State Superintendent Jill Underly announced Wednesday she will be proposing more than $304 million in youth mental health investments for the 2025-27 biennial budget in November.
The announcement, made during a visit to Pulaski High School outside of Green Bay, comes just two years after Gov. Tony Evers proposed $500 million in mental health services for the 2023-25 biennial budget. That amount, however, was whittled down to less than $80 million by the time the budget made its way through the Republican-controlled Legislature.
Now, in the shadow of the 2023 Youth Risk Behavior Survey, released in July, which revealed 59% of high school students feel anxious, depressed and suicidal every day, Underly made clear something major must change in how schools address mental health.
“The status quo is not sustainable,” Underly said. “We know what we need to do to act and stop this alarming mental health crisis.”
Her ask is the largest investment the state Department of Public Instruction has proposed in youth mental health services since it first started requesting the state allocate such funds in its 2017-19 budget.
DPI had requested $278 million over the 2023-25 biennium, but received just a slim portion of its proposal, about $74 million in mental health services across K-12 Wisconsin schools. The 2021-23 biennial budget allocated less than half of that amount ― $44 million ― into youth mental health services.
Here’s what Underly is requesting in DPI’s next two-year budget.
Grow the School-Based Mental Health Services Program
School-based mental health services allow K-12 students to take advantage of counseling on school property during school hours. The service removes barriers like transportation, scheduling conflicts and a hefty bill.
In a one-time increase, the School-Based Mental Health Services Program allocated $50 million in grant dollars to schools and another $24 million to support school-based mental health professionals. At the end of fiscal year 2025, base funding for this program will revert to $10 million.
Underly is requesting the state provide every local education agency $100 per pupil, or a minimum of $100,000 per school district. That will amount to $168 million.
Expand aid for mental health costs
Currently, school districts, charter schools and school choice programs can receive partial reimbursement to employ, hire or retain credentialed school social workers, but that’s where mental health aid ends. As it stands, the state allocates $12 million annually to aid school mental health programs.
Underly requested $130 million to expand the list of professionals that can be reimbursed to include school counselors, school psychologists and school nurses in addition to school social workers.
Alcohol and other Drug Abuse funding increase
Although alcohol use appears to be declining across Wisconsin high schools, according to the 2023 Youth Risk Behavior Report, it’s still a concern for 26% of students.
In 2023, students have tried drugs like cannabis (28%), prescription painkillers (11%) and over-the-counter drugs (5%) at least once. As the country enters into the fourth wave of the opioid epidemic, sometimes called the polysubstance epidemic, marked by dangerous drugs like fentanyl and other additives making their way into other illicit drugs, drug awareness and prevention programs for youth can help promote safety.
Underly proposed increasing school funding for Alcohol and Other Drug Abuse programs to about $5 million.
More mental health training
Mental health training across schools has become a key to unlocking academic achievements and better behavioral health in and out of the classroom. Underly has proposed $760,000 to train more schools and allow for more types of mental health training.
Include middle schoolers in Peer-to-Peer Suicide Prevention Grant Program
Peer-based suicide prevention organizations such as Hope Squad and Sources of Strength train students recommended by educators to respond to peers experiencing a crisis. Currently, however, Wisconsin’s grant program supporting such organizations extended only to high school pupils.
As mental health conditions continue to impact students of all ages, Underly proposes to include middle school students in the Peer-to-Peer Suicide Prevention Grant Program.
She also wants to raise the maximum grant award per student from $1,000 to $6,000.
Natalie Eilbert covers mental health issues for the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. She welcomes story tips and feedback. You can reach her at neilbert@gannett.com or view her X (Twitter) profile at @natalie_eilbert.