Name: Proposal to give Connecticut K-12 students 4 mental health days each school year moves forward
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Proposal to give Connecticut K-12 students 4 mental health days each school year moves forward

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AdvertisementBy Hartford CourantMar 15, 2021 at 4:34 pmConnecticut’s K-12 students would be able to take four mental health days off from school next year and each year after, in addition to the 10 sick days already allowed by the state, under a legislative proposal that advanced Monday.While some state lawmakers supporting the bill see it as a necessary change to help children cope with anxiety brought on by the coronavirus pandemic, the state Department of Education worries the mental health days could result in lost learning time and lead to “adverse outcomes.”Advertisement“For the school year commencing July 1, 2021, and each school year thereafter, a local or regional board of education shall permit any student enrolled in grades kindergarten to twelve, inclusive, to take up to four mental health wellness days during the school year, during which day such student shall not be required to attend school,” states a section of “An Act Concerning Social Equity and the Health, Safety and Education of Children,” which passed the legislature’s children’s committee by a 9-5 vote Monday.The bill now awaits action in the state House of Representatives and Senate.AdvertisementStudents would not need a doctor’s note to take a mental health day and they would not be marked as truant for using the four days, according to the legislation.“I think there’s this idea that [four mental health days] is sort of excessive and can be adverse to a child, but the label of truancy can sometimes have negative consequences for a child who’s in good academic standing in school and might need an extension to their allotted absences to not lose credit,” said Rep. Jaime Foster, a Democrat who represents East Windsor and Ellington and previously served on Ellington’s board of education. Foster explained even students with good grades could miss school due to familial circumstances and be labeled as truant, meaning they may not get credit for courses or have to go through an appeal process.Citing the thousands of deaths and high unemployment caused by the pandemic, committee co-chair Sen. Saud Anwar, D-South Windsor, said: “The levels of anxiety and the challenges that [students] have are very significant. To indirectly suggest that those children are not smart or they don’t deserve time off is not fair.”But some legislators, as well as the state education department, shared concerns about increasing the number of days students can take off.Rep. Anne Dauphinais, R-Killingly, the top Republican representative on the committee, told The Courant parents and educators in her constituency have said they’d rather see it made clear that students could use some of the 10 sick days that already exist for mental health purposes.“Adding on the four days now makes it two full weeks out of an 180 calendar school year,” she said. “That’s the concern I’ve heard about.”Dauphinais said unless a medical note is required, “those 10 days really are open to the discretion of the parents, if you will. If the parent feels like their [child] is not sick with a cold, but they could really use a break from school for a day, would that be an acceptable excuse?”Acting state education Commissioner Charlene Russell-Tucker wrote in a recent public testimony that, “While the Department agrees with and understands the importance of supporting student mental health, allowing students to remain home from school does not necessarily achieve the outcome of improving the student’s well-being.”Advertisement“Schools are equipped to support students experiencing mental health issues including those impacted by trauma and work to provide supports to students and families. Additionally, we are concerned that the extent of a student’s mental state may not be known if they are not in school, and there may be adverse outcomes if the child is allowed to remain out of school,” she said, adding children would lose valuable instruction time.Russell-Tucker also said the policy change could complicate how schools record attendance.“If the student is counted as ‘in attendance’ during a mental health wellness day, then the school remains responsible for that student and it becomes challenging for schools to know which students are actually in the school building during school hours and which are not for the purpose of emergencies and school safety,” she explained. “Attendance policies that restrict access to extracurricular activities would also conflict with this policy.”She added: “In order to properly activate engagement and support tools used by schools, it is vital that our schools are aware of students missing school days for any reason. Beyond providing individual support, if a number of students are taking wellness days, the school may need to assess the reasons and take steps to address school climate and the overall school environment.”Anwar said he did not see the additional four days designated for mental health as negatively impacting students’ grades.“I expect that there would be opportunities to catch up, just like there are opportunities to catch up if they have a physical illness,” he said. “It is very easy to recognize and identity a physical ailment ... but mental health does not get the attention that it needs to, and our children are victims to that. We want to make sure that aspect is also protected.”AdvertisementHe noted the change should be included within the overall framework of the bill, which includes other efforts related to students’ well-being, such as suicide prevention measures, increasing access to outpatient mental health care as and professional development for educators’ social and emotional learning skills.“It’s a pretty comprehensive strategy to look at the social equity, health, safety and education of our children during this pandemic,” Anwar said.Amanda Blanco can be reached at ablanco@courant.com. Advertisement

AdvertisementBy Hartford CourantMar 15, 2021 at 4:34 pmConnecticut’s K-12 students would be able to take four mental health days off from school next year and each year after, in addition to the 10 sick days already allowed by the state, under a legislative proposal that advanced Monday.While some state lawmakers supporting the bill see it as a necessary change to help children cope with anxiety brought on by the coronavirus pandemic, the state Department of Education worries the mental health days could result in lost learning time and lead to “adverse outcomes.”Advertisement“For the...

Proposal to give Connecticut K-12 students 4 mental health days each school year moves forward

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