New York City鈥檚 free online therapy platform for teens may violate state and federal laws protecting student data privacy, lawyers from the New York Civil Liberties Union and advocates charged in a letter Tuesday to the city鈥檚 Education and Health Departments.

, a $26 million partnership between the city Health Department and teletherapy giant Talkspace launched in late 2023, connects city residents between ages 13 and 17 with free therapists by text, phone, or video chat.

In less than a year, roughly 16,000 students have signed up, Health Department officials said. Sign-ups disproportionately came from youth who identified as Black, Latino, Asian American and female and live in some of the city鈥檚 lowest-income neighborhoods, .

Information shared with a therapist is subject to stringent protections under the federal Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act, or HIPAA. But before connecting with a therapist through Teenspace, teens go through a registration process that asks for personal information like their name, school, mental health history, and gender identity. Advocates are concerned such information is being improperly collected and could be misused.

For one, teens enter the registration information before securing parental consent 鈥� a possible violation of federal student privacy laws, the letter contends.

And families don鈥檛 get a chance to review the privacy policy 鈥� which discloses that registration information can be used to 鈥渢ailor advertising鈥� and for marketing purposes 鈥� before entering the registration information, advocates allege. There鈥檚 an option for teens to request that their data be deleted from the company鈥檚 platform, but it鈥檚 hard to find, according to advocates.

鈥淚t鈥檚 all very invasive,鈥� said Shannon Edwards, a parent and founder of AI For Families, an organization that seeks to help families navigate artificial intelligence, who co-authored the letter along with NYCLU and the Parent Coalition for Student Privacy. 鈥淚t鈥檚 also very unclear that parents understand what they鈥檙e getting themselves into.鈥�

Advocates also pointed to the risk of a potential data breach 鈥� something the city has in recent years.

Advocates say similar about have been circulating for years and questioned whether city officials did sufficient due diligence or built in enough additional privacy safeguards before inking the contract.

鈥淚t鈥檚 the opacity of the relationship here, and the failure to make manifest what the city is doing to ensure there isn鈥檛 this data accumulation and sharing for inappropriate purposes,鈥� said Beth Haroules, a senior attorney at the NYCLU who co-authored the letter.

Health Department spokesperson Rachel Vick said the agency has 鈥渢aken additional steps to protect the data of Teenspace users and ensure information is not collected for personal gain, including stipulations that require all client data to remain confidential during and after the completion of the city鈥檚 contract and barring use of data for any purpose other than providing the services included in the contract.鈥�

Client data is destroyed after 30 days if a teen doesn鈥檛 connect with a therapist, officials said.

A spokesperson for Talkspace referred questions to the Health Department.

The extent to which Teenspace is subject to state and federal laws governing student privacy in educational settings is somewhat murky, given that the contract is with the city鈥檚 Health Department, not its Education Department.

But NYCLU attorneys contend 鈥渢he City cannot absolve itself of its responsibility to provide the protections inherent in federal and state laws鈥imply because the contract sits with DOHMH instead of DOE. The service is promoted on public school websites, and it is DOE鈥檚 responsibility to ensure that student data is protected, regardless of which City agency signs the contract.鈥�

Parents may be more inclined to trust the platform because it has a 鈥渟tamp of approval鈥� from the school system, Edwards added.

A Health Department spokesperson didn鈥檛 specify whether the program is subject to education privacy laws, but said it鈥檚 鈥渘ot a school based service.鈥�

Teenspace has been the city鈥檚 highest-profile effort to address the ongoing youth mental health crisis.

鈥淲e are meeting people where they are with a front door to the mental health system that for too long has been too hard to find,鈥� said Ashwin Vasan, the city鈥檚 health commissioner, in May.

Some teens have praised the program, noting it鈥檚 a way to bring mental health care to young people who may not otherwise have access.

But some mental health providers have argued it can鈥檛 replace the kind of intensive care a clinician provides, especially for kids with severe mental health challenges.

Company officials shared in May that they had helped 36 teens navigate serious incidents including reports of suicide attempts and abuse 鈥� cases they referred to child protective services, in-person therapists, or hospitals.

Talkspace CEO Jon Cohen previously told Chalkbeat the company uses an artificial intelligence algorithm to scan transcripts of therapy sessions to help identify teens at risk of suicide.

Even advocates critical of Teenspace鈥檚 privacy protections acknowledge the severe shortage of mental health providers and say teletherapy can play a role in filling the gap.

鈥淲e know you cannot find providers 鈥� there is such a need,鈥� said Haroules. But advocates said the city can do more to ensure its vendors are meeting strict standards for data privacy, especially with such sensitive information.

鈥淓veryone thinks, well, mental health is important for kids, these kids of services are required 鈥� when on the other side is: 鈥楬ow are they getting to it?鈥欌�� said Edwards. 鈥淚t doesn鈥檛 matter what the app is, there has to be a standard.鈥�

This was originally published by Chalkbeat. Chalkbeat is a nonprofit news site covering educational change in public schools. Sign up for their newsletters at .

Donning an apron and hair net, Haley Radomski had few breaks while dishing out samples of ice cream to a stream of treat-seeking customers on a Friday afternoon in June.

She shuffled around the downtown Indianapolis ice cream shop preparing milkshakes and waffles cones in between exchanges. Even while working a solo shift, Radomski was quick to turn her attention to each new face, greeting them with a jovial, 鈥淗appy Friday!

