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Starting from the 2027-2028 academic year, Illinois will become the first state that made Annual mental health checks All children of state schools in grades 3-12. Governor JB Pritzker It is said that it is about catching problems such as anxiety and depression to increase the well -being of children and support them in academic and social terms. It sounds noble, but I don’t sell. This plan lifts red flags that can write more problems than solutions.
First, the idea of changing mental health from reactive sounds is great on paper. Who doesn’t want to stop the problems before they spiral? But let’s be real: Schools Illinois Already lower the ball on the basics. According to WirePoints, only 39% of students – 1.1 million children – read at the class level. The results of mathematics are even worse. If schools can’t teach children to read and write correctly, why should we trust them play therapist? I would claim that creating confidence in real academic success – directing children to success, not just for passing – more than my mental health than any questionnaire.
Mental health is deeply personal. Not two children are similar, and a single -size quiz can not capture it. Schools are not offices of therapy. They are not equipped to delve into the root of the children’s struggle …
Then there is a check. They use tablets that ask everything from your mood to your home life. The state says it will be “appropriate”, but children, especially young, do not know the nuances.
A third -grader can check “sad” because they have lost their favorite pencil, or a teenager can exaggerate frustration problems. Incorrect interpretations can lead to excessive reactions – thinking that the parent gets a knock from DCFS for a bad baby’s day.
The state promises the privacy and subsequent activities of professionals, but with thousands of children who convince that each case is decided correctly? One sliding and families may face real consequences. Another sliding: the school can allow the child to slip through the cracks.
A true psychologist must explore these problems to get to the root of the problem and it takes time. We ask teachers and staff to add their load and this is impossible. In addition, there was a deficit of mental health specialists in this country. Look at UVALDE, Texas Shooting In 2022, they did not have a non -focus of medical workers, and the American Psychological Association reported on a nationwide lack of school psychologists in 2024.
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Illinois schools are already stretched with consultants; Who does the fall when the child is indicated? Teachers? They are not trained for this, and they do more work, not fair and impossible.
The angle of data is another red flag. These checks will break sensitive information – intricate, behavior, maybe family dynamics. In today’s world, the information is the power, and this data can be sliced, sex or income for spotlights. Pressing the state on the fairness of health, apparently on its Beacon portal, suggests that they will use this to claim that some groups require additional help.
Governor of Illinois J. B. Packer appears in the office of the Center of the American Foundation “Ekshn” (Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images)
The problem with the disproportion is that the race and other unchanged characteristics are always blamed – it is never based on the individual but on the group. This can spiral in a mess that leaves the mental health problems of an individual student. Parents are already worried about the schools intersecting; The transmission of such data does not create trust.
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Mental health deeply personal. Not two children are similar, and a single -size quiz can not capture it. Schools are not offices of therapy. They are not equipped to dig into the root of the children’s struggle, and with a professional drawback, many children indicated on the screen cannot get the help they need.
Here’s the best way: Use the state budget to enhance academic programs that form confidence in children, as well as purposeful mental health support for those in need. It respects families, facilitates the load on congested schools and avoids the risk of sensitive data on the wrong or abuse. Illinois cannot afford to be wrong. Do you trust a system that does not work in education to cope with your child’s mental health?
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