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Louisiana receives millions to address mental health in public schools

The program will be prioritized in 34 struggling schools in the City of Monroe, Jefferson Parish and St. Bernard Parish.
Credit: AntonioGuillem

The Louisiana Department of Education has received a $9 million grant to expand mental health services to students across the state.

The state will receive $1.8 million each year for five years through the program.

In partnership with the Louisiana Department of Health, the state education department will use the money to establish a comprehensive Louisiana School Mental Health Support Program.

The goals of the program include increasing awareness of mental health issues among school-aged youth, providing specialized training to school personnel on how to detect and respond to mental health issues and connecting students struggling with behavioral or mental health issues and their families to appropriate services.

The program will be prioritized in 34 struggling schools in the City of Monroe, Jefferson Parish and St. Bernard Parish. The state previously identified these schools as having high referral rates for out-of-school discipline.

The grant comes as Louisiana education leaders continue to renew the state's approach to behavior intervention and alternative education settings.

In the coming weeks, the state education department is expected to propose a new process for ensuring that state-certified alternative education schools and program meet the terms of the law, as well as a system of rating alternative schools that rewards schools who successfully get students back on track.

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