It鈥檚 a stark difference from the halls of the Johnson County high school where she worked just a year before. A former school counselor, Radomski said she loved working with students 鈥� although she was responsible for more than 600 kids in 2022. She loved the job, too 鈥� or at least the idea of it 鈥� “but it was also killing me.鈥�

鈥淚 think the first year (as a counselor), I had on some rose-colored glasses about what that job really looks like,鈥� she said. 鈥淎nd then, especially after the pandemic, the ramping up of mental health issues and the dependency on schools to handle those, that was a huge shift.鈥�

鈥淚t was basically like being hosed to the face 鈥� it wasn鈥檛 sustainable. I wouldn鈥檛 get up to pee, I wouldn鈥檛 be drinking water, because my door was always revolving,鈥� Radomski continued. 鈥淲hat do you want me to choose? Do you want me to assess and deal with a suicidal child? Or do you want me to tell them that they鈥檙e failing five classes and figure that out? We all know what the answer has to be, but with all these different expectations that you have to meet, there鈥檚 no way that we can do it all.鈥�

She left the job last year, just four years after entering the field. Radomski, who holds a master鈥檚 degree in school counseling, said she has no plans to return.

The American School Counselor Association that Indiana has a school counselor-to-student ratio of 694 to 1 鈥� well above the national average.

Some Indiana lawmakers argued during the most recent legislative session that school counselors need help 鈥� especially to address student mental health needs 鈥� and that the state should earmark more funding to boost the number of counselors. But a slew of newly-enacted laws are instead expected to add even more to current school counselors鈥� workloads, with little additional aid.

That included the passage of , a massive bill that puts and training programs, as well as new requirements for counselors.

Now, as the needs of Hoosiers students grow more demanding, Indiana school counselors say they鈥檙e experiencing their own crisis.

鈥淚鈥檓 not going back and doing that anymore, and that is terrifying. It makes me so upset and sad. And I can also say not being in it is much healthier for me,鈥� Radomski said. 鈥淚 can work way less hours, and I can make the same amount of money. And I鈥檓 not dealing with these really, truly life or death situations. I just get to work with ice cream all day, which has been eye-opening. Like, what in the world was I doing?鈥�

Expectations vs. reality

Radomski said she entered the school counseling field looking for 鈥渁 good blend鈥� between her love for mental health and an interest in tracking career pathways and academics.

鈥淚 thought that it would give me a good balance, so I could stave off the burnout that comes with just dealing with mental health on its own,鈥� she said. 鈥淚 like being in the yuck. I like situations that are hard and helping students, supporting students.鈥�

But early in her tenure, Radomski said she was met with a 鈥渓arge dissonance鈥� between what school administrators 鈥渆ither believe the school counselor鈥檚 role is or what the expectations are, versus what we鈥檙e actually licensed to do.鈥�

Radomski said parents also 鈥渉ave a huge dependency鈥� on teachers and counselors 鈥渢o fix everything,鈥� adding to the stress and the conflict over how to best respond to anything from student pregnancies or domestic violence at home, to serious, unresolved mental health crises that require immediate action.

鈥淲e鈥檇 have parents send their kids to school and call us and say, 鈥楳y kid told me they wanted to kill themselves this morning. Can you check on them?鈥� It鈥檚 like, well, why did you send them to school? We鈥檙e not a hospital,鈥� she recalled. 鈥淚t鈥檚 great that they鈥檙e reaching out for help 鈥� but seeing us as the first person to contact in that high-crisis situation, it鈥檚 very distressing.鈥�

After four years, Radomski said she had an emotional, 鈥渃risis-level鈥� breakdown of her own.

鈥淚t wasn鈥檛 the stress from the situations themselves. It was from the different bodies 鈥� whether it鈥檚 the parents, laws, the school system itself, the kids, other professionals 鈥� there are all these differences in how we should handle things, and the expectations are absolutely where my stress came from,鈥� Radomski said.

鈥淚t was always, 鈥楢m I going to get in trouble for this?鈥� 鈥楧id I do the right thing?鈥欌�� she continued. 鈥淓ven though I can figure that out myself, just based on my training, hearing all these other voices made that really challenging. I was just ruminating over these things forever.鈥�

The burnout Radomski described was echoed by more than half a dozen other school counselors 鈥� current and former 鈥� who spoke to the Indiana Capital Chronicle.

All shared stories about overwhelming student caseload numbers and an increasing frequency of critical student incidents needing addressed, mostly related to depression, anxiety, bullying and suicidal ideation. Some counselors additionally expressed frustration over additional assigned duties 鈥� like bus and lunch duty monitoring and substitute teaching 鈥� which further takes away from their time to help students.

Most were unwilling to speak openly about their experiences, however, largely due to concerns about backlash from school and district administrators.

鈥淎 living hell鈥�

The American School Counselor Association divides school counselors鈥� roles into three domains: applying academic achievement strategies, managing emotions and applying interpersonal skills, and planning for postsecondary options.

The national association makes it clear that appropriate duties for school counselors include:

• academic planning advisement
• providing short-term counseling to students
• overseeing new student orientation
• interpreting student records and cognitive/aptitude/achievement tests
• consulting with teachers and school principals, including to resolve student issues

But they should not be expected to provide long-term counseling to address psychological disorders, cover classes for teachers, supervise classrooms or common areas, or keep clerical records, among other tasks.

Indiana鈥檚 legal framework creates 鈥渓oopholes鈥� that school administrators can use to compel counselors to perform other duties, said Anna Sutter, a former counselor at a middle school on the southeast side of Indianapolis who said she spent up to four hours some days as a hallway or cafeteria monitor. Although counselors are bound to their own professional codes, requirements laid out in state and federal laws are more limited to topics like confidentiality and mandatory reporting of abuse.

