New York State has legislation pending on allowing school districts to give students mental health days. Currently 12 states implament mental health days for their students and New York may be next.
Fonder of Hashtag Same Here Global Mental Health Charity Eric Kussin said he has a message for teachers.
"Your students can't learn when their brains are on fire," he said.
Kussin is in favor of the bill being passed.
"It doesn't necessarily necessitate that extra days are being given," he said. "But what it helps with the designation of what days are given in terms of what you're allowed to take off for."
Society, he states, plays a large role in what people think of mental health. Which is why he agrees with the days off.
"Our society is positioned in such a way for so long you're either sick or you're healthy. That's not what mental health is," Kussin said.
On the other hand the Niagara Falls Superintendent Mark Laurrie said students shouldn't have days off when the resources they may need are right at their finger tops within their schools.
"I think the best place for students to get mental health services, mental health supports, and mental health guidance is in school," Laurrie said. "We have tier one two and three mental health supports. Tier one meaning what an entire class would get, tier two being what groups of students or small groups of students and tier three being individual attention."
Laurrie said even though he doesn't agree with the bill, he fully supports the recognition of mental health within school districts.
"They need consistency, rituals and routines," he said.
Kussin said he agrees also adding the discussion on mental health should begin in the home.
"Not only is it important for us to have mental health days in school but to know what practices, what exercises we should be doing at home to work on our mental health," he said. "Just like when we're home for strep throat, bronchitis, pneumonia we're supposed to take the penicillin.
If this bill is passed, it could take effect starting in 2023.
