Wellness Checks in Schools | M4L National

How we fight

OPPOSE GOVERNMENT OVERREACH - We stand together against government overreach and intimidation tactics.

March 2022, Governor Pritzker launches the Children's Behavioral Transformative initiative.

Illinois' General Assembly passed HB4343 on April 9, 2022. With that, Public Act 102-1037 dictates that each public school district provide mental health screenings beginning in the fall of 2024 to identify students in grades 7 through 12 who are at risk of mental health conditions, including depression or other mental health issues.

February 2023, the Blueprint for Transformation - A Vision for Improved Behavorial Healthcare for Illinois Children is released.

On December 15, 2023, State Superintendent of Education Dr. Tony Sanders communicated to Governor Pritzker and to Illinois General Assembly leaders a document titled "Lessons Learned: A Landscape Scan of Mental Health Screning Practices in Illinois Schools." This communication also referenced Public Act 103-543 "Interagency Children's Behavioral Health Services Act." which Governor Pritzker signed into law on August 11, 2023.

The initial act of a public school performing psychiatric evaluation on children is off-the-charts overreach. Even more frightening, this psychiatric evaluation, done without the benefit of the context of the student's life away from school, may trigger an "immediate intervention for students who are identified as having a behavioral health issue that requires intervention." Adding to the overreach, neither the evaluation nor the intervention mention anything about parental notification and a permission slip from the parents in advance of the evaluation.

Oh, and with proficiency scores at unacceptably low levels, are public school systems responsible for psychological analysis of our children? Would the time be better spent on English, mathematics, and science?

Why we fight

"We must understand that schools are temporary custodians. They do not have free reign. Our parents do not cede their rights and responsibilities at the school house door." Megan Degenfelder, Superintendent, Wyoming Department of Education.

Insights

Many media reports refer to these public acts as a MANDATE for mental health screenings. Moms for Liberty of Tazewell County disagrees with that reporting. Every document we've reviewed from the Illinois General Assembly contains language referring to recommendations. Therefore, the Board of Education for each public school district has the final decision whether or not to perform mental health screenings in their district.
Overreach - What about academic proficiency? Mental Health Screening is just one of many activities that Illinois public school districts spend classroom time and administrative efforts devoted to behavior outside of the school grounds and focused on the mental health of students. The Illinois Youth Survey is another. The Illinois General Assembly, Illinois State Board of Education, and Illinois Department of Health and Family Services used various kinds of behavior problems as justification for these programs. Improving the proficiency of students was not among the reasons to justify this overreach.
Camouflaged Indoctrination - Moms for Liberty of Tazewell County observes that the public education system in Illinois is using Mental Health as the justification for a number of overreach activities. We also note that each of these intrusions are full of the language used by promoters of the privilege vs. oppressed doctrine. Questions like "Does your current gender identity match your sex assigned at birth?" Questions that normalize a fantasy that human beings can be of a sex other than the male or female. The privilege vs. oppressed language that promotes division by rewarding individuals who perceive multiple characteristics of oppression. We believe in teaching children that their abilities and achievements have far more significance than the so-called intersectionality.
"Harvard-trained psychiatrist Dr. Peter Breggin, celebrated around the world for his war on psychiatric quackery such as lobotomies and electro-shock “therapy,” sounded the alarm about the Illinois plan. “This will lead to the mass medicalization of children — even more than is already being done to them — and create a storehouse on distorted psychiatric data and diagnoses that can ruin their lives,” he warned the Illinois Family Institute." Mental Health Screening for Kids? Illinois Family Institute
Dr. Breggin, in the same article, reminds parents of the widespread diagnosis of ADHD leading to drugging many school children.
Still another issue will be excessive labeling, over stigmatizing, children with mental illness.
Mental Health Screening must be changed to a parent opt in. The Lessons Learned document reports: "One school administrator said that some parents feel that schools are overstepping by screening students, saying that parents know there are mental health needs but that they do not want the schools to intrude in this area that they see as private to the family sphere. We heard that parents have objected to some of the questions included in the screeners, and many are wary of the potential for private information about their child to be shared without their knowledge." Boards of Education must add Mental Health Screening to the list of activities that require a permission slip for the parent is required.
Screening is occurring in Tazewell County. At which districts and using what screeners unknown by Moms for Liberty of Tazewell County as of now.
Overreach - Who does the screening? Multiple documents declare that schools do not have personnel qualified to perform Mental Health Screening. The Blueprint for Transformation suggests: "Another strategy for diversifying the workforce is to broaden our conceptualization of expertise to include lived experience, deep knowledge of the challenges in navigating systems, and peer support. This is consistent with approaches that rely on community members or community-based programs as informal mental health providers." We're not completely sure what an "informal mental health provider" is, but it strongly suggests entrusting our children to individuals without licenses or credentials to perform mental health screening.
Overreach - operating at the lowest common denominator. The cliches are endless, but the bigger the bureaucracy, the more likely that the processes will be hyper-focused on the extreme case. With no evidence of individual behavioral issues, advocates want to screen every student. Again, schools do not own the responsibility for mental health. Mental Health Screenings should be referred to qualified practitioners if, and only if, the teachers or administration have cause to be concerned. And, by the way, it is up to the parents to follow up on the referral except in extraordinary situations.

Joyful Warrior plan

The easiest way to deal with the Mental Health Screenings is to opt-out. Joyful Warriors

Student Opt-Out Notice - Illinois Family Institute (.pdf download)

The very existence of the national Moms for Liberty organization and of our Tazewell County chapter is to assure parents' rights are respected by Boards of Education. We recognize that most parents with children in public schools cannot devote the amount of time necessary to attend school district meetings, to monitor state and federal laws and mandates, and to identify issues where the parents need their voice heard.

Moms for Liberty of Tazewell County will petition school boards for redress regarding the Mental Health Screenings. We are recruiting teams to monitor each school district and to represent the will of the parents at Board of Education meetings when appropriate. Moms for Liberty of Tazewell County strives to be an organization that parents trust to stand up for their rights.

References

Document - Blueprint for Transformation - A Vision for Improved Behavorial Healthcare for Illinois Children (.pdf download)
Document - Lessons Learned: A Landscape Scan of Mental Health Screening Practices in Illinois (.pdf download)
Document - Illinois Childrens Behavioral Health Transformation - January 2024 Progress Report (.pdf download)
Slides - Awake Illinois - What is the Illinois Youth Survey and 2024 Student Mental Health Screening Recommendations
Video - Awake Illinois - Il Youth Survey and 2024 Student Mental Health Screening Recommendations
Website - Mental Health Screening for Kids? Illinois Family Institute
Website - Compiled Statutes of Illinois - Wellness Checks in Schools Programs Act (105 ILCS 155)
Website - Compiled Statutes of Illinois - Interagency Children's Behavioral Health Services Act (103-0546).