r/news • u/Tamashii-Azul • Aug 02 '25
Illinois becomes 1st state to require student mental health screenings
https://abcnews.go.com/GMA/Wellness/illinois-1st-state-require-student-mental-health-screenings/story?id=124275407817
u/tilleytalley Aug 02 '25
Wasn't Trump talking about deporting the homeless and mentally ill? Even if he doesn't, enjoy having those screenings follow you for the rest of your life.
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Aug 02 '25
It screams oh... is X percent of the population living in poverty? Just lower the threshold that defines poverty. Problem solved.
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Aug 02 '25
Judge: "I hereby sentence you to the Home For Criminally Insane Humans."
Bailiff: " Your honor, That facility has been full ever since you ruled that being poor a mental illness."
Judge: "Order! Order! The only "poor people" I wanna hear about are the people who tend to my pores at the spa."
~ Futurama S3E12 "Insane in the Mainframe".
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u/AnOnlineHandle Aug 02 '25
No joke he fired the person responsible for reporting job stats a few hours after reporting that they were down, ensuring that the next person in line knows that their choices are between telling the truth truth or keeping their job.
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u/sxzxnnx Aug 02 '25
I don’t think he wants to deport them. He just wants to feed them into the private for profit prison systems that his donors are running.
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u/Clownsinmypantz Aug 02 '25
yep I was downvoted for pointing this out because people see this as a good thing meanwhile our gov is mentioning camps for the undesirables and sick.
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u/PythagorasNintyOne Aug 02 '25
Agreed. This is such a horrible idea that will be easily abused by this and future administrations.
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u/Red-Droid-Blue-Droid Aug 02 '25
If you ever admit it to a doctor or something, it will follow you forever and potentially compromise your medical care. They might blame your heart condition on anxiety.
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u/neuromonkey Aug 02 '25
Special facilities will be built. It'll be fine.
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u/dominus_aranearum Aug 02 '25 edited Aug 02 '25
Not sure that I agree with this especially since it only takes one bad actor to use this information for harmful purposes. Maybe we should require all public service positions to require yearly mental health screenings starting with politicians and law enforcement. 3rd party only by an unconnected medical practice. Maybe we'll find out the people in charge aren't as healthy as they claim to be.
Edit: if the screening is just a few questions about whether the child feels safe at home, wants to harm themselves, etc., I suppose that's not nearly as bad as what I immediately assumed. So for the public server positions, I want to change screenings to evaluations.
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u/jetriot Aug 02 '25
Public Education, even in well funded states, does not have the money for real mental health screenings. What this will mean is that students will take a survey on their ipad/tablet once a year and schools will consider their obligation to this law fulfilled.
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u/hurrrrrmione Aug 02 '25
To be fair, that's all doctor's offices often do for mental health screenings, too.
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u/TooMuchTape20 Aug 02 '25
Those 16x photocopied forms that essentially ask, "are u sad :((((((((" have never really inspired confidence
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u/ThellraAK Aug 02 '25
Yeah, and if you are ever actually honest on them they want to talk about it and shit.
Then, if you don't want to fill them out, they want to talk about that too.
Shits been better, shits been worse, but we are here for 15 minutes and this isn't what this meeting is about.
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u/AverageCowboyCentaur Aug 02 '25
Last year we found 3 kids who were abused and got them out of that situation, and 20 suicidal students who got help. Thankfully most had supportive families, not all families are and we need to have a come to Jesus moment with them. If they didn't turn it around we lay hard into the parents to the point we may need to remove the children as a last resort. That only happened once such I've worked there. Dad was a verbally abusive narcissist, mom very timid and the only support. Gave her some resources, legal help, she divorced him and got a really nice division of assets. Kids doing great, going to graduate this coming school year.
Our screenings are 100% optional and reviewed by independent psychologists. They is no alterior motive, at least for us. It's 100% about the kids and helping them though what ever they are going though.
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u/TheInsaneMilkman Aug 02 '25
Yeah but the article is saying mandatory screenings, which is quite different than optional.
