Assembly Bill 251, now 2023 Wisconsin Act 196, is a step in the right direction concerning mental health in our Wisconsin schools.
The law allows marriage and family therapists to become licensed through the state Department of Public Instruction so school districts can hire them directly. Previously, they could only work in schools through a third party.
As reported in Green Bay’s WBAY First Alert article, there are some concerning numbers regarding students and mental health …
For instance, Amy D’Addario, Samaritan Counseling’s Wellness Screen Director, found the following data in a screening that was conducted last year:
- Over 65% of students reported struggling with anxiety or depression.
- Even more alarming is the fact that over 22% of students said they thought about dying by suicide.
In the article, D’Addario went on to say, “I think people are surprised at just the sheer number of kids that are really struggling with some real mental health issues that are life threatening, potentially,”
Some say this law has been 50+ years in the making, since Wisconsin first recognized marriage and family therapy as a profession. It’s also apparent that as the stigma associated with mental health and therapy continues to wane, and more awareness about mental health has entered the media (IE: thanks to people in the public eye like Simone Biles, Ryan Reynolds, Meghan Markle, and Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson), there is a greater acceptance and understanding of the need for mental health services in schools.
Further evidence that the new law could prove helpful can be found in the findings of the American School Counselor Association (ASCA), which states that the recommended student to school counselor ratio is 250 to 1. That said, the ratio in Wisconsin schools is 366 to 1, leaving counselors overwhelmed and students underserved.
Although many are excited about the new mental health law, it does come with its own challenges — with the biggest one being budgetary. Statewide financial deficits have left some schools wrestling with budgetary issues concerning staffing, benefits, and for some even the potentiality of school closure. So where does this leave the new mental health law? It seems this much needed student service is already stuck between a rock and a hard place, at least for some schools. Regardless, we expect to see referendums continue to play an important role in the financial solvency of our Wisconsin schools, and we hope some of these referendums will include funding for Wisconsin Act 196.
If you found this series informative, you may also like:
CESA 10 Superintendent Meeting Legal Update, Part 4: Nonrenewal Teacher and Administrator Contracts
The Office of School Safety Funding Bill Has Been Signed into Law