Starting her career in 2017, Sutter said the job was 鈥渟tressful, but at least manageable,鈥� until the onset of the pandemic. She worked as a counselor for more than five years before she too felt like she had no choice but to quit. Her videos about her experiences as a counselor have since .

鈥淎 lot of people just think of school counselors as dealing with grades or schedules. No. I was dealing with sex trafficking, bullying 鈥� some really intense things 鈥� homelessness, drug use from kids, drug use from parents, violence, murders, shootings, gun violence in the school 鈥� it was a lot,鈥� Sutter said. 鈥淚 only lasted five years, and that鈥檚 OK. And I keep telling myself that. But I miss it every day. I really love those students, and there鈥檚 definitely nothing like it. But it was a living hell at the same time.鈥�

Her caseload rose to more than 900 at its peak. It wasn鈥檛 until she posted about the student-to-counselor ratio on social media, risking disciplinary action, that school administrators hired help. Even so, her caseload still topped 600 students.

Making just $48,000 per year, Sutter said she had to supplement long, sometimes 12-hour days at her school with babysitting and cross country coaching to make ends meet.

鈥淚鈥檓 the one that sees all of it. I鈥檓 the one that鈥檚 seeing all of these kids have these needs, and the district and school are telling me to focus on other things,鈥� she continued, noting the annual number of student suicide assessments in her school doubled after the pandemic. 鈥淏ut then, when something happens with a child, they come back to me and say, 鈥榃hy didn鈥檛 you do anything?鈥� So, there鈥檚 a lot of legal and ethical pressure that鈥檚 put on school counselors.鈥�

Sutter said she became depressed, even having suicidal ideations. She signed herself up for therapy and started taking medication to alleviate her own mental health complications caused by the job.

鈥淚 was advocating so much, but hearing really, really hopeless, harmful things from my administrators that I was like, I either have to quit, or I have to check myself into inpatient,鈥� she said about her abrupt resignation in February 2022. 鈥淟eaving immediately felt like a relief. I immediately felt like I was in a different life 鈥� it was so shocking. I would cry every day out of happiness.鈥�

More students in need, fewer counselors

Indiana鈥檚 student-to-counselor ratio is currently the highest in the country, with schools employing just 1,494 counselors statewide for more than 1 million students. Compared to the national average, that鈥檚 286 more students per counselor.

Even last year鈥檚 ratio of 475 students per counselor put Indiana far above the American School Counselor Association鈥檚 recommendation of 250-to-1.

Julie Hill, a school counselor at Western Boone Junior and Senior High School and member of the Indiana School Counselor Association, said counselors鈥� increasing stress and heavy student caseloads are 鈥渟adly 鈥� not a new trend.鈥�

鈥淚 think we鈥檙e seeing an increase in student mental health needs coupled with ongoing changes in academic and post-secondary requirements that exacerbate the existing problem,鈥� Hill told the Indiana Capital Chronicle. 鈥淲hen there is a lengthy wait time for community mental health providers, school counselors often work to fill that gap within the scope of expertise. School counselors are also bearing the brunt of tracking various student requirements and re-advising students as a result of recent changes. And with caseloads on the rise, these all add up quickly.鈥�

There鈥檚 currently no system to track the data around those leaving the profession, but Hill said it鈥檚 鈥渁 trend that is concerning.鈥�

鈥淭he increased demands on counselors are certainly a contributing factor. And like other educators, many have additional jobs to help support their families. Others are leaving the profession because the job is so filled with non-counseling duties, it鈥檚 not the job they went to school for,鈥� she said. 鈥淲ith these factors in play, it becomes difficult to attract new individuals to the profession.鈥�

Health and education officials in Indiana and across the country have repeatedly called attention to students鈥� increasing mental health needs in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic.

In a , U.S. Surgeon General Vivek Murthy said a 鈥渨idespread鈥� mental health care crisis was already affecting children, adolescents, and young adults 鈥� and it was only accelerated by the pandemic.

More recently, , Murthy released another advisory, warning about the potential effects social media use has on youth mental health, such as symptoms of depression and anxiety.

In Indiana, suicide is the for teens. In 2021, one out of every three Hoosier students from 7th to 12th grade reported experiencing persistent sadness and hopelessness, . One out of seven students made a plan to commit suicide.

Those statistics are part of what pushed Indiana University sophomore Trinity Campbell to seek out a career in school counseling. Originally from northwest Indiana, Campbell said she wanted to be a 鈥済uiding light鈥� for kids, citing the positive influences of her own high school counselor.

But halfway through her schooling, Campbell said she changed course to pursue a future working in formal medical settings, not schools, pointing to 鈥渦ncertain working environments鈥� and too few resources for counselors.

鈥淚 just don鈥檛 know if working in an Indiana school is a good or healthy idea anymore,鈥� Campbell said. 鈥淎ll the time I see online 鈥� or on social media 鈥� about how stressed teachers and counselors are, and how it just seems like things are getting worse. Why would I want to put myself through that?鈥�

In the most recent 2023 legislative session, state lawmakers prioritized a 鈥渞einvention鈥� of Hoosier high school curriculum as the state tries to reverse its dismal college-going and credentialing rates, stymie other academic impacts following the COVID-19 pandemic and help fill open jobs around the state.

