Twelve states allow students to have mental health days at school. Five other states have similar legislation.
Schools are taking steps to address youth mental health, as anxiety and depression have become an increasing problem among teens and children.
According to data from Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, about one fifth of American teenagers have experienced major depression, or a persistent feeling of sadness, hopelessness or despair at one point or another.
Many schools across the country now allow students to have “mental health days” throughout the year. The Child Mind Institute, an organization that specializes in children’s mental health, says that a mental day is a day when students can take a break from school to recharge and rest.
Students can be excused from school for a variety of reasons, which vary between states and their laws. These include mental or behavioral problems similar to sick days.
Students are allowed to legally take mental health days in 12 states: Washington, California. Illinois. Maine. Virginia. Colorado. Oregon. Connecticut. Arizona. Nevada. Utah. Five states have also proposed bills to allow students to take mental health days, including Florida and New York, Maryland and Massachusetts.
Lori Riddle is a 21-year old college student who supported the bill to allow excused absences in mental health care.
Riddle explained to TODAY Parents that she was experiencing mental health struggles herself and knew that being open about my mental health was exposing myself and my struggles for criticism. “I believe it is important to take care yourself.”
Dr. Christine Crawford, an associate medical director of the National Alliance on Mental Illness, stated that mental health conditions such as anxiety and depression can also cause problems at work and school. “The purpose of mental health days was to acknowledge and recognize that mental health conditions can affect a young person’s ability to fully participate in school.
The Child Mind Institute points out that students should not avoid class or assignments on mental health days. Schools may be able to help struggling students by providing them with mental health care.
Chalkbeat was told by officials at Chicago Public Schools that if a student has consecutive mental health days, the school can refer them to the “appropriate support personnel”, such as a counselor, psychologist, or psychiatrist.
“I don’t know many people who claim their mental health has been fixed because they took an mental health day,” Meghan Cuddy (senior at Jones College Prep High School) told the outlet. While I believe they can be useful, I think it is necessary to provide serious intervention to support kids’ mental health. It’s an epidemic.
