The U.S. Department of Education’s 2021 guidance, “Supporting Child and Student Social, Emotional, Behavioral, and Mental Health Needs,” provides that a student’s unmet mental health needs may result in social, emotional or behavioral challenges such as eating disorders, anxiety, mood disorders and depression with suicidal thoughts and self-harm behaviors that, in the absence of effective support, may cause a student to experience reactive and exclusionary discipline, such as suspensions and/or expulsions. This can further exacerbate mental health concerns, interrupt access to and participation in learning, limit opportunities and negatively affect outcomes.
The guidance explains that school mental health services play an important role by broadening the reach of mental health services and providing an access point for early and effective intervention in everyday environments.
Although the guidance was written during the COVID-19 pandemic in anticipation of the return to school campuses, it has general applicability to students’ mental health needs, as the guidance acknowledges that the pandemic exacerbated the “already alarming trends in mental health.” It acknowledges that the importance of prevention and intervention practices to address the mental health needs of children and students “should be done not just as a reaction to COVID-19 but as a deliberate action to fully address children and students’ overall well-being and their full access to education and opportunities.”
California has many requirements related to student mental health, a few of which are mentioned below. A comprehensive list of requirements related to student mental health, as well as additional resources, are available on the California Department of Education’s (CDE) Mental Health webpage at www.cde.ca.gov/ls/mh/.
The CDE developed and published its “Model Policy on Referral Protocols for Addressing Pupil Behavioral Health Concerns” for this purpose. The referral protocols are intended to provide guidance to schools for identifying, referring and supporting students experiencing behavioral health challenges in an effort to establish consistent, effective and accessible referral systems that contribute to positive outcomes for all students.
The district’s or COE’s policy is required to be developed in consultation with school and community stakeholders and school-linked behavioral health professionals, and to be based either on the model policy developed by the CDE or be consistent with the requirements of Education Code Section 49428.1. More information and sample language regarding these referral protocols is available in CSBA’s sample Board Policy (BP) 5141.5 – Mental Health, which is in the process of being updated.
Body shaming is the action or practice of mocking or stigmatizing a person by making critical comments or observations about the shape, size or appearance of the person’s body. The CDE notes that body shaming can contribute to hostile school environments, including coinciding with bullying, and is associated with long-term effects on mental health, including anxiety, depression, disordered eating and suicidal thoughts.
The mental health posters are required to be displayed in English and any primary language spoken by 15 percent or more of the students at the school site, be no smaller than 8.5 by 11 inches, and at least 12-point font. Additionally, at the beginning of each school year, the poster is required to be distributed online to students through social media, websites, portals and learning platforms.
The CDE has published model mental health posters, which are available on its Mental Health webpage. More information on mental health posters can be found in CSBA’s sample BP 5141.5 – Mental Health and Exhibit 5145.6 – Parent/Guardian Notifications.