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This piece is part of MI x DW, a collaboration that brings Daily Wire readers\u00a0<\/em>exclusive commentary and research from the Manhattan Institute\u2019s world-class team of scholars.<\/em><\/p>\n In this piece, Manhattan Institute Fellow Carolyn Gorman urges conservative education reformers to tackle school-based mental health programs. As Gorman explains, these initiatives have done little to improve students\u2019 mental health, but have contributed to falling outcomes \u2014 and cost taxpayers a pretty penny. \u2014 Tim Rice<\/em><\/p>\n ***<\/p>\n American public education is at a crossroads.<\/span><\/p>\n Conservative education reformers have made real gains in recent years, on school choice \u2014 now universal in <\/span>18 states<\/span><\/a>\u00a0\u2014 <\/span>parental rights<\/span><\/a>, <\/span>ideology<\/span><\/a> and <\/span>bureaucracy<\/span><\/a>. As a result, we\u2019re barreling towards what\u00a0<\/span>the American Enterprise Institute\u2019s Robert Pondiscio predicts<\/a> will be an<\/span> \u201cunprecedented crack-up\u201d of public education.<\/span><\/p>\n If the old education model is to enter its last days \u2014 if, as Pondiscio says,\u00a0<\/span>\u201cwe\u2019ve hit and passed \u2018peak public school\u2019\u201d \u2014 conservative reformers need to set their sights on their next goal. And that goal should be fighting\u00a0<\/span>school-based mental health treatment \u2014 another woke, wasteful, ineffective idea that\u2019s reduced accountability in schools.<\/span><\/p>\n These programs date back to the early 20th century, when progressive <\/span>reformers<\/span><\/a>\u00a0urged schools to promote mental health, train teachers to recognize signs of distress, and locate health clinics in schools. If schools could identify problems early and deliver treatment widely, reformers promised, mental illnesses could be prevented; academic and behavioral problems <\/span>might improve<\/span><\/a>, too.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n In the ensuing century, periodic <\/span>proclamations<\/span><\/a> of <\/span>looming<\/span><\/a> mental health <\/span>crises<\/span><\/a>, tragedies like <\/span>school shootings<\/span><\/a>, and expensive, bipartisan <\/span>spending efforts<\/span><\/a> have caused school mental health programs to explode. Today, nearly all public schools \u2014<\/span>\u00a097 percent<\/span><\/a>\u00a0\u2014 offer some form of <\/span>mental health services<\/span><\/a>, like counseling and talk therapy, universal screening, wellness programming, referrals, or telehealth. The number of school counselors<\/a> and school psychologists<\/a> is more than four times the number of clinical psychologists<\/a> and psychiatrists<\/a> in a given community.<\/span><\/p>\n Over <\/span>$130 billion<\/span><\/a> in federal and state funding has gone to school mental health in the past decade or so alone. Medicaid pays <\/span>$4 to 6 billion<\/span><\/a> annually for school districts to provide physical, mental, and behavioral health services, and states <\/span>can pay<\/span><\/a> higher Medicaid rates for services in schools than in community healthcare settings.<\/span><\/p>\n None of this has <\/span>produced results. Decades of evaluations show school-based <\/span>mental health awareness training<\/span><\/a>, <\/span>mental health screening<\/span><\/a>, universal and targeted <\/span>prevention programs<\/span><\/a>, and even <\/span>school-based health centers<\/span><\/a> have not improved outcomes relative to the absence of these services.<\/p>\n Aggregate youth mental health outcomes have declined as school-based mental health services have expanded. Between 2016 and 2023, the prevalence of adolescent-diagnosed mental or behavioral health conditions <\/span>increased<\/span><\/a> by 35%. In 2016, 4.1% of youth <\/span>reportedly<\/span><\/a> had ADD or ADHD and received treatment for it. That rate has grown nearly three times as high. At least some of this has been documented as <\/span>overdiagnosis<\/span><\/a> driven by schools<\/span><\/a>. The youngest students in a given grade are disproportionately flagged by teachers and school staff as potentially having ADHD, then get diagnosed and medicated.<\/span><\/p>\n But school-based mental health has not simply had a poor return on investment. It also seriously undermines accountability for all parties. <\/span>By confusing roles and responsibilities across the education and mental health systems, these programs give everyone involved \u2014 <\/span>parents and teachers, students and school administrators \u2014 an excuse to point the finger elsewhere when grades, behavior, or student safety falls short of goals.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Schools are not meant to provide mental health services. They\u2019re meant to educate kids. Some die-hard proponents will debate that, suggesting schools are well-positioned to address mental health because it\u2019s where kids spend most of their time, but that\u2019s a weak argument: adults spend most of their time at work, but no one expects offices to offer\u00a0<\/span>psychotherapy or prescription refills.<\/span><\/p>\n Just as workplaces are meant for working, class time is meant for learning. Yet students are <\/span>routinely<\/span><\/a> pulled<\/span><\/a> from instruction for counseling or \u201cemotional support.\u201d When you consider that many school therapists think they can\u00a0<\/span>boost students\u2019 mental health by talking about racism<\/a> and colonialist oppression,<\/a><\/span>\u00a0it\u2019s no wonder these efforts are failing while reading and math scores plummet.<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n The best way for schools to help students\u2019 mental health is to simply be schools and be safe. Education has\u00a0protective\u00a0effects\u00a0against poor mental health.\u00a0\u200bDisorderly classrooms and violent hallways cause distress. Schools should clearly communicate and fairly enforce school discipline policies so that students know what behavior is expected and what happens when expectations aren\u2019t met. Disruptive or violent students then learn consequences, and other students who\u2019d otherwise be harmed know they\u2019re protected.<\/p>\n When public schools aren\u2019t doing what works, we know better than ever that there are alternatives to simply doubling down.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n ***<\/p>\nClick here for more Manhattan Institute content.<\/a><\/strong><\/h3>\n