LETTER

ESSA Grants Could Fund K-12 Mental-Health

Support
August 23, 2016

To the Editor:
I agree with the Inside School Research blog post "Partnership
Explores Role of Student Mental Health in Classroom
Management" (www.edweek.org, April 10, 2016), but I would push
the issue a few steps further: It is important to explore possible K-12
mental-health interventions through the newly legislated Every
Student Succeeds Act.
K-12 students are in dire need of immediate mental-health
interventions to help with issues they face daily, such as depression,
anxiety, obsession, and addiction.
Mental-health interventions help students by building coping skills to
address social and emotional problems. If mental-health issues are
addressed early, coping strategies can also help improve students'
academic success and decrease truancy. In addition, funding mental-
health interventions at the K-12 school level would help as an early
intervention to potentially limit the cost of future mental-health
services. In 2002, the World Health Organization estimated that
mental illnesses cost the United States $300 billion per year.
ESSA provides opportunities for K-12 school districts to apply for
grants to help develop a "well rounded" education for all students. The
grants are available to provide programs that could include counseling,
conflict resolution, evidence-based drug and violence prevention,
bullying and harassment prevention, healthy- and active-lifestyle
support, relationship-building skills, child-sexual-abuse awareness, and
mental-health support.
Matthew J. Samocki
Midland, Mich.

Vol. 36, Issue 01, Page 28

Published in Print: August 24, 2016, as ESSA Grants Could Fund K-12 Mental-Health
Support