The Choice for Mental Health Services is Now

This is an editorial from Superintendent Arntzen

• Dennison Rivera
• January 25 2022

As State Superintendent, I very much appreciate the discussion on student mental health with our Montana Legislature. Last spring, over 41% of Montana high school students reported feelings of sadness or hopelessness for two or more weeks in a row. In this survey, 98% of all school districts participated, representing 16,848 students in grades 7 through 12.

The focus on learning is parallel with mental health, and there are numerous ways to serve our youth in mental health.  In the 2021 legislative session, HB671 transferred from the Department of Health and Human Service (DPHHS) the administrative role of Comprehensive School and Community Treatment (CSCT) to the Office of Public instruction.

This new legislation asked public schools to choose to invest in a cost-sharing plan for mental health services for a reimbursement from the federal government with Medicaid and Medicare.   To aid in the development of the new cost-sharing structure, the legislature gave $2.2 million for bridge funding to schools to pay for mental health services from community providers. This six-month interim bridge funding allowed a working group of state, local school leaders, legal, and mental health providers to propose a new model for funding services. Federal approval for this new plan came December 22^nd, 2021.  This plan also holds the state minimum requirements and is the least burden of accountability from schools as dictated by the federal government.

Now is the time to prioritize mental health in our communities and in our schools. The story is yet to be told as Montana families and children face the ramifications of masking, quarantining, loss of family, and economic instability. To aid in the effort, Montana public schools have received an added $600 million in Federal COVID relief tax dollars. I am asking our school leaders to give Montana Hope to our children and that schools choose to prioritize these flexible federal COVID dollars to fund the needed mental health services now, especially in these uncertain times.

The future sustainability of student mental health services depends on our policymakers in the Montana legislature.  More collaboration with the legislature, our communities, schools, and mental health care providers will lead to a healthy sustainable future for our children.

I hope school leaders and policy makers choose to join me and serve our children now.

Elsie Arntzen

State Superintendent of Public Instruction