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Mental health services in U.S. schools were on the rise prior to the pandemic with more than half offering diagnostic assessments, according to a recent analysis. An analysis of the latest available federal data by the Pew Research Center found 55% of schools nationwide during the 2019-2020 school year provided assessments evaluating students for potential mental health conditions, a 4% increase from the previous school year. Services rendered varied both by geography and grade level, according to the data. Around two-thirds of middle schools and high schools offered mental health assessments, compared to just half of elementary schools. Further, more than 60% of schools in cities provide mental health assessments for their students, while 45% of rural schools did the same. Schools surveyed also detailed barriers preventing them from supplying their students with mental health services. More than half said they were limited in a major way by funding, while around 40% said services were cut short due to a lack of access to licensed professionals. A separate report released last week suggests around 1.5m U.S. children experienced depression or anxiety during the first year of the coronavirus pandemic alone. The 2022 KIDS COUNT Data Book, an annual report released Monday by the Annie E. Casey Foundation, found a 26% jump in the number of children aged three to 17 struggling with the two conditions between 2016 and 2020. 

 

The Hill

Build Strong Decoders | The Science of Reading in Practice

Research tells us how children best learn to read, but what does this actually look like in classroom practice? In a new webinar Dr. Julia B. Lindsey, an expert in early literacy development, curriculum, and instruction, and author of Reading Above the Fray, will share teacher-approved “essential instructional swaps” backed by the science of reading that educators can implement right away to help students become proficient readers. Dr. Lindsey will demonstrate these efficient and effective decoding routines that can be implemented in 15 minutes or less!

Watch the Recording

 

Adults seeking to protect themselves in the current outbreak of monkeypox will now be able to get a reduced dose of vaccine, but anyone under 18 considered at high-risk of infection who gets the vaccine would continue to receive the traditional shot, the Food and Drug Administration announced Tuesday. With an eye toward stretching the nation’s limited supply of monkeypox vaccine, the FDA is calling for anyone 18 or over to get just a fifth of the usual dose, administered just under the skin, instead of into deep tissue. Though federal agencies have not released school-specific guidance about monkeypox, epidemiologists have cautioned school leaders to remain informed, but not to panic. Just five of the 7,000 confirmed cases of monkeypox in the United States were children, according to the latest data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Higher-risk children include those eight or younger, those with compromised immune systems, and those with skin conditions like eczema or severe acne. The virus is typically transmitted through extensive skin-to-skin contact, or through shared towels and bedding.

 

Education Week

Twenty-eight civil rights and health care groups have written to the  U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) asking it to address “dietary racism” in national school lunch programs, raising concerns to the federal agency about forcing millions of minority children to drink cow’s milk without allowing them a healthier alternative. In a letter to the USDA's Equity Commission the groups, including Progressive Democrats of America, the Maryland chapter of the NAACP, and the National Action Network Washington Bureau, say the National School Lunch Program (NSLP) only incentivizes dairy milk, a policy they called “inherently inequitable and socially unjust” because children of color are more likely to be lactose intolerant, meaning they cannot fully digest sugars in dairy and can suffer from adverse effects after consumption. The USDA reimburses schools covered under the 76-year-old NSLP if they provide fluid milk during meals, which does not cover soy milk or other types of organic milk. Dairy milk must be served with every meal. The federal agency does allow a nutritional substitute, but that requires a written statement from a student’s parent or guardian and schools must notify the state of a substitution. A written doctor’s note may also be required, according to the civil rights and health organizations, which, they added, most families cannot secure.

 

The Hill

The federal Office for Civil Rights is investigating an Alabama parent’s complaint that her daughter was discriminated against because of her sexual orientation during the 2020-21 school year. While not the first time federal officials have investigated alleged discrimination of an LGBTQ student, the case marks the first time officials have used an expanded understanding of Title IX regulations that specifically protects students who are LGBTQ. As a case of first impression, meaning it concerns a legal issue that has not been settled through the legal system, it has the potential to set a precedent for how future cases will be handled. For his part, Shelby County Schools Superintendent Lewis Brooks says the student graduated in 2021 and the employee who allegedly discriminated against the student has retired and is no longer employed by the district. “The accusation is not a representation of who we are as a district. I would argue that our district historically, and continually, serves kids, regardless of their ethnicity, their religion, their sexual orientation–we serve our kids in the best way possible, and we will continue to do that.”

 

Al.com

More than four of every 10 educators said at least one teacher in their district has been physically assaulted or attacked by a student in the past year, a new EdWeek Research Center survey found. In addition, 10% of educators said they personally have been physically assaulted or attacked by a student, according to the survey of 1,042 district leaders, principals, and teachers conducted between July 27th through August 8th, with principals the most likely to say have been targeted. Some educators suggest the rise in student misbehavior could be associated with challenges related to returning to in-person learning after extended periods of remote or hybrid instruction. Many educators who took the survey lamented that there are students who don’t know how to interact with other people in the classroom setting. “We had the worst year in terms of behavior and outbursts from students and parents we have ever [had],” said a middle school principal in Michigan who took the survey. “It was a year of emotional outbursts that we weren’t prepared for.”

 

Education Week

Zum has published its first annual commissioned survey, the Student Transportation Report Card: A Parental Review, which found that parents in America are most concerned about their child's safety during a school bus ride. One-third of parents in the survey responded with concerns about child safety, followed by 18% who were concerned about COVID-19 infections, and 10% who were concerned about lack of tracking and visibility. The survey found that 58% of respondents think school bus commute times are unnecessarily long for school-aged children, while 55% believe inefficient routes and a lack of resources cause kids to sit on the bus for too much time each day, and 48% agree that long commute times on school buses are harmful to school-aged childrens' mental health and wellbeing.

 

School Bus Fleet