1. Overview
Lack of mental health resources in public schools is a
serious social problem in America. Mental health
conditions in children and adolescents not only effect their
school performance, behavior, and physical wellbeing but
also can contribute to larger social issues such as
unemployment, incarceration, and suicide if unaddressed
(Committee on School Health, 2004). Since children and
adolescents spend so much of their day at school, schools
are ideal places to address these issues
(Committee on School Health, 2004).
Title IV of the Every Student Succeeds
Act attempts to address the problem of
mental health resources in schools by
allocating federal grant money to state
and local school districts for several
purposes, one of which must include
“safe and healthy activities” (ESSA,
2015). While this policy is strong in
that it provides a great deal of
flexibility and autonomy to state and
local education agencies and highlights the importance of
health in schools, it has several potential weaknesses that
may become evident as it is fully implemented in the next
year. These potential limitations include lack of funding,
inadequate accountability, and insufficient legislative
language to ensure improvements in the mental health
arena. Recommendations listed at the end of this brief
include suggestions that will secure funding, improve state
and local responsibility, and mandate certain mental health
resources are in place in public schools.
Mental Health in Public Schools
One in five adolescents has a diagnosable emotional,
behavioral, or mental disorder, and one in ten adolescents
has a mental health challenge that affects his or her
functioning in one or more important areas of life (ACMH,
2016). At least half and as many as 80% of all adolescents
with a mental health condition do not get the help they
need (ACMH, 2016). In the short-term, untreated or
undiagnosed mental health conditions can contribute to
individual problems such as poor school performance,
behavioral issues, and persistent absenteeism (Anderson
& Cardoza, 2016). In the long-term, these conditions can
contribute to dropping out of school, violence, substance
abuse, dysfunction, suicide, and unemployment
(Committee on School Health, 2004). While the long-term
consequences are detrimental to the individual, they can
affect the whole of society negatively as well. Early
detection and intervention in mental health
cases can make a vast difference in a child or
adolescent’s outcomes and improve their
quality of life (ACMH, 2016). Schools
attempt to provide support through the
creation or implementation of mental health
programs, the employment of mental health
professionals, the provision of learning
accommodations in classrooms, and the
training of staff in recognition of mental
illness. For many students, schools are the
chief environment in which they receive
mental health interventions, assessments, and referrals
(Committee on School Health, 2004). Research shows,
however, that many students with mental health conditions
do not actually experience these particular programs or
receive the help they need for their condition (NAMI,
2016). When cities and states are looking to reduce costs,
school districts are often among the first to experience
budget cuts (DeWitt, 2012). Many schools simply cannot
afford mental health professionals. Mental health
professionals that are employed by schools may still be
affected by lack of funding that causes them to be unable
to provide adequate programming and assistance (Obama,
2016). There is currently no federal law mandating a
standard mental health program in public education. Only
28 states and the District of Columbia have some type of
state or local legislation that requires mental health
resources in public schools; even so, ratios of mental
health professionals to students can be as high as 1:800 for
guidance counselors and 1:1400 for school psychologists,
“At least half and as
many as 80% of all
adolescents with a
mental health
condition do not get the
help they need.”
- Anderson & Cardoza
A Policy Brief by Leah McNulty
The Every Student Succeeds Act and
School Mental Health

2. forcing these professionals to prioritize need (ASCA, 2016
and Anderson & Cardoza, 2016).
ESSA and Title IV: Student Success
and Academic Enrichment Grants
The Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA) was signed into
law by President Obama on December 10, 2015 in order
to replace No Child Left Behind. The purpose of the
ESSA is to provide more flexibility in education
legislation than existed under NCLB, to continue to
ensure that location does not affect the quality of a
child’s education, and to adjust the balance between
federal, state and local governments in creating education
policy (Walker, 2015). It is currently one of the few
federal laws that addresses mental health initiatives in
public schools. Title IV of ESSA creates the Student
Support and Academic Enrichment Grants (SSAEG).
This program’s purpose is to increase the ability of state
and local education agencies to improve student access to
a well-rounded education, safe and healthy learning
activities, and an increase in use of helpful technology
(Adams, 2016). Title IV intends to put federal funds in
the hands of the local education agencies (LEAs) that
actually create school policy. At least 95% of federal
funds awarded to state education agencies must be
allocated to LEAs. No more than 1% of funds awarded
can be used on administrative costs (Adams, 2016).
Specifically, LEAs are to use all the funds awarded to
them by the states for the purpose of improving a child’s
access to a well-rounded, safe, healthy, and technological
education. To ensure this, the law mandates that if a local
entity receives $30,000 or more, they must use at least
20% for well-rounded education, at least 20% for a safe
and healthy learning environment, and up to 60% for
effective technology. Another goal for this policy is
LEAs to be aware of the specific needs in their schools
that they should target and try to address with the grant
money. In order to receive the awarded funds from the
state, the agencies that are receiving $30,000 or more
must submit an application that includes a needs
assessment that has been done on their particular
school(s) (ESSA, 2015).