The GOP鈥檚 sweeping plan was rolled into HEA 1002, which at its core seeks to expand work-based learning in Indiana high schools and enable students to earn a post-secondary credential before leaving the K-12 system.

require public high schools to offer an annual career fair during regular school hours, and for meetings to be arranged between students and prospective employers or colleges.

Members of the Republican supermajority said they preferred to focus on career readiness and bringing in outside 鈥渃areer-coaching counselors鈥� to help schools train up more students.

Democrats emphasized the new law only gives traditional school counselors more to do.

Sen. Jeff Raatz, R-Richmond, who chairs the Senate education committee, said earlier this year  that he 鈥渄isagree(s) some鈥� with 鈥渞hetoric鈥� about a 鈥渃risis鈥� over teachers and counselors leaving: 鈥淲e鈥檙e in crisis in every industry with workers.鈥�

He maintained that HEA 1002 would be 鈥渁n opportunity to reach outside (school) walls and bring people in.鈥�

Indianapolis Republican Rep. Bob Behning, who chairs the House Education Committee, agreed that the focus of the bill is to 鈥渞eally look at coaching, as opposed to a role of a traditional school counselor.鈥�

Indianapolis Democrat Rep. Ed DeLaney pushed back, holding that Indiana鈥檚 school counselors 鈥渁re overwhelmed,鈥� and that new career-training programs will fail if the underlying counseling 鈥渃risis鈥� isn鈥檛 addressed first.

鈥淚 have sat there for years on the House Education Committee and watched them change the tests, changed the pathways that you have to increase more options, more diplomas. And this just puts a huge burden on our counselors,鈥� DeLaney said. 鈥淲hen you鈥檙e in a state that is providing so many pathways, so many requirements, so many rules 鈥� If we鈥檙e going to impose these costs, the state should pay for more counselors. I鈥檓 saying, let鈥檚 be logical.鈥�

DeLaney responded with his own idea to give financial incentives to Hoosier school districts to lower the ratio down to 350 students per counselor at the high school level. The proposal was briefly discussed in the House Education Committee but never materialized.

Hill, with the state counselors association, said 鈥渢he most meaningful solutions recommended by school counselors don鈥檛 seem to be the ones that are supported鈥� at the Statehouse.

She said, too, the impact of HEA 1002 remains unclear, given that it鈥檚 still unknown how language in the new law will be defined, interpreted and implemented.

What comes next?

The includes a $1.487 billion increase in tuition support for schools of all types, but none of those dollars are specifically required to be used for school counselor employment.

Democrats cautioned that teacher and counselor shortages are likely to persist 鈥� or worsen 鈥� given the new appropriations won鈥檛 even be enough for schools to keep up with inflation.

Still, new efforts are underway in Indiana to increase the number of school psychologists 鈥� of which there is also a significant shortage.

shows that as of January, Indiana averaged one psychologist to every 1,502 students 鈥� more than 200% more than the recommended ratio.

A new five-year $5.7 million federal grant will help the school to train more than 100 mental health social workers, who will be placed as school-based therapists in various Hoosier school districts.

But their jobs differ from counselors.

School counselors are a resource for the entire student population and focus on individual or group sessions to build skills to overcome social and behavioral challenges and improve academic performance. School psychologists, on the other hand, are responsible for conducting mental health evaluations, diagnosing mental health issues, and writing individual education plans.

鈥淗owever, the help most often proposed is to bring in other individuals, with or without meaningful training, to provide career and/or college advising, while the master鈥檚-level school counselor with graduate education in post-secondary planning is still spending significant portions of their time on various duties or proctoring tests,鈥� Hill said, adding that the association鈥檚 鈥減referred鈥� support 鈥渨ill always be more licensed school counselors who are fully equipped to provide those student services as part of a comprehensive school counseling program.鈥�

Another option is for schools to hire other staff to fulfill all the non-counseling duties counselors are currently providing.

In the meantime, Hill said the state association is encouraging counselors 鈥渢o be very intentional鈥� about boundaries and self-care in an effort to prevent burnout.

鈥淏ut many school counselors will still overextend themselves because of what their students need,鈥� Hill conceded.

Sutter, who鈥檚 now the Director of Program Management for Fight for Life Foundation, an Indianapolis nonprofit that seeks to help underserved youth gain social emotional learning skills, said increasing counselor pay and decreasing caseloads are the two biggest needs.

Every school district should also have a union representative with a school counseling background to represent the school counselors, she said.

鈥淏ut the way things are now, I would never go back. You couldn鈥檛 pay me six figures to go back to that environment,鈥� Sutter said. 鈥淟eaving was like the hardest thing I ever had to do, because I miss it every day, but that job was going to kill me.鈥�

is part of States Newsroom, a network of news bureaus supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity. Indiana Capital Chronicle maintains editorial independence. Contact Editor Niki Kelly for questions: info@indianacapitalchronicle.com. Follow Indiana Capital Chronicle on and .

The clippers start to buzz as Mcatee looks out at the dozen other students in the room.

鈥淲hat’s the biggest peer pressure you think y’all facing right now?鈥� Mcatee asks.

The students, all Black or Hispanic males, gather each Wednesday morning with Mcatee, local activist Antonio Patton and sometimes other barbers or guest speakers for the school鈥檚 new 鈥淏arbershop Talks鈥� program 鈥� an anti-violence, mentoring and counseling effort building on the trusted relationship between haircutters in the Black community and their male and female clients. 

