Selma High School junior Alyssa Vasquez plays with a 3D Pin Art Sensory toy, one of many toys the mental health team presented to students as coping tools. Vasquez was one of around 300 high schoolers to attend the May 19 event.
Lasherica Thornton/EdSource
As our California public school students begin a new academic year, we should take stock of the mental health challenges they still face post-Covid-19 pandemic.
The facts bear weight. As many as 75% of youth self-reported experiencing depression, anxiety or feelings of hopelessness in the last year. It could take years for students to get back on track with their mental health. And it is not just our most vulnerable students facing mental health challenges. Some of our students live in the darkness of mental health struggles but are afraid to discuss them. It’s a stigma at a time when they need the embrace of those who can offer support.
In 2004, California voters passed Proposition 63, known as the Mental Health Services Act to create and expand new county mental health programs. In 2015, regulations were added to create a set-aside funding pathway that earmarks mental health services to children and young adults up to 25 years old. This was a first-of-its-kind investment to address the youth mental health crisis. It has played a key role in prevention and intervention programs and strengthened community groups that prioritize services for youth.
Now there is a proposal to radically revise the Mental Health Services Act that will have a dramatic impact on our youth.
The governor has unveiled proposed changes that would eliminate existing requirements to spend dollars on mental health services that support children and youth. If the rules change and Senate Bill 326 as amended on July 13 takes effect, children’s programs could see reductions of more than $700 million annually in funding as money is allocated towards different programs within each county.
The Association of California School Administrators has joined with other child advocate groups in saying that without the set-aside money for youth mental health, programs that support kids in our communities will be cut down or eliminated, exacerbating a problem that isn’t visible to many. It’s a shocking figure at a time when our youth need to be prioritized, not ignored.
Lawmakers are being pressured to reevaluate the Mental Health Services Act to address challenges more visible than youth mental health — homelessness and substance use disorders. These two acute issues are sweeping through communities large and small, and programs and initiatives that are created to support these challenges need funding. Unfortunately, when services are added to a finite set of dollars, students and school-based services could be cut or eliminated by counties.
Recent state investments to whole-child supports have been monumental, yet they have been slow to roll out or have yet to be implemented. Many of these investments are funded with one-time funds, so it is premature to reroute funds from the MHSA due to the introduction of new programs when we have yet to fully realize and understand the impact of recent investments.
Solutions do exist, including setting a guaranteed minimum percentage of funding for youth and children under any revised version of the MHSA, providing funding for the housing needs of unaccompanied youth, and ensuring all children and youth have access to mental health services and treatment.
Homelessness and substance use disorders are at a crisis point. But our students are vulnerable to their surroundings and to their experiences. They are still struggling from the impacts of the pandemic and can’t lose the support they have right now.
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Edgar Zazueta is executive director of the Association of California School Administrators.
The opinions in this commentary are those of the author. Commentaries published on EdSource represent diverse viewpoints about California’s public education systems. If you would like to submit a commentary, please review our guidelines and contact us.