A March 2024 National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) survey of 1,683 U.S. public schools shows that staffing needs and a lack of funding are making it difficult for schools to provide mental health supports for students. In fact, 48% of schools report that they can effectively provide mental health services to all students who need them, which is nearly 10 percentage points less than 2021-22.
According to the survey, staffing and budget remain major issues as more than half of public schools say mental health professional staffing (55%) and funding (54%) are limiting their ability to provide mental health services for students in needs.
A dearth of mental health staff, along with the inability to effectively provide mental health services combine to jeopardize the capacity to help students need mental health services as federal Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief aid for K-12 programs nears its end.
As a result, school districts are looking at cutting 2024-25 SY budgets.
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