NEW BILL: Harder Introduces Bill to Allow More Mental Health Practitioners to Work in Valley Schools

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, Representative Josh Harder introduced a bill, the Improving Mental Health in Schools Act, which will allow more mental health practitioners to work in schools across the Central Valley. Right now, an omission in theElementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 prevents highly trained mental health practitioners like Marriage Family Therapists (MFTs), Licensed Clinical Social Workers (LCSWs) and Clinical Psychologists from working in public schools. Rep. Harder's bill will amend the law to allow these critical professionals to work in Valley schools directly with kids and families as specialized instructional support personnel.

According to a 2021 survey of California students from the American Civil Liberties Union of Southern California:

• 63% of students said they'd had an emotional meltdown in the past year.
• 43% of students reported a panic or anxiety attack.
• 22% of students said they'd missed three or more days of school due to mental health.
• 19% of students reported suicidal thoughts.

"The mental health of our kids and teenagers is a crisis right now and we need to do everything we can to support them. That's why my bill will get more therapists, social workers, and psychologists directly into our schools," said Rep. Harder. "Early intervention is critical when it comes to youth mental health. Let's reach our kids right now so the struggles they're experiencing today don't turn into lifelong and chronic challenges."

Rep. Harder is laser focused on bringing more doctors to the Valley and addressing the youth mental health crisis. Read more about his work to bring 10,000 doctors to California here. Read about the more than $9 million in mental health funds he recently secured to expand youth mental health programming in 22 schools across the Valley here. Read his editorial in the Turlock Journal on investing in mental health here.

Read the full text of the bill here.

###