Frank discussions that can be spontaneous as clients sit in the barber鈥檚 chair have grown increasingly formalized as haircutters also , , and

Patton and Mcatee have been at the school weekly since October at the request of Principal Stan Law. Mcatee and visiting barbers cut hair while the students, two of whom report having been shot previously, talk about challenges they face. Mcatee and Patton offer insights in return about how to handle stresses and to de-escalate tensions before they turn violent. 

Mcatee鈥檚 question about peer pressure on this day in April draws a flood of answers: Drugs, girls, people picking fights on social media, and one response that highlights the stakes at play clearly:

鈥淚 just feel like the biggest peer pressure for me is just like making the right decisions, like doing the right thing,鈥� said Xavieon Wilson, 15. 鈥淭he other day I had a choice. I could have went with a group of friends and did something not so good or I could have went to a workout. I went to a workout and one of my friends ended up being shot.鈥�

鈥淲ow,鈥� Patton said, asking if the person died. (He survived)

鈥淭hat鈥檚 a smart decision,鈥� added Mcatee, who was shot as a bystander in his teens and wants to help others avoid that kind of danger. 鈥淵ou see the outcome of it, right? That’s just being smart.鈥�

The program at the school grew out of community-wide barbershop talk sessions Patton and his non-profit group started scheduling in shops across Indianapolis in 2022 in an attempt to reduce violence, domestic abuse and other social problems.

Similar efforts are happening in barbershops , , and  

As Patton鈥檚 effort鈥檚 drew attention, Principal Law invited Patton to adapt the talks to his school, which is 84 percent Black or Hispanic and where two thirds of students are considered economically disadvantaged.

The school is also in the Haughville neighborhood of Indianapolis, long regarded as one of the most dangerous in a city setting a new record for homicides in 2020, then before easing last year.

鈥淭here is a grave need for black male scholars to engage with older, caring, and relevant black males who have a story of perseverance and triumph over challenges that the scholars can relate their current experiences that affect their lives,鈥� said Law.

鈥淎 barbershop motif provided the platform to help our young men make connections with real stories with real experiences with real solutions,鈥� he added.

Guests have included former Indiana Pacers basketball player George Hill, who grew up in Indianapolis, and people from the school鈥檚 neighborhood who were in trouble as teens but found successful jobs and lives.

The peer pressure question on this day continued to draw responses. Dae鈥檇en Thompson, 16, said he feels pressure when two friends have a conflict and he has to pick a side.

鈥淒o you know how many beefs I’ve managed?鈥� asks Mcatee, who has worked at multiple barber shops in the city. 鈥淭he best thing to do is stay out of it. You say 鈥業 got love for you鈥� and 鈥業 got love for you.鈥� The best thing you can do is try to bridge it if you can.鈥�

He tells students that sometimes having friends talk, without others around that they have to show off for, can defuse a problem.

鈥淥nce they really get there and talk, man, a lot of that stuff don’t be about nothing,鈥� he said. 鈥淭hey really don’t want to beef.鈥�

 鈥淭hey do it when they get around a friend,鈥� a student said.

鈥淭hat’s it,鈥� said Mcatee. 鈥淭hat’s the only reason that they do it.鈥�

For the next hour, the conversation bounces from cyberbullying to materialism, absentee fathers, letting slights go and not seeking conflicts over money or property damage that could lead to violence. At other points they joke about girls, about embarrassing moments or about going to prom as a group.

Thompson and other students say they appreciate the program for a chance to talk with students and adults who understand their lives.

鈥淚 come here and can speak my mind,鈥� he said.

Law says the talks seem to be having an impact. He did not have data, but said behavior problems with participants has fallen and attendance has improved. That鈥檚 in keeping with results from a for a few months after participating in barbershop discussions. Those results didn鈥檛 last, however, and the program at George Washington is too new to know the long-term effect.

The biggest impact Patton hopes for, though, won鈥檛 be measurable. It鈥檚 about preventing tragedy.

“I’m tired of meeting moms screaming for their babies that’s never coming home,鈥� Patton tells the students. 鈥淚 do not want to see one of you young men on the news other than being highlighted for something amazing.鈥�

Districts across the state reported they did not receive nearly as many applicants as anticipated and, as a result, there is some legislative momentum right now to extend the deadline.

School officials attributed the weak response to a number of factors, including summer communication lags and a concern among students that having pass/no pass outcomes on their transcripts would hurt their college prospects.

鈥淪ometimes it feels like our families have some school messenger fatigue, where they don’t always hear them or listen to them,鈥� said Tess Seay, head counselor at Fresno High School in the state鈥檚 Central Valley. Of their over 2,000 students, roughly 50 requested grade changes before their district鈥檚 Aug. 17 deadline, five days after their first day of school. They expected at least 100.

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The ability to purge a low letter grade from your record has very real consequences. For two students on the cusp of 2.0 GPAs, Seay said the grade change option pushed them over that eligibility threshold for Cal Grants, the state鈥檚 loan-free financial aid. Some Cal Grants could provide for college tuition, making a significant financial impact for low-income students.

California legislators in July designed to not penalize students for the challenges that came with remote learning during the pandemic. In addition to the pass/no pass option, families could also request that their child repeat a grade or waive particular high school graduation requirements not mandated by the state.

The law required that districts notify families by Aug. 2 and provide a two-week application period. Many have questioned whether the timeline adequately enabled families 鈥� particularly those without regular internet access, or who may have been offline during the summer 鈥� to seriously consider their grade change options.

In San Bernardino, students returned to in-person learning Aug. 2 for the first time since March 2020. Anticipating a more hectic than usual back-to-school season as a result, the district opened English and Spanish-language grade-change on Aug. 16 for their 14,911 high schoolers, weeks after many other districts.

