Colorado continues to fall further behind the national average for school funding, and this crisis was exacerbated by the pandemic. At a time when mental health is top of mind for so many, Colorado’s students rarely have access to mental health professionals in their schools.
Better funding of our schools will also help us ensure access to mental health services for students who need them and address the youth mental health crisis that was exacerbated by the pandemic. More than 1 in 5 school-aged children have experienced worsened mental or emotional health since the pandemic began, but our counselor-to-student ratio hasn’t kept pace.
We will know our schools are fully funded when we can increase access to comprehensive mental health and other support services so desperately needed by our children.