State lawmakers are increasingly seeking to support children in Utah and Arizona suffering from fear of the coronavirus pandemic.
The bill would add mental or behavioral health to the list of reasons why students may be absent from class or stay away due to physical illness.
Similar laws have been passed in Oregon, Maine, Colorado and Virginia over the past two years.
Offering mental health days can help children and parents communicate and prevent struggling students from falling behind in school or falling into crisis, said Debbie Plotnick, vice president of the nonprofit advocacy group Mental Health America. Plotnick said mental health days can be even more effective when combined with mental health services in schools.
“We know this year has been very difficult and we know it is difficult for the young,” said Plotnick. “That’s why it’s so essential that students feel comfortable introducing themselves and saying I need to take steps to support my mental health.”
In Arizona, Democratic Senator Sean Bowie introduced a daytime mental health measure for the second time after legislation stalled in March when the pandemic took hold.
Republican Governor Doug Ducey was interested in youth suicide and mental health, and Bowie said he is confident it will be signed into law. The bill was passed unanimously in the Senate on Thursday.
Conservative Utah passed a law in 2018 that allows children to take time out of school for mental illness. A new proposal from Republican Rep. Mike Winder would allow the absence of students to deal with other types of mental pressures to further normalize the treatment of a mental health problem as a physical problem.
“If a college student has a panic attack today because of a drama at home, it’s not necessarily mental illness,” said Winder. “But maybe they need that day to catch their breath and stay healthy.”
Under Utah law, which was dropped from commission on Friday, mental health days would be treated like any other excused absence, Winder said. A parent should excuse their child, and students are still expected to catch up with their schoolwork.
In Arizona, specific mental health day policies would depend on each school district, Bowie said.
Theresa Nguyen, a licensed clinical social worker, said she is concerned about the potential long-term mental and academic effects students could face from the pandemic.
In addition to increasing reports of anxiety and depression, Nguyen said, many students say they don’t feel like they are absorbing practical teaching materials and that they aren’t getting enough support.
“They feel like no one cares that I’m having a hard time, so they’re basically telling me I’m dealing with it,” said Nguyen, Mental Health America program director. “And for many young people that means an increase in self-harm and suicide.”
In recent years, leaders in Utah have been looking for ways to reduce the alarming rate of youth suicides. The pandemic has grown in urgency, with many young people isolated from friends and school activities.
Winder’s bill is modeled after a similar program in Oregon that her daughter, Jessica Lee, found through her work on a youth committee with the Utah chapter of the National Alliance on Mental Illness.
In Oregon, students receive five days off sick every three months, and these can be sick days or mental health days.
Lee, a senior at Southern Utah University studying clinical psychology, said he was inspired by the youth activists who successfully defended Oregon law in 2019.
Lee and Corroon are working with the committee to help teens navigate their mental health. Over the years, Corroon learned to manage her anxiety with medication and therapy and is now a sophomore at the University of Washington, where she plans to study public health.
Part of her routine is taking a step back to prioritize her mental health, an opportunity she believes other kids deserve as well.
“I definitely needed those days to stay at home or find a resource instead of forcing myself to go to school and putting more pressure on my mental health,” Corroon said.