Legislators need to hear your personal stories about the urgent need for additional mental health supports for students.
This Friday, the legislature’s Public Health Committee and Committee on Children will be holding a joint public hearing on bills that include CEA legislative priorities. The issues up for discussion include staffing levels for mental health professionals in schools and addressing student behaviors that disrupt classrooms.
Please contact legislators and share with them the things that they don’t see but that you deal with at your school every day. Click below to learn more and easily submit public testimony.
Key pieces of this legislation address:
- Recruiting and retaining social workers in our schools
- Setting a maximum ratio of students to school social workers
- Providing greater teacher input in addressing disruptive classroom behavior
While the nationally recommended ratio of students to school social workers is 250:1, Connecticut’s current average ratio is 580:1. CEA is also advocating to reduce the ratios of students to school counselors, psychologists, and special education professionals.
A study released this month by the National Alliance on Mental Illness found that 39,000 K-12 students in Connecticut suffer from major depression—24,000 without treatment. Children are experiencing a mental health crisis, and we need to act.
Please share your stories related to any of these priorities and how this legislation would benefit you, your students, and your ability to do your job.