SSAEG and Mental Health in Public
Schools
The specific issue of mental health resources in schools
is intended to be addressed under the safe and healthy
learning environment requirement of the SSAEG
program (Adams, 2016). Section 4108 of Title IV
specifically encourages LEAs to provide mental health
services as an option of achieving a safe and healthy
learning environment (ESSA, 2015). Section 4108 of
Title IV lists suggested activities included by
policymakers that could be classified as contributing to a
safe and healthy learning environment.
Informative Analysis of Title IV:
SSAEG
Both the policy analysis framework developed by
Prigmore and Atherton and the framework developed by
Dunn were used to evaluate Title IV of the ESSA. This
evaluation is relatively preliminary since the ESSA was
signed into law in late 2015, began to roll out in the 2016-
2017 school year, and will be fully implemented in the
2017-2018 school year (NCSL, 2016).
A potential area of strength for the ESSA and Title IV in
particular is the flexibility and autonomy it gives to states
and LEAs in creating policy related to education.
SSAEG Safe and Healthy Learning Environment
Activities
v Drug and violence prevention programs
v School-based mental health services that
include early identification, referrals,
partnership programs with communities or
health care professionals, interventions that are
evidence-based, and support for staff
development
v Programs that promote safety and health in
physical activities
v Programs that support a healthy and active
lifestyle
v Bullying prevention
v School counseling for at risk students who are
struggling academically
v Dropout prevention programs
v Suicide prevention programs
v Sexual abuse awareness and prevention for
students and families
v Trauma-informed practices
v Partnerships with local communities to promote
safety and health (ESSA, 2015)

3. Policymakers’ intent behind Title IV was to put federal
funding in the hands of those who actually interact with
students on a daily basis and allow them to make decisions
on spending that can best contribute to the improvement
of their schools (Adams, 2016). Since all activities listed
under SSAEG are suggestions and nothing is specifically
mandated, schools have the freedom to choose additions
that could enhance their school rather than being required
by a higher authority to implement something that their
school does not need (ESSA, 2015.) Another area of
strength in the ESSA is the newly renewed focus on
“health” of students in public schools. The ESSA both
allows and encourages schools to focus on health as a “key
strategy” in constructing a useful learning environment
that accommodates students holistically (HSC, 2016). By
placing such emphasis on health and health-related
activities, policymakers encourage LEAs to make student
health, including mental health, a priority and a focus.
Although it can be considered a strength, the amount of
leeway and flexibility that states and LEAs have with the
SSAEG funding could pose potential issues as this policy
begins to unfold in the coming years. The fact that a needs
assessment by LEAs are only required every three years
and that schools receiving less than $30,000 are not even
required to submit one could make it difficult for
policymakers and stakeholders to ensure that funds are
being spent in accordance with the intent of the law
(ESSA, 2015). Additionally, the fact that no “safe and
healthy” school activity is mandated could be seen a
strength in that it allows LEAs to select activities that best
match their school, but it is also a weakness because there
is still no mental health activity is specifically required by
law in public schools (Samocki, 2016). Another area of
weakness in this legislation is the actual funding of
SSAEG. SSAEG funding was created to be a formula
grant based on the Title 1 Formula (ASCD, 2016). All
federal funds are intended to “supplement not supplant”
state and local funding for schools (ESSA, 2015).
Although SSAEG has been approved for $1.6 billion of
funding in FY 2017-2020, there is no obligation for that
entire amount to be appropriated each year. The House of
Representatives Appropriations Committee approved a
total of $1 billion for the grant for FY 2017 in October of
2016, but this differs from President Obama’s proposal of
$500 million and the Senate's proposal of 300 million
(Peterson, 2016). President Obama has also expressed
interest in turning SSAEG into a competitive grant (Roche
et al, 2016). Based on President-elect Trump’s desire to
increase competition and choice among schools, he may
agree with this change (Ujufusa, 2016). If the grant
program changes to a competitive grant rather than a
formula grant, not all public education entities will be
eligible to receive funds. Likewise, If the full amount of
funding approved by Congress when the ESSA was passed
is not implemented each FY, the ability of SEA and LEAs
to incorporate mental health initiatives into their schools
will be impacted.
Policy Recommendations
Based on the weaknesses noted in Title IV of the ESSA
as they pertain to the social problem of lack of mental
health resources in schools, below are four policy
recommendations and their rationale.
1. Policymakers should revise the law to require a
needs assessment every three years from all school
districts receiving funds, not just those receiving
$30,000 or more.
Ø Needs assessments ensure that schools are
attuned to the individual needs of their specific
students, especially as it pertains to mental
health. They guide school authorities in choosing
the right activities and programs to spend
SSAEG money on and help them to monitor
progress that is made on areas needed for
improvement. Therefore, they should be required
from all schools receiving funding to ensure that
needs are being met sufficiently.
2. Congress and President-Elect Trump should keep
SSAEG as a formula grant that supplements state
and local education funds instead of changing the
legislation to make it a competitive grant
program.