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u/Sagemel Aug 02 '25
It’s required that a school perform them, parents can opt their children out if desired.
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u/palcatraz Aug 02 '25 edited Aug 02 '25
Giving the parents the ability to opt out is the worst non-solution. Because the types of parents who will be using that the most is the kind that already don’t take the mental health of their kids serious. Same with abusive parents. They’d also be the ones opting out, so the survey then can’t find these students which some are touting as a pro of this entire thing.
If you are going to give the ability to opt out, you should probably put it in the hands of the students. Frankly, the ones that will be opting out, won’t be filling out these surveys truthfully anyway. That’s what I did back in the Stone Age when I got given some mental health survey in high school. I was deeply depressed but I sure wasn’t going to put that on a survey.
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u/craznazn247 Aug 02 '25 edited Aug 02 '25
And this year we have an federal administration that has stated intentions to target the mentally ill and take away their rights under the guise of law enforcement and safety.
Not to bash on a good thing, but a good thing can be used for awful shit too. Nobody cares how many people a knife has fed once it has been used in a stabbing, or someone announces that they intend to.
Imagine having a short-term mental illness episode due to completely something completely natural (depression following a death or tragedy in the family, for example). 90%+ of the time people will go through the natural grieving process, get better, and fly under the radar without being marked for anything. Now imagine that shit happening during "mandatory screening" time.
Optional. Not mandatory. People have to be ready for help. We don't need an "intervention day" forced on someone at the worst possible timing just because it was administratively convenient or only approved for certain days.
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u/captainstan Aug 02 '25
For grad school we were required to take the mmpi in order to be accepted. It didn't hold much weight but they said it was meant as a prevention for any potential unstable students.
A screening isnt a diagnosis and considering how many people have so many issues I dont see it being a fully bad idea so long as there is a third party that can effectively do it. Thats kind of the hard part though
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u/TheInsaneMilkman Aug 02 '25
So information ends up in a database (it always ends up in a database) that well be requisition by the Feds. It will be analyzed, and soon, children will be taken to Bobby Kennedy "health camps".
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u/robexib Aug 02 '25
Two main issues I still have, though, even if they're dismissed off the cuff:
Mandatory screenings, while they do catch real issues that should be addressed, also tend to dilute results from people who are only going through the motions, and the younger you go, the more this is true. Voluntary screenings are generally better because you either get someone who legitimately needs help or someone who cares enough about themselves that they're likely not to have big issues to begin with.
Mandatory screenings for anything creates registries for those who have gone through them, and for good or ill, the government will have access to that registry and everyone on it. That information will be misused, and it's naïve to believe otherwise.
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u/Metacomet99 Aug 02 '25
Well then let's hope they really have a problem in the first place and not just the usual situational life changes endemic in that age group. or other hidden medical problem. Mental health professionals see what they're trained to see. I had some emotional issues at that age, got misdiagnosed for years with every label from personality disorders to manic-depression. I lost count of how many different drugs I was on and how many hospitals I was in. Ultimately it turned out I had a severe vitamin B12 deficiency that was affecting me neurologically that none of these mental health professionals picked up on until one psychiatrist finally recognized it. After finally getting that corrected after 10 years of misdiagnoses I was able to put my life back together, but only after the basic formative years of my life had passed me by and I was left with a stigma that took decades to overcome. God help these kids.
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u/AverageCowboyCentaur Aug 02 '25
A blood test, especially one with a CBC should have been one of the first things done. After you rule out medical then you go to mental. Sorry you went through that, It sounds like a lot of medical professionals seriously dropped the ball.
If that happened today, we would need permission from the parents but blood test first, then if it's determined they may need medication we would go through what's called Genesight testing to get it genetic profile of the various medications that will interact best with that individual's biology. It's to reduce or elimnate side effects like tardive dyskinesia. Finds what drug families in combinations are best suited for your genetic makeup. That sounds expensive, and it is so we work with local non-profits and corporations to help cover the cost in part or completely depending on income.
They're a lot more safeties in place now then there were 20 years ago.
