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Students propose short, active mental‑health periods in middle/high schools
Summary
A student panel proposed brief, interactive mental‑health lessons twice a semester (10–20 minutes) for grades 7–12 to teach coping, time management and help students access wellness‑center resources; clinicians and senators questioned whether brief classroom interventions can substitute for therapy and stressed referrals and wellness centers.
Students framed a statewide youth mental‑health crisis and proposed twice‑a‑semester, 10–20 minute classroom periods to teach practical coping strategies and life skills.
Josie Song told the committee that many districts now provide a brief presentation but not hands‑on instruction; students recommended interactive lessons taught by counselors or trained teachers with optional resources for under‑resourced campuses. "We want students to be able to interact with each other on these days because the only way that they would learn efficiently is that if they're actually talking to each other," a panelist said.
During questioning Assemblymember Castillo, a licensed psychotherapist, cautioned that clinical care requires lengthy training and that classroom lessons cannot replace therapy for students with intensive needs. Senators recommended expanding wellness centers, referral pathways, and student‑driven awareness efforts rather than a prescriptive statewide mandate. The committee did not adopt policy at the hearing.
