado Educators.

Access the MDR Course

Not a Colorado Educator?

If you are not a Colorado public educator, you may access a noncredit version of the course. It does not include the assessments and the CDE credit hours are not available for this version of the course, but it has all the same videos and information.

View Noncredited MDR Course

Prof Development

SED/Behavior PD Page

On-demand Webinars
Online Events
Online Courses
By-request Trainings

SED/Behavior Resources

General Resources

Serious Emotional Disability (SED) Task Force/Affective Needs Committee

The SED Task Force/Affective Needs Committee is comprised of teachers, administrators, and related service personnel, professors from Institutions of Higher Education, and parent advocates from throughout Colorado. This group advises the Colorado Department of Education on the statewide needs of this population and those who serve them. Their expertise is utilized for workgroups to develop trainings and products to assist educational teams in meeting the needs of this very diverse population.

Listserv

The Social/Emotional/Behavioral listserv is a place for teachers and service providers working with students with Significant Emotional Disabilities to find information, encouragement, and networking opportunities.

We know that many times those working with students with significant needs may be isolated and lack the opportunity to collaborate with colleagues or find the expertise they need in a timely and safe setting. This is a place to ask questions, have discussions, and share ideas with those in the field that are having the same experiences. To subscribe, contact email Bill Brown with your contact information.

For more information about Serious Emotional Disabilities, please contact:

Bill Brown
Phone: (720) 603-3000
Email Bill Brown

Having trouble with this webpage?

If you have problems with broken links or accessing the content on this page, please contact the Exceptional Student Services Unit at ESSU@cde.state.co.us. Please copy the URL link for this page into the email when referencing the problem you are experiencing.