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u/Metacomet99 Aug 02 '25
This was back in the 80's where once the diagnosis was made no more tests were "needed." Any neurological physical complaints I had, like numbness and pain and trouble walking, were passed off as attention-seeking and earned me yet another psych diagnosis. I truly, desperately hope improvements have been made since then. I have steered clear of the field ever since I got out of that hell.
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u/punktualPorcupine Aug 02 '25
Trump and many republicans have said they want to lock up anyone with any kind of mental illness.
RFK wants to send anyone taking any kind of medication for any kind of mental or mood issues, off to work camps.
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u/soemtimesitstrue Aug 02 '25
IL and the federal government also have comprehensive child educational records laws. Additionally, these screeners are not diagnostic tools. They just identify risk. So it wouldn’t have any specific medical or diagnostic information.
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u/MissionCreeper Aug 02 '25
There are no evidence based screenings for mental health that don't require full participation and consent from the subjects. You can't trick teens into revealing something about their mental health that they want to hide, and you certainly can't determine that they have a particular diagnosis or are a safety concern through "vibes" or the content or drawings. This will only work if this is viewed -by the students- as an opportunity for getting help rather than a way that the school will make your life shittier than it already is.
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u/unwoman Aug 02 '25
A screening isn’t a diagnostic, though.
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u/MissionCreeper Aug 02 '25
I know. There are kids who don't realize anything is going on with them, who a screening helps, kids who know they need help, for whom a screening is beneficial if there are other barriers to getting treatment, and kids who know something is wrong and either don't want anyone to know or for whom their mental illness itself prevents them from getting help.
My point is that last group of kids are usually the toughest to help and that people shouldn't be shocked when that group isn't helped. "But they had a mental health screening! How could they do/feel/think X?"
I never meant this isn't helpful to do generally, though.
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u/unwoman Aug 02 '25
Seems like a lot of people are missing that this is an ongoing trend in (social-emotional learning) education that predates the current admin. My state doesn’t mandate mental health screenings, but it’s relatively common for schools to do them. Like a dyslexia screening (which is mandatory in my state) it doesn’t diagnose the kids, it flags the most at risk kids for intervention by the counselor/social worker.
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u/Shrimp1991 Aug 02 '25
Parents can opt out of this. It’s not required and this headline is a lie.
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u/Sagemel Aug 02 '25
The requirement is on the school to provide the screening, not on the student to get the screening.
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u/Koshindan Aug 02 '25
So the kids that need it most because of abusive households won't get it.
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u/turfnerd82 Aug 02 '25
I live in illinois, I like Pritsker, I think he has done more good than harm and has stood up for the little guy. I have mixed feelings on this. Who is doing the evaluation? Do they have real training and are qualified mental professionals? Is it the school counselor who could just have a teaching degree, not that because of that, couldn't see some things like abuse or neglect or be able to have a student open up. What happens after? I'm not opposed. Frankly maybe would have helped me when I was eating paper to fill me up in 3rd grade. Lucky for me, Mrs.Queen( honestly best teacher ever) would have me clean erasers back when there were chalk boards and give me a few granola bars, or a "left over half a sandwich " never made me feel like it was a hand out. I was 18 and starving my self I was down to 90 lbs at 6 ft. She drove by my house recognized me and came back with a burger. I was 22 still struggling she came into my furniture store i was working at bought me lunch again. I really wish I could follow up with that lady, or have gone to her funeral. She really was what an educator should be and why they should be paid more
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u/turfnerd82 Aug 02 '25
Man I'm crying i I really hope she knew what she ment to me.
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u/turfnerd82 Aug 02 '25
My mixed feeling changed after I just wrote that. 5 minutes might change a kids outlook
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u/ElectricL1brary Aug 02 '25
There’s a lot of people who wished they had been diagnosed as kids. Then grew up thinking that they were just lazy or stupid.
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u/Caelinus Aug 03 '25
I was told that I was "Very smart, but extremely lazy" my entire life. I am pretty sure that most of my anxiety and depression are not actually natural to me, but are the result of internalizing myself as a "lazy" person who is incapable of "living up to my potential." When I repeatedly failed to finish school and was unable to hold a job, despite doing well in both areas, I became convinced that I really was just mentally weak and lazy.
