Following the 2018 murders of eight students and two teachers at Santa Fe High School in Santa Fe, Texas, Governor Greg Abbott committed to address the dearth of mental health resources in schools.
“We must do more than pray for the victims and their families,” stated the governor of Texas.
Four years later, and in the wake of another deadly school shooting in Texas, a CBS News investigation revealed that the majority of the state’s public schools continue to provide students with limited or no direct access to mental health treatment.
“No one listened to us, students,” said Zach Muehe, who fled his sophomore art class at Santa Fe High School four years ago when a shooter started fire. “I feel that the mental health issue is the source of all evil. It is simply never discussed, and I have no idea why.”
Survivors of school shootings reported that they have attempted to raise awareness about the dearth of mental health resources for students for years, but their concerns were frequently disregarded.
593 school districts in Texas have neither a school psychologist on staff nor a telehealth alternative, according to an analysis by CBS News of data from the Texas Education Agency (TEA). This leaves over half a million Texas schoolchildren without access to mental health services.
CBS News’ analysis revealed that Uvalde Consolidated Independent School District (CISD) has no school psychologists on staff. The local district was also not enrolled in the statewide telemedicine mental health program that was established in response to the school shooting at Santa Fe High School.
The shooting suspect in Santa Fe, a 17-year-old student, was determined to be mentally ill and therefore incompetent to stand trial.
Chris Guedon and Zach Muehe at the Santa Fe High School memorial
Chris Guindon (left) and Zach Muehe attend the “Unfillable Chair” memorial at Santa Fe High School in Texas.
Following Santa Fe, Texas officials approved roughly $100 million to expand mental health treatment for children around the state. Among the projects was the Texas Child Health Access Through Telemedicine telehealth program (TCHATT).
TCHATT, which is now installed in over 400 school districts throughout the US, connects disturbed adolescents to professional school psychologists via live video conversations.
Dr. David Lakey, the Chief Medical Officer for the University of Texas System, stated that more than 12,000 students had benefited from TCHATT’s counseling services.
“Another reason I believe it is effective is because we asked the parents, ‘Is it effective?’” Lakey stated. “When we conduct this type of analysis, we receive overwhelmingly positive feedback from parents and children that they are considerably better or better as a result of the TCHATT service.”
However, Lakey admitted that the telehealth program still has a ways to go.
TCHATT will be in as many as 417 school districts in Texas this school year, encompassing approximately 59% of the student population, according to an examination of TCHATT and Texas Education Agency data by CBS News.
However, this still leaves over 800 districts without access to TCHATT, including the Uvalde CISD.
Dr. David Lakey
When asked if the TCHATT program could have identified the Uvalde shooter, Lakey stated, “If five years ago we could have had that program there, around the time he was in seventh grade, and determined that things weren’t going well, and then linked him to the services he needed, I believe it would have been much less likely that he would have done what he did.”
The difficulty in implementing TCHATT in all Texas schools has not been due to a lack of funds. In the program’s first two years, millions of allocated money remained unspent.
One of the challenges, according to Lakey, has been convincing schools to adopt the new approach. Finding enough mental health specialists to complete the job is another obstacle.
“We have a significant problem with the mental health workforce in the state of Texas, so one of the obstacles our institutions face is just employing the personnel we need to deliver the service to all schools in the state of Texas,” noted Lakey.
To work as a school psychologist in Texas, an individual must possess a particular license attesting to their training in school psychology. School psychologists are distinct from guidance counselors, who do not require formal training in psychology.
The National Association of School Psychologists recommends that schools have at least one school psychologist for every 500-700 students, but CBS News’ analysis reveals that the majority of students in Texas attend school districts where the ratio is significantly higher: one psychologist for more than 1,200 students on average.
CBS News discovered that almost no schools in Texas employ adequate psychologists. Only 39 districts out of more than 1,200 in the state fulfill the recommended ratio. These districts serve less than one percent of all pupils in Texas.
To satisfy this minimum level, the remaining Texas schools would have to recruit an additional 5,600 psychologists. Texas has incentive schemes to entice individuals into mental health professionals, but they have not yet filled the void.
Texas is not isolated. According to a report published in May by the National Center for Education Statistics, just about half of the nation’s public schools claimed they could adequately offer mental health services to pupils.
Approximately fifty percent of public schools provided mental health evaluation services, and somewhat more than forty percent offered mental health therapy. Even lower rates were observed in rural districts.
According to Lakey, it is especially challenging to recruit enough mental health experts to serve in rural districts such as Uvalde, where the demand is frequently greatest.
“I’ve already told the legislature this,” said Lakey. “They can give me a bucketful of money, but I cannot spend it if I cannot hire enough people to perform these services.”
Sanger ISD, located around 90 kilometers north of Dallas, is one of 39 districts that fulfill the necessary ratio of mental health specialists to students.
Faced with identical funding constraints as the majority of Texas schools, the small rural district has addressed the mental health needs of its kids through community collaborations and innovation.
Ann Hughes
Ann Hughes
CBS NEWS
“This community and school system prioritize mental health,” said Ann Hughes, director of student emotional behavior and student intervention at Sanger ISD. “We instruct behavior similarly to how others instruct mathematics. We do not give up on individuals with behavior issues. We to the bottom of the issue.”
To compensate for a shortage of state money, Sanger ISD collaborates with churches, nonprofit organizations, and the city to fill up gaps in student programs.
Hughes has also asked for and been awarded grants to fund mental health.
However, what distinguishes the district is what it has done with the money.
There are designated “exercise rooms” and “chill rooms” in three Sanger ISD schools where kids learn to manage their emotions.
Inside Linda Tutt High School, where the most disadvantaged students are sent, there is a free supermarket.
The business not only fulfills a need for many of these students, but also provides them a feeling of purpose because it is run by students.
Hughes remarked, “It is about contribution.” “Seeing that someone has a need similar to yours or a need greater than yours creates a connection.”
For each behavioral program, Sanger ISD collects data to determine what is effective and what is not.
However, success is not solely judged by statistics.
“Without Ann, I definitely would not be here,” said 18-year-old former Linda Tutt High School student Preston Westbrook.
By the time he entered high school, Westbrook had reportedly lived in 26 different foster homes. Westbrook stated that he was physically and mentally mistreated in a dozen houses.
Westbrook’s rage problem was acute when he arrived at Linda Tutt High School. He frequently escaped via the school’s roof.
“That’s how I would avoid people when I was angry,” he explained. “I took off door hinges when I was nine years old. I have punched holes in doors. … If not for Ann, I would not be here. I believe that more schools like this should exist.”
Hughes stated, “He is one of our true success stories.”
Hughes stated that she, too, is frustrated by the absence of governmental financing for mental health, but that this should not discourage schools from attempting.
“Let’s utilize the energy I used to fling my hands into the air and continue by taking a small step. Then, small steps become large steps, and before you know it, you are on a trip and changing lives.”