By Aug. 31, the district east of Los Angeles received 256 applications 鈥� just under 2 percent of those eligible.

鈥淏y design, we planned to start [the application window] the third week of school, allowing students, families, and counselors to focus on [the new state policy] and not overlook it in the rush of the start of the school year. This way students were settled into a routine before we brought it to their attention,鈥� Maria Garcia, the district鈥檚 communications officer, said in an email to 蜜桃影视.

Each San Bernardino high school website flags the policy and directs families to . Families were also notified via their district鈥檚 phone app [Parent Square], social media and email newsletters.

Nancy Witrado, director of counseling and guidance with Fresno Unified School District, said their application was made available via a fillable PDF, available in Hmong, Spanish and English. While they did not track the demographic details of who applied, she told 蜜桃影视 that many originated from a high school in northern Fresno county with a history of high parental engagement.

Many Fresno families filled out applications incorrectly, asking to change Bs or Fs to pass; the former would not benefit students and the latter would be impossible. The district is now paying overtime to several registrar and counseling employees to meet about 200 requests.

鈥淲e have a lot of follow-up to do, and to try to connect with parents to make sure that they have a full understanding of what it is they’re asking for,鈥� Witrado said.

Fresno Unified stuck to its Aug. 17 cutoff, though Witrado says not many families have reached out after-the-fact. One instance, of an application mistakenly submitted to a student鈥檚 teacher, will be honored because it came in before the deadline.

Problems reaching families may not be the only driver behind fewer grade-change requests 鈥斅爏ome college-bound students were warded off by the worry that a pass/no pass grade carried negative connotations with admissions officers.

Cecilia Roeder Chang, a senior at Gunn High School in affluent Palo Alto, said her district and school did a great job of getting the word out online, and her peers even posted about it on Instagram. Last school year she earned two Cs, in physics and foreign policy, that she considered changing to pass.

鈥淚 originally had decided that I was going to. Then I emailed my school counselor, and they replied back that colleges didn’t like that as much. So I decided against [it],鈥� she said.

Roeder Chang, who is applying to both in- and out-of-state schools, was not made aware that all California State Universities and all campuses within the University of California system must grades, or that some Cal Grants require a minimum 2.0 GPA. Her peers did not apply for grade changes, she said, given that they had mostly As and Bs.

The knowledge that some are able to change low grades for the better, after the school year鈥檚 end, has garnered mixed feelings.

鈥淚 sort of feel conflicted because on one hand, if you do have like lower grades it is helpful, but also on the other hand, if you are one of those people who are getting consistently like higher grades, you can feel like, I don’t want to say annoyance 鈥� maybe a little frustration.鈥�

North of Roeder Chang鈥檚 Palo Alto, Oakland Unified School District received 660 applications in Chinese, Arabic, English, Spanish and Vietnamese. All of the district鈥檚 13 high schools were represented, and the highest volume of applications were submitted by students at Skyline, Oakland Tech and Oakland High, the largest schools. Only two families have reached out after the district鈥檚 Aug. 16 deadline.

鈥淕iven this was the first legislation of its kind, we didn’t anticipate a certain number of requests and made sure we were prepared to handle a large number,鈥� John Sasaki, the district鈥檚 communications director, told 蜜桃影视 by email.

From a policy standpoint, advocates caution against permanent alternative grading. The , a national nonprofit that aims to make students prepared for post-secondary education, expressed concern for pass/no pass policies over longer periods, saying they may lead to decreased expectations for students and less accurate student data.

Short-term adjustments to grading policies can be beneficial for students who may need to heal from collective trauma, said one former high school math teacher who now works with the Collaborative. Recalling how his Las Vegas school let up on requirements after a mass shooting in October 2017, he said changing grading policies provided students with needed flexibility.

He said that other supports 鈥� like removing deadlines or penalties for late work 鈥� may adequately support students without overhauling A-F grading, which feeds into many other systems like financial aid, school report cards and state reporting.

San Diego Unified 鈥� the state鈥檚 second-largest district 鈥� during the pandemic. Only 290 of their 36,000 high schoolers applied for grade changes. The in its communications 鈥� recommending instead that the grade be 鈥渟uppressed鈥� by repeating the class.

Because of low application rates and school capacity to process applications at the start of the school year, San Diego state Assemblywoman Lorena Gonzalez, who authored the state law, is now recommending districts extend deadlines voluntarily and is pursuing legislation to formally extend the deadline to October.

鈥淚 will say we鈥檙e a little disappointed with the lack of flexibility with some of the districts,鈥� . 鈥淚f you feel like you missed [the deadline], contact the school district. Really push.鈥�

Updated 

For years, kids in Veronica Salgado鈥檚 鈥渢ransition camps鈥� have enrolled because they are anxious about making the challenging leap from elementary to middle school, or from middle to high school.

But this summer, after more than a year of isolation, the struggle to keep up with online learning and little contact with friends, Salgado, Youth Development Manager for Family Service Association, and her team are seeing bigger problems than just helping kids figure out how to find their lockers or make new friends.

Anxiety levels are skyrocketing as kids worry about their ability to keep up with school work, focus in a room full of peers, and navigate social situations with peers they have not seen face-to-face in more than a year. The need is so great that some of the kids in the camp are in non-transitioning grades.

鈥淚t鈥檚 all hands on deck, for sure,鈥� said Salgado of the camps, hosted in coordination with school districts, and now connected to a hub of mental health services, many established just months before the pandemic hit in March 2020 in what was once a mental health desert on San Antonio鈥檚 South Side.