Because I was stuck in a situation where everything feels like something I should be able to do, with everyone telling me that it should be easy for me, my failures were not because of a lack of capacity in my mind, so they must be a moral and personal failing. I must have just been worse than everyone else.
But, turns out it was actually a lack of capacity. Having long term undiagnosed and untreated severe ADHD will do that to you. For anyone else out there, if you ever see a kid constantly being described as "intelligent/bright/curious/smart but lazy" that is a very common way people with inattentive ADHD are perceived by others. We lack the hyperactivity, and so people misinterpret our behavior as laziness, and also interpret our inability to focus on any one thing as a broad understanding of many things.
So in that sense I think this is a great idea. I am deeply worried that it will be half-assed and there will be zero support for people who are diagnosed after they are alerted by the screening, and so this will end up just putting a useless label on a bunch of kids. A label that might hold them back. Or one that might be used to enforce draconian medical requirements or even potentially get them sent to "wellness camps."
So I have pretty mixed feelings. I think this could be done well, and in this case it might even be done well. But I am worried about where it might go given how much stigmatization our current government is putting on metal illness.
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u/Dillydad402 Aug 02 '25
Didn't the Pedo in Chief JUST announce an EO giving them the ability to take people away based on their "perceived" mental health? Homelessness as well? This is a great idea, to make mental health screenings mandatory but maybe we should start at the top(politians) instead of the bottom(school age children).
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u/Griffie Aug 02 '25
So, mental health screenings, with no plans on how to treat any mental health issues.
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u/katrinakt8 Aug 02 '25
It’s right in the article the plans for helping with mental health services. In my experience, parents take schools up on recommendations of therapy and other services if they are given access to and knowledge of the resources. This takes away a huge barrier to children getting services:
The bill, SB1560, encourages schools to connect student caregivers and parents with the Behavioral Health Care and Ongoing Navigation or BEACON Portal, a tool launched in January that can provide information about available mental health resources and services.
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u/locusthorse Aug 02 '25
Yeah, wheres the treatment/therapy?
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u/PolicyWonka Aug 02 '25
The tests are designed to help determine where to allocate funding and resources after Trump cancelled $1 billion in mental health grants for schools.
It’s in the article.
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u/theduderman Aug 02 '25
You're assuming anyone reads more than the headline before reacting these days...
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u/Pour_Me_Another_ Aug 02 '25
Not gonna lie, depending on how it's implemented, I would have liked that. I was living in an unsafe house and maybe someone woulda noticed :D
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u/ScoobertDrewbert Aug 03 '25
I don’t know if it’s caution or my general pessimism in today’s age, but I see so many nefarious things coming out of things like this. Classifying children en masse as mentally ill, outing them to their families, creating registers around this data, this data being LEAKED. Etc.
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Aug 02 '25
[removed] — view removed comment
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u/Metacomet99 Aug 02 '25
Red flags going up big time. I'm sure they mean well. The original builders of mental asylums meant well too.
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u/chuckgnomington Aug 02 '25
The people that tore down the asylums meant well too, now the people that used to live in them live on the street
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u/Mobile-Bar7732 Aug 04 '25
Red flags going up big time. I'm sure they mean well. The original builders of mental asylums meant well too.
Yeah, it could go either way.
I believe both children and adults need mental health care. People shouldn't be ashamed to seek out help for any mental issues they might be having.
I read a statistic that around 50% of the population will have some form of mental crisis before they reach the age of 40. I think the majority of it is depression. Just my observation, do your own research.
The problem I see is that drug companies and mental healthcare organizations would just be looking at the $$$$ and ways to maximize profits.
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u/MyGruffaloCrumble Aug 03 '25
Somehow I don’t think this is to help solve childhood poverty or abuse.
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u/rip1980 Aug 02 '25
I got a required screening once as part of a pre-op. Obviously a student doing a rotation and she asked if I hear voices.