Ø All public schools should have equally safe
and healthy learning environments for their
students. Keeping SSAEG funded as a
formula grant rather than a competitive grant
allows every school to receive resources
fairly and equitably based on the Title I
Formula (ASCD, 2016). Without this
allowance, the divide between healthy,
educational, and technologically equipped
schools and schools that serve vulnerable
populations and lack resources will grow.
3. Congress and President-Elect Trump should vote
to fund SSAEG at its original amount of $1.6
billion.

4. Ø The legislation for SSAEG was written with
the intent that the program would be funded
at $1.6 billion. Without this full amount, the
20%-20%-60% allocation between well-
rounded education, safe and healthy school
activities, and technology spending would be
significantly reduced. The chance of LEAs
being able to make great strides and
improvements in these areas will lower. A
large reason cited for schools lacking mental
health resources was lack of funding
(DeWitt, 2012). Any impact that schools
would have experienced on mental health
improvements in their students will be
lessened.
4. Policymakers should modify Section 4018 of Title
IV to mandate certain “safe and healthy”
activities for which all schools must use their 20%
of SSAEG money for before utilizing the funds for
other suggested activities. There are two activities
that absolutely should be mandated because they
provide and create basic mental health
framework. The first is that schools should hire
mental health professionals per the National
Association of Social Workers and the American
School Counselor Association recommended ratio
of 1 professional to 250 students; the second is
that schools should provide a mental health
component in all new staff training.
Ø Mental health professionals are trained to
recognize the signs and symptoms of mental
illness. They help link students with
resources, can provide counseling services,
and can be a barrier to the consequences of
unaddressed mental illness such as suicide,
absenteeism, and impulsive behavior
(Anderson & Cardoza, 2016). Schools are
not currently federally mandated to provide a
mental health professional, and many mental
health professionals that are employed by
schools have caseloads that consist of several
hundred students (Anderson & Cardoza,
2016). If there were one professional for
every 250 students, needs could be addressed
and attended to on a much more
comprehensive and regular basis.
Additionally, school staff such as teachers
see students for numerous hours every day.
They are in a perfect position to notice red
flags for mental illness or hardship, but many
times they do not receive any mental health
training and do not notice these indicators
(NPR, 2016). Providing some form of brief
mental health training for school staff would
allow them to be familiar with the warning
signs of common mental illnesses and allow
them to refer students to mental health
professionals preemptively.
Helpful Resources
ACMH. (2016). Problems at school. Association for
Children’s Mental Health. Retrieved September
11, 2016 from http://www.acmh-mi.org/get-
help/navigating/problems-at-school/
Adams, D. (2016, May 17). ESSA and SSAEG:
Implementing a well-rounded education.
Edmentum. Retrieved October 9, 2016 from
http://blog.edmentum.com/essa-ssaeg-
implementing-well-rounded-education
Anderson, M. & Cardoza, K. (2016, August 31). Mental
health in schools: A hidden crisis affecting
millions of students. Houston’s NPR. Retrieved
September 10, 2016 from
http://www.npr.org/sections/ed/2016/08/31/4647
27159/mental-health-in-schools-a-hidden-crisis-
affecting-millions-of-students
ASCA. (2016). State school counseling mandates and
legislation. The American School Counselor
Association. Retrieved September 10, 2016 from
https://www.schoolcounselor.org/school-
counselors-members/careers-roles/state-school-
counseling-mandates-and-legislation
ASCD. (2016). Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA):
ESSA implementation resources for educators.
Association for Supervision and Curriculum
Development. Retrieved October 27, 2016 from
http://www.ascd.org/ASCD/pdf/siteASCD/policy
/ESSA-Title-IV-FAQ_Mar32016.pdf
Committee on School Health. (2004, June). School
based mental health services. American
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from
http://pediatrics.aappublications.org/content/113/
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DeWitt, P. (2012, May 22). The role of school
psychologists and social workers. Education
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5. n_ground/2012/05/the_role_of_school_psycholo
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ESSA. (2015, December 10). The Every Student
Succeeds Act S.1177. Retrieved October 9, 2016
from https://www.congress.gov/bill/114th-
congress/senate- bill/1177/text
HSC. (2016, March 15). Opportunities to support student
health in the new Every Student Succeeds Act.
Healthy Schools Campaign. Retrieved November
8, 2016 from
https://healthyschoolscampaign.org/policy/educa
tion/opportunities-to-support-student-health-in-
the-new-every-student-succeeds-act/
NAMI. (2016). Mental health in schools. National
Alliance on Mental Illness. Retrieved September
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More/Mental-Health-Public-Policy/Mental-
Health-in-Schools
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schools are struggling to handle millions of
students with mental health problems. Retrieved
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http://apps.npr.org/mental-health
Obama, M. (2016, January 28). Remarks by The First
Lady at The School Counselor of the Year.
Speech presented at School Counselor of the
Year White House Award Ceremony in East
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school-counselor-year
Roche, M., Coleman, S., Strobach, K., & Peterson, E.
(2016). The Every Student Succeeds Act, Title
IV: Opportunities for community-school
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