With six months until the 88th Texas Legislative session begins, mental health resources for students remain a topic of discussion for lawmakers.
On Monday, mental health professionals testified at a joint hearing of three special Texas House committees about the best ways to improve mental health care for students.
“I appreciate you guys for putting youth mental health on the forefront even though it’s not on the headlines,” said Alma Baldwin, a director of guidance and counseling.
“What we do know is that during the deadly, costly and isolating height of the pandemic, youth mental health issues increased in number severely and our students were suffering,” Baldwin said.
The hearing comes after Gov. Greg Abbott asked the Lieutenant Governor and House Speaker to form special committees to develop legislative recommendations on school safety, mental health, social media, police training, and firearm safety in the wake of the Uvalde school shooting.
The Texas House Select Committee on Youth and Health Safety, the Committee on Homeland Security, and the Committee on Public Safety heard Monday’s testimony from counselors, school nurses, and social workers who pushed for more mental health resources in schools.
“We talk a lot about first line of defense. First line of defense is whomever is talking to that child, whomever that is. Whether it is a school counselor, or a principal, or the LPC (licensed professional counselor), an LMSW (licensed master social worker), it doesn’t matter, whomever is talking with that child. So we need to focus on professional development,” said Dr. Steve F. Bain, founding director of Texas A&M Kinsgville’s Rural Mental Health Institute.
Each witness shared suggestions on expanding mental health support for Texas students this upcoming school year.
“As you consider what Texas and especially our students need related to their mental health, I ask that you place increased access to school counselor support to the top of your list,” said Mary Libby, a director of counseling and representative of the Texas Counseling Association.
“Research shows that when schools fully implement comprehensive school counseling programs, violence is reduced, academic performance rises, and attendance goes up,” Libby continued.
Libby suggested allocating more resources towards lowering counselor-to-student ratios and removing testing duties from counselors to allow them more time to spend with students.
“Students as well as educators report feeling much safer at school and that’s why it’s so important to allow school counselors to spend 100% of their time implementing the school counseling programs on their campuses,” Libby added.
Kimberly Jones, a senior manager of the Department of Public Safety’s intelligence and counterterrorism division, testified and suggested solidifying the state’s reporting and detection of threats. Jones explained a system called IWATCH Texas.
“The use of a single statewide reporting system ensures tips from different parts of the community integrate to link critical data,” said Jones.
Several organizations, including Communities In School and the Texas School Nurses Organization, had representatives share suggestions at the hearing.
“It really does take a village to meet the needs of our children in Texas,” said Sonja Gaines, deputy executive commissioner for Intellectual and Developmental Disability and Behavioral Health Services.