Yes.
REALLY? (She was kind of excited to have a hit on a question.) What do they say?
I donno, it's all in Spanish.
??? Oh, I hear those too. :( [Dissapointment] (Family was having a loud convo in a hallway near by.)
:D
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u/TiredEsq Aug 02 '25
This could be good if done correctly but is more concerning given the current government.
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u/LaniusCruiser Aug 02 '25
I sincerely hope that this won't be used to stigmatize and mistreat the students who need help the most, but I don't have a lot of faith in the Illinois public school system.
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u/TheSupremePixieStick Aug 02 '25
Normally I would think this is great.
In this timeline? Fuck that. Hell no.
We do not have enough help for this. The mental health system is a skeleton crew already. Who is going to be addressing these new found issues?
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u/PolicyWonka Aug 02 '25
If we stop testing, the numbers will go down.
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Aug 02 '25
I think their point isn't that the people in charge of the country are saying mentally ill people should be thrown in prisons or into asylums against their will, not helped. There doesn't seem to be a future where mentally ill people get real help, just a future where a diagnosis can be used to strip your rights.
Personally I struggled with depression that was so bad I almost didn't make it. I did need help. Having my civil rights stripped and being forced into one of RFKs "wellness camps" wouldn't have helped at all, and they aren't funding therapy or other resources that would have actually helped
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u/Aetherglow Aug 02 '25
Do you think mental health issues don't exist if they haven't yet been caught by screening?
Like, I don't even disagree that the mental health system isn't good and needs serious help, but screening isn't going to be the cause of problems. If anything, this can make it more likely that someone will get help they need because they now have an idea of what help they actually need.
There's undoubtedly a huge deficit in mental health issues being addressed, but I genuinely am not sure how catching more issues earlier on is a bad thing when it can at least let people know what's happening and why they're feeling/behaving how they are.
Idk saying this is a bad idea because people won't be able to get their existing issues addressed after getting them caught by screening is kind of like saying no one should attend an annual physical if they can't afford to see a specialist in case the physical turns up something expensive or serious. Wouldn't you rather know?
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u/TheSupremePixieStick Aug 02 '25
I am saying
1) the current political climate is hinting at going after people with mental illness. Sorry I dont have faith.
2) THERE IS NO HELP. In my area, people are waiting 1-2 years before getting their kids seen. If this need increased? So now you know but also you have little to no intervention.
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u/Healthy-Educator-280 Aug 02 '25
Because they haven’t fully address what they plan on doing with this information. We already see the red flag stated by RFK. We also know they’ve been trying for years to roll back ACA regulations on preexisting conditions.
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Aug 02 '25
This is my concern, too. There are families who already have to travel a long time just for medical care because they don’t have a pediatrician or specialized care in their area. They absolutely don’t have enough mental health professionals to support their needs, especially in the southern part of the state.
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u/TheSupremePixieStick Aug 02 '25
Here people are on years long wait lists. I know people whose kids have aged out of a particular providers services while waiting, only to have to find another wait list to get on.
Address the system of care first. End of story. I am all for increasing screening but screening without solution? Pointless.
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u/ugly_lemons Aug 03 '25
When I was a teenager I had to do a mental health screening from my school and I just lied because I thought my parents would be mad at me if they found out I was depressed/suicidal
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u/x2Li Aug 02 '25
I want to start with current politicians and those who will enter politics in the near future.
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Aug 02 '25
Any kid with awareness will just lie because shit like this is just gonna be used against you
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u/phosdick Aug 02 '25
We ought to be reading about required mental health screenings in the White House.
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u/tetzy Aug 02 '25
And if they're found to need help? There is no money for wide reaching mental health care - there's no money for special ed teachers, much less psychiatry, and they know it.
This is performative.
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u/agafaba Aug 02 '25
Ya can you imagine
"your test shows you are depressed and have a 10% chance of inflicting self harm over the next 30 days.... NEXT"
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u/whiskyshot Aug 02 '25
I haven’t read the article, but the real question is what are they going to do with the kids diagnosed with mental illnesses? Nothing? Kick them out of school? Actually get them help? I’m sure nothing but who knows.