Counselors say it was just in time too: The six organizations at the hub were inundated with requests for services during the pandemic. Now, with the pandemic waning and re-entry weighing on the minds of anxious students and families, they are going full steam to prevent disaster.

At the transition camp, Salgado and her colleagues are on alert for signs of what educators and healthcare providers are calling a 鈥渟econd pandemic鈥� of mental health issues in young people.

鈥淲e want to keep them as motivated as possible,鈥� Salgado said. Without someone making a deliberate effort to draw them out, she said, many remote learners will not simply bounce back into the social rhythms of school. 鈥淭hey just go back into their shell.鈥�

While students are participating in transition camps, other family members can access counseling, addiction support, and parenting classes.

The pandemic itself originally accelerated the demand for mental healthcare. Where they had expected to provide about 300 people with counseling and related services in their first few months with the collaborative, said Talli Dolge, CEO of Jewish Family Service, which provides counseling services at the hub, by May 2020 her organization saw over 1,600.

Demand stayed strong in the next school year: From August 1, 2020 to May 27, 2021, the collaborative served 4,619 people.

Most of the counseling during the pandemic had to do with grief and fear as jobs disappeared, loved ones fell ill, and domestic violence increased.

The collaborative weathered the pandemic with telehealth, including donating burner phones to families who didn鈥檛 have access to the necessary technology. Family Services continued seeing clients in person, and Communities in Schools, another collaborative partner, made house calls.

But now there is a new issue: re-entry.

Kids started going back to school mid-year, Dolge said, and instantly the mental health crises exploded 鈥� the hazards of being isolated at home gave way to all out panic over returning to school.

鈥淭he crisis rates are up tremendously,鈥� Dolge said. 鈥淪ocial anxiety is huge and across the board.鈥�

It鈥檚 a daunting forecast, but two years ago it would have been devastating.

In 2018 student advocates in South San Antonio ISD hadn鈥檛 begun speaking out on the mental health challenges they faced, and the extraordinary lengths they had to go to in order to get help. Texas ranks 50h out of 51 states (and the District of Columbia) in access to mental healthcare for children and adults, and the situation is far worse for lower income communities like the South Side of San Antonio.

The first Mobile Mental Wellness hub opened at a building on the campus of a South San Antonio ISD elementary school in November 2019, not knowing then that a once-in-a-lifetime crisis would soon begin on the other side of the globe.

Going forward, organizations like Rise Recovery, a hub partner, will have their work cut out for them. Alcohol, marijuana, and prescription drug abuse rose during the pandemic as teens self-medicated in isolation.

Experts say they won鈥檛 really know how much until students return to school, where the eyes of teachers, coaches, and counselors can spot the warning signs.

What worries Rise Recovery CEO Evita Morin and others are the new cases, the ones that have been hidden behind screens during remote learning.

鈥淭he lack of data (during the pandemic was) disturbing,鈥� said Morin said, 鈥淚鈥檓 not a fan of disciplining kids with addiction, but at least before COVID schools were catching drug use and they could report it to us.鈥�

Because Texas schools started bringing a percentage of students back in the fall of 2020, educators got early glimpses of the coming mental health crisis. So, even with the pandemic still raging in San Antonio, other school districts asked the collaborative to set up shop in their district.

Neighboring school district Harlandale ISD launched their hub in November 2020, and Edgewood ISD, where the pandemic was falling heavily on working class and impoverished neighborhoods on the city鈥檚 West Side opened a hub in January 2021.

Altogether the three hubs have created mental healthcare access for 23,535 students from pre-k to twelfth grade.

For many, Dolge knows, the suffering is only getting deeper as the world moves forward, and traumas, anxieties, and grief goes unaddressed. She鈥檚 trying to raise more awareness in the community that help is within reach.

鈥淚f you didn鈥檛 know where to get help before,鈥� Dolge said, 鈥淚t鈥檚 so much more important to get help now.鈥�

For mental health support related to COVID-19, call Texas鈥檚 24/7 at 833-986-1919. You can also call the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 800-273-8255 or text 741741 from anywhere in the country to text with a trained crisis counselor. 

Dallas principal Ruby Ramirez knew trouble was brewing when the school counselor came to her office looking grim.

A once gregarious, curious student was disappearing before their eyes, the counselor told her, rarely speaking in class, ignoring his work and classmates, and combing his hair forward over his eyes as if to block out the world.

The bright middle schooler had been struggling with remote learning, and Dallas Independent School District’s School for the Talented and Gifted was able to convince his parents to send him to school in-person, hoping that would reignite his love of learning.

It didn鈥檛.

The counselor also had an ominous message for Ramierez:

鈥淗e鈥檚 not the only one.鈥�

That鈥檚 when Ramirez knew for sure: the second pandemic, the pervasive mental health challenges facing youth around the world, was at her doorstep. If her school didn鈥檛 get out ahead of it, they could lose their students. With the looming crisis, Ramierez decided it was time to revisit her training.

鈥淲e have work to do,鈥� Ramirez said. Once she saw students鈥� languishment extending beyond remote learning, enduring into the school building, she knew deeper challenges awaited. 鈥淲e had gotten to a point where the desire was fading.鈥�

It was time to prepare her staff for the challenges to come.

Mental health professionals and doctors around the globe are warning that after more than a year of stress, isolation, grief, and fear, students will not simply spring back into school. Young people everywhere from to to the are reporting more anxiety, depression, and trauma symptoms.

