From the 2027-2028 school year, Illinois will be the first state to force annual screening in mental health care on all public school children in the classes 3-12. JB Pritzker government says it is about catching problems such as fear and depression asked to stimulate the well -being of children and to keep them on the right track academic and socially. It sounds Nobel, but I am not sold. This plan brings red flags that can cause more problems than solutions.
First, the idea of shifting mental health care from reactive to preventive sounds great on paper. Who doesn’t want to stop any problems before they spirited? But let’s really be: Illinois schools already drop the ball on the base. According to Wirepoints, only 39% of students – 1.1 million children – read at rank level. Maths scores are even worse. If schools cannot teach children to read and write carefully, why would we trust that they play a therapist? I would claim that building trust through real academic success – spotting children to excel, not only passing – is more for their mental health than any questionnaire could ever.
Mental health is deeply personal. No two children are similar, and a tablet quiz with one-size fits cannot capture that. Schools are not therapy offices. They are not equipped to dig in the root of the struggles of a child …
Then there is the screening itself. They use tablets that ask everything, from your mood to your home. The State says that these will be ‘suitable for age’, but children, especially young people, are not exactly known for nuance.
Illinois GOV JB Pritzker Lammered for new ‘disastrous policy’ that requires screening for mental health for children
A third class can check “SAD” because they have lost their favorite pencil, or a teenager can exaggerate at home with frustration. Misinterpretations can lead to exaggerated reactions – think of a parent who gets a knock from DCFS about the bad day of a child.
The state promises privacy and follow-ups of professionals, but with thousands of screened children, who ensures that every case is treated, right? One slip-up and families can be confronted with real consequences. Another slip-up: a school can let a child slide through the cracks.
A true psychologist must investigate these problems to achieve the cause of the problem and that takes time. We ask teachers and employees to add to their workload and that is not feasible. There has also been a shortage of mental health care professionals in this country. Look at the shooting in Uvalde, Texas in 2022 – mental health workers were scarce at the time, and the American Psychological Association reported a national shortage of school psychologists in 2024.
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Illinois schools are already thinly stretched with counselors; Who uses the fall -out when a child is marked? Teachers? They are not trained for this, and stacking on more work is not fair or feasible.
The Datahoek is another red flag. These impressions will express sensitive info – moods, behavior, perhaps family dynamics. In today’s world, information is power, and this data can be cut by racing, gender or income to bring differences in attention. The urge of the state for health edition, as seen in his beacon portal, suggests that they will use this to claim that certain groups need more help.
Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker speaks at the office of the Center for American Progress (CAP) Active Fund on March 18, 2025, in Washington, DC (Anna Moneymaker/Getty images)
The problem with differences is that breed and other unchanging characteristics are always accused – it is never based on the individual but on the group. This can turn in a mess that leaves the mental health problems of the individual student unsolved. Parents are already worried about schools that switch; Providing this type of data does not build trust.
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Mental health is deeply personal. No two children are similar, and a tablet quiz with one-size fits cannot capture that. Schools are not therapy offices. They are not equipped to dig in the root of the struggles of a child, and with professional deficits, many children may not receive the help they need with professional shortages.
Here is a better way: use the state’s budget to stimulate academic programs that build up children’s confidence in addition to targeted mental health support for those who need it. This respects families, relieves the burden on overworked schools and prevents the risk that sensitive data is used or misused incorrectly. Illinois cannot afford to be wrong. Do you trust a system that fails in education to tackle the mental health of your child?
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