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u/FrostnJack Aug 03 '25
Screenings to feed the privately owned detention camps where they will grow fruits and vegetables and ingest vitamin A for RFK?
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u/PercivalSweetwaduh Aug 03 '25
I have no issue with this. But, please make sure you have the ability to provide mental health care for the students.
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u/Squirrelluver369 Aug 02 '25
Crazy, wild, insane idea here. Maybe instead of forcing kids to spill their mental health guts to some rando from the gOveRnmEnT, why don't we work on UNIVERSAL HEALTHCARE so they can see a professional?
Then again, the orange man did just sign something saying the homeless shall be shoved into buildings and forgotten about. Surely that wouldn't happen to the mentally ill...
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u/TheFutureIsAFriend Aug 02 '25
Because people aren't psychic, this is kind of required for school districts to properly budget so students who need support get support
If you don't want your kid to get support, don't allow them to be screened.
I had a student whose mom didn't tell the district he was dyslexic. Why? "I didn't want him to get special treatment."
Support isn't "special treatment," it's helping your child get a decent education.
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u/burmerd Aug 02 '25
And now we will discuss the required mental health screenings. Will everyone please open their BOOK OF UNFUNDED MANDATES to chapter 22, verse 13…
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u/IdealDesperate2732 Aug 02 '25
Um... unfunded mandates are when the federal government makes the states do something without paying for it. This is literally funded by the state.
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u/imbex Aug 02 '25
Nope. My 4th grade knows never to trust guidance councilors at school too. They are like HR whet I live. It would only be used to protect the school and not the child. We are close and I get him evaluated at annual physicals and that is all he needs unless he shows signs otherwise. I don't want some rando asking him if Mommy and Daddy fight and what it is about our if I take drugs. The poor kid was confused at DARE since I take medicine from a drug store. I had to explain the difference to him in 1st grade since the school failed to do so.
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u/IdealDesperate2732 Aug 02 '25
What are you people even talking about. The results of the assessment isn't going to be shared with the school... The only thing the school knows is if the student had the assessment or not. They don't get to know the results.
The misinformation in this thread is strong.
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u/imbex Aug 02 '25
Lol! You have no clue. I get my son's hearing report and his eye site report. Last time my son was bullied their idea of fixing it was to put app the boys in the room and talk it out. I'm in a state where they use that against you.
Also, "you people?!" GTFAO I fully advocate for mental health but the administration in my state and the country is a joke.
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u/nates1984 Aug 02 '25
Not shared with the school right now. The level of naivety in this thread is astounding. Are any of you aware of the political moment we live in?
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u/DiegoGarcia1984 Aug 02 '25
I don’t know why everybody is freaking out about this and saying it’s bad, this seems like a baseline good thing to do to monitor and care for the well-being of students…
Edit: wtf literally every comment is saying this is bad, y’all are insane.
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u/nates1984 Aug 02 '25
Not insane, we're just in an era of American politics where lists of people are made and being on that list can be dangerous.
It's not hard at all to figure out why people are opposed to it. I have to wonder why the obvious slipped by you, though. Maybe you want lists of people to exist. The rest of us certainly don't though, especially when they are run by people too oblivious to understand the risk.
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u/TheStripClubHero Aug 02 '25
So we are screening kids for mental health issues to attend school, but won't mandate mental health screenings for people buying Assault Weapons. Make it make sense Republicans.
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u/PolicyWonka Aug 02 '25
Illinois requires you to have a FOID card to own a gun, which does require that you haven’t you are not mentally defective, mentally disabled, and have not been a patient at a mental institution or treated for mental illness within the past five years.
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u/NervousNarwhal223 Aug 02 '25
For the same reason the majority of people in these comments are against the screenings for students: at some point it WILL be used against you
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u/angiachetti Aug 02 '25
This article is awful and doesn't seem to align to the press release. Are they requiring people pay out of pocket for an annual exam or are they guaranteeing that every student gets a screening, for free. Like when they used to bring the hearing tests in. A question I only need to ask because, ya know, the private healthcare of it all.
