Graphic that shows teenager kneeling and hiding face, with student signage that says counselors not cops

Support and Prioritize Student Mental Health and Wellness

This continuing pandemic has had a devastating impact on the mental health of students. California must continue to invest in mental health support for students to address this crisis.

Sign our petition to tell California leaders it's time to meaningfully invest in our student's mental health.

This petition will be sent to:

  • Governor Gavin Newsom
  • Tony Thurmond, State Superintendent of Public Instruction
  • Dr. Linda Darling-Hammond, State Board President, CA State Board of Education
  • Dr. Nadine Burke Harris, California Surgeon General
  • Senator Josh Newman, Chair, Senate Committee on Education
  • Assemblymember Al Muratsuchi, Chair, Assembly Committee on Education
  • Brooks Allen, Executive Director, State Board of Education
  • Dr. Mark Ghaly, Secretary of Health and Human Services

We, the undersigned California students and concerned adults, continue to urge you to protect and support the mental health of California students. California has taken positive strides to fund mental health supports in our schools but our students need stable, ongoing funding for this work. New data collected from a 2023 student survey also indicates little progress has been made to increase mental health support and staff in schools. Some school districts have laid off all school counselors or decreased student supports.

We urge you to take action to ensure that all California students have support to recover from the pandemic, including investing more in school-based mental health and other critical resources for all ages K-12. We also urge you to meet with student leadership and student mental health professionals to learn more about the ways the state can support students in this unprecedented time of crisis.

California must:

  • Increase and sustain investments in mental health services for youth.
  • Decriminalized student mental and ensure that student mental/behavioral health needs are not responded to by law enforcement.
  • Support the policies demanded by the Youth Liberty Squad and ACLU of Southern California in petitions in 2020, 2021 and 2022 and in the State of Student Wellness report.

We urge you to continue to build upon the support California has offered - we must do more to continue to support our students.