In addition to withdrawal, increased moodiness and volatility, parents are reporting terrifying instances of self-harm, or young children expressing thoughts of suicide, which have led to a nationwide for children under 18.

The CDC reported that between April and October 2020, the proportion of emergency department visits for kids ages 5 to 11 was up 24% from the same period in 2019, the proportion of visits for 12鈥�17 year-olds increased by 31%. Experts say the stressors of the pandemic have added to the already mounting crisis of anxiety-related disorders in , some as young as eight years old.

As a result, demand for the Mental Health First Aid courses is soaring among teachers, counselors, coaches 鈥� people who interact with kids, said Judith Allen, a certified Mental Health First Aid instructor.

Through her , Allen trained 500 adults this spring, and the nonprofit will triple instructors to meet demand this fall. The online courses made it possible for people from across the country to participate.

During her youth-oriented course 鈥� roughly seven to eight hours between the pre-work online, class session, and assessment 鈥� adult participants started by learning a foundational truth: administering first aid is not about the adult saving the day.

鈥淵ou鈥檙e not a superhero, there鈥檚 no cape,鈥� Allen said. In a session in early April, she showed the online group several scenarios where an adult might be tempted to come up with the saving insight or even offer an arm-chair diagnosis. The students in the scenarios expressing loneliness, hopelessness, and lack of motivation mirrored what parents and teachers are describing seeing more of in the wake of the pandemic.

Seeing a kid in crisis elicits a strong desire to save the day, Allen said, but rather than focusing on saying the right words to inspire, motivate, or even break through to a teen going through a mental health challenge, the training encouraged adults to be observant and open, listening to students without judgement or quick answers.

鈥�(CPR training) does not qualify you to crack open their chest and massage their heart,鈥� Allen told our class. She compared this to Mental Health First Aid: offering advice, diagnosis, or counseling should be left to professionals. 鈥淣o one is leaving here with a doctorate in psychology or psychiatry.鈥�

That didn鈥檛 mean walking away without new knowledge. Merely spotting trouble among adolescents can feel like something that requires just those degrees sometimes, and that鈥檚 where the course does offer tools most adults don鈥檛 already have, like looking for warning signs, indicators that something was amiss with the teen.

As students flood back into classrooms, experts are warning that the anxiety and mental health challenges could increase. Knowing the warning signs will be key to catching challenges early, getting the young person professional help, and possibly saving a life.

The course explained developmentally appropriate pulling away from family, changes in interests, and emotional expression and compared that to signs of trouble.

While most teens will pull away from family to some degree, pulling away from friends and mentors at the same time could be a sign of trouble.

Changing interests from childhood hobbies to more socially or ambitiously motivated interests is also typical. Losing interest and motivation in every area is a warning sign.

Watching the videos, it’s clear that a mental health challenge would be hard to spot from one interaction with a teenager. It was also understandable why signs were so much harder to spot over zoom: the intensity, frequency, duration of the warning sign is what Mental Health First Aid responders should note. While teachers might notice withdrawal or lack of motivation over Zoom, it was hard to tell where else that might be showing up. As Ramirez had noted, remote learning was tough for everyone, and it was hard to tell whether a child was experiencing Zoom fatigue or something more pernicious.

Teachers, coaches, and youth leaders who see the kids regularly and in person are ideally situated to catch the red flags when kids go back to school. Seeing students day in and day out will allow them to track the moods and behaviors that might need to be addressed. A bad day is going to happen, but lots of worsening bad days that extend into bad weeks is a sign of a mental health challenge.

Much of the data presented in the course helped lay people understand the difference between a mental health challenge and mental illnesses or disorders. One in five young people must manage a longer term mental illness in order to thrive, but many more will face a mental health challenge鈥攆or instance, a season of depression, substance abuse, or anxiety鈥� during adolescence.

Thriving with a mental illness or disorder is possible if it鈥檚 properly managed, Allen reiterated during the training, just like with chronic physical conditions.

The converse is true as well. Mental health challenges can occur in people with no underlying mental illness.

That鈥檚 what鈥檚 going to be so tricky for teachers, experts warn. The conditions are right for just about anyone to have a mental health challenge in the next year. At the same time, mental illness, especially those illnesses related to trauma, will likely show itself more readily.

In some ways, Ramirez has been in the eye of that hurricane for a long time, though. Nearly half of all mental illnesses present by age 14, the last year of middle school.

Children who grow up in poverty, like 88% of the students at the School for the Talented and Gifted, are at for mental disorders, toxic stress, and trauma. They鈥檝e also been more heavily impacted by the pandemic.

鈥淚t鈥檚 scary,鈥� Ramirez said, 鈥淭raumas have set in for our students, in their minds, in their thinking, that are really going to hinder them forever if we don鈥檛 address them.鈥�

Ramirez first took a Mental Health First Aid course, along with her administrative team, in 2018 through Mental Health America of Greater Dallas. Students are taught how to look out for each other as well. This year, with the increased urgency of the pandemic, 10 more staff members took the class so that a quarter of the adults on the School for the Talented and Gifted campus will be certified in Mental Health First Aid. She鈥檚 hoping to get parents to enroll as well.

鈥淚t changed the way that I saw mental health,鈥� Ramirez said, 鈥淚t helped destigmatize, for me and my administrative staff, mental health.鈥�

For mental health support related to COVID-19, call Texas鈥檚 24/7 at 833-986-1919. You can also call the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 800-273-8255 or text 741741 from anywhere in the country to text with a trained crisis counselor.