Advocate and Collaborate
Comprehensive mental health services are a way to address children's behavioral issues without taking more punitive disciplinary measures, which often tend to disproportionately fall on
students of color and students with disabilities. Schools—especially those that are under-resourced and serve high numbers of low-income and BIPOC students—must receive more support to address these needs by increasing and retaining diverse, culturally competent school-based providers (National Alliance on Mental Illness, 2019).
Practical Guidance
Creating Trauma-Informed Policies: A Practice Guide for School and Mental Health Leadership
Policy Report
How Well Do State Legislatures Focus on Improving School Efforts to Address Barriers to Learning and Teaching & Re-engage Disconnected Students?
Policy Brief
Restructuring California Schools to Address Barriers to Learning and Teaching in the COVID‑19 Context and Beyond
Everyone can play a role in advocating for student mental health.
The National Education Association notes that with one in five children ages 13-18 living with a mental health condition, more schools are creating comprehensive, systemic programs to address the problem. Get tips on steps you can take to support and advocate for student mental health.