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Board proclaims May as student mental-health month; staff detail teletherapy, opioid prevention and school-based supports
Summary
Fairfax County Public Schools adopted a proclamation naming May 2025 as Mental Health and Student Wellness Month and received a presentation from the superintendent about prevention, teletherapy usage (Hazel Health), opioid-prevention protocols and partnerships with community behavioral-health agencies.
The Fairfax County Public Schools board unanimously adopted a proclamation recognizing May 2025 as Mental Health and Student Wellness Month and heard a detailed overview of the division’s multi-tiered approach to student mental health.
Superintendent Dr. Reed and staff described prevention, assessment/intervention and crisis/postvention strategies and highlighted partnerships with local community providers, including in-school services provided by the county’s Community Services Board and contracts with outside partners. The presentation said the division provides counselors, social workers, school psychologists and a teletherapy option (Hazel Health) for secondary students.
Staff reported utilization figures for Hazel Health and noted participation is uneven across grade levels: most referrals and sessions were among upper-grade students, and staff described barriers such as parental permission requirements and the need for a private space for teletherapy. The presentation included performance figures for the vendor’s recent year of service (several thousand sessions), and staff said the district uses opioid-settlement funds for prevention programming and has established on-site protocols, naloxone supplies on buses and staff training for overdose recognition and response.
Board members praised the programs and pressed for more detail about middle-school access and cost-effectiveness. One trustee asked whether the Hazel Health per-student cost was sustainable for systemwide expansion; staff said contract renegotiation and alternative delivery models would be explored. The board closed the item by requesting follow-up information on participation rates by grade, the cost per student, and any contractual flexibilities that could expand access to teletherapy in middle schools.
What’s next: Staff will return with clarifying data on Hazel Health participation and options to extend services to younger grade levels; the board emphasized tracking outcomes as part of regular monitoring.