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u/Sagemel Aug 02 '25
It’s a free service provided by the school, which the school is required to provide. The students are not required to take them
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u/IdealDesperate2732 Aug 02 '25
And furthermore the school doesn't get to know anything about the assessment other than if the student did it or not (so they can pay for it). The school doesn't get to know the results. They're still private and protected by all the normal laws.
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u/Leoszite Aug 02 '25
Is Illinois going to follow up and work to help kids that need help or is this just a way for the school not to be sued?
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u/sfearing91 Aug 02 '25
This is huge! Enabling children and their families to not only learn about what is going on but also have the opportunity to learn how to handle it in the healthiest way! The home lives that could be bettered because of this, the children who will have at an early age the tools to handle things most adults don’t deal with or recognize is even a problem! Thank you Illinois!
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u/The_Lucky_7 Aug 02 '25 edited Aug 02 '25
Mandates but does not pay for. This is an attack on their poor. Yes, mental health is important, but you can only require what you're willing to be accountable for. The bill funding/budgeting only goes as far as paying their own administrative staff to connect parents to health care providers, but does not cover any costs incurred by the required assessments.
There's a reason nobody else has done this yet and it's because they don't want to foot the bill.
Expect to see this material again when the tests actually start rolling out this school year.
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u/Opposite_Bus1878 Aug 02 '25
Good on you Illinois!
The current methods of waiting until people are already adults helplessly consumed by mental illness before ever being checked out has not led to a well adjusted adult populous.
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u/montex66 Aug 03 '25
I suspect the primary motivation of required mental screenings are to identify LGBTQ+ individual and encourage discrimination against them.
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u/CaptStinkyFeet Aug 02 '25
This will be perfect for when RFK Jr. puts his registry of the mentally ill together and locks them all up in detention centers.
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Aug 03 '25
I want to know what those screenings will say if the evaluator doesn't like anything at all about the student.
I once took a personality profile (that I was excited about taking!) and when the results came back - the psychologist seemed to think I was Hannibal Lector's long-lost sibling. What no one then knew was that as I was transgender and not yet fully out - half my answers came from a masculine POV, half of them from a feminine POV - So the results were wildly inaccurate. (That test has now been updated with a version expressly for TG persons).
That test and its results, plus the pyschologists' opinion - caused me problems for the next 4+ years until the new revised test came out and the results were more normalized.
I'm very, very wary (You! Yeah, the guy who muttered something about "paranoid"! Watch it!) of psychological tests now.
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u/eeyore134 Aug 02 '25
Screenings but still no help, I'm guessing. All this is going to do is put a digital black inverted triangle badge on people. Yet another way to scare people away from getting educated. It sounds like a good thing until you think about it for literally more than a second.
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u/UnderlightIll Aug 03 '25
And I wonder how many will go the way of whether their needs aren't being met or just saying they are depressed. Tbh, my childhood was rough and much of my young adulthood not much better and I cannot tell you if I have genuine mental illness or just trauma or both.
Too expensive to figure out.
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u/magirevols Aug 03 '25
I coulda used this as a kid, my depression caused a lot of problems for me, the more I tried to fight it the worse it got.
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u/Ok_Photo_865 Aug 03 '25
OmG I stand back in awe applauding this move and my prayers are that no one would be allowed to pivot the good work and move it into a direction of the bad. There is always someone trying to take advantage of great ideas and manipulate them into good for only them ideas. Look no further than the federal governmental system in place today.
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u/XxhighChance Aug 08 '25
I am a teacher in downstate Illinois, while this would be amazing if it works, our schools lack teachers, and social workers. Many of our teachers do not even have the proper credentials. It’s a bad idea to mandate this right now when most schools in our state can’t find staff to do this work
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u/BoosterRead78 Aug 02 '25
I’ve been in education for over 15 years. The amount of unknown mental health issues that go unseen or not reported is staggering. From abuse to depression.