School-age children filled the south side of the House gallery as a bill to strengthen Wyoming’s K-12 mental health resources failed on the fourth day of the legislative session.
It is not uncommon for young people to be present at the state capitol during legislative sessions. The field trip to the People’s Hall brings civics lessons to life.
On this particular day, students visiting the House of Commons were able to get a glimpse of MPs’ differing views on childhood mental health.
House Speaker Albert Somers (R-Pinedale) said, “Even in my small town of Big Piney, we’re basically talking about suicide, and kids going to school counselors in crisis are outrageous.” “There are many,” he said.
Mr Somers learned about this situation through his experience on the Parliamentary Mental Health and Vulnerable Adults Select Committee. That drove him to his actions.
“These children are our precious resource,” Summers said. “And it’s tragic to see them suffer and see the crisis happening in our schools.”
However, the bill died after the hard-line Freedom Caucus used its voting bloc to kill the bill at the time it was introduced.
“That’s not the role of government,” said caucus member Rep. Jeremy Haroldson (R-Wheatland), who opposed the bill.
“Obviously, this is the world I live in every day,” said Haroldson, who works as a pastor. “But the reality is, we have to ask ourselves, ‘Is it our role as a government to try to solve this problem?'” I’d go so far as to say it’s impossible, it’s impossible. is. ”
Although the Freedom Caucus does not have a majority, it has enough House members to block the bill during budget debate, which requires two-thirds support.
But today, a slightly different version of the bill was given a second chance when Mr. Somers introduced it as an amendment to his budget bill.
The House voted 33-28 to commit $18.5 million to establish a grant program aimed at addressing mental health needs in K-12 schools.
Details and revival
Subsidies would be determined based on a school district’s average daily membership, and the Department of Education would be responsible for promulgating the rules. In addition, districts receiving grant funds must report the amount spent, the number of students served, and the impact of their services.
Somers originally called for the bill to set $37 million for the new grant program, but the amendment cut that amount in half. Either way, the money would be better spent on community mental health centers, said Rep. Clarence Stiver (R-Cheyenne), who voted against the amendment.
“That money needs to get to them,” Stiver said.
Rep. Lloyd Larsen (R-Lander) said the program is intended to help school districts identify students and refer them to resources such as community mental health centers.
“We have to give school districts the opportunity to get resources like social workers to at least make sure that kids have a direction in which to go,” Larsen said.
Larsen said the grant program will give lawmakers the information they need to shape a longer-term, statewide solution. Whatever the fix, it’s important that schools don’t become the sole provider, Larsen added.
Nevertheless, the grant program is not the direction schools should go, said Rep. Sarah Penn (R-Lander).
“The more I saw government intrusion and intervention into parent-child relationships, the more I became concerned that schools were going to be involved in this issue,” Penn said.
The unfortunate reality is that mental health concerns are now part of the education equation, said Rep. Carly Provenza (D-Laramie).
“Kids can’t learn when they’re depressed,” Provenza said. “They can’t learn if they’re anxious. They can’t learn if they’re suicidal. And they can’t learn if they’re dead.”
It remains to be seen whether this amendment will take hold. The Miller amendment was not introduced in the Senate. That means a joint conference committee will have to resolve the differences before the budget goes back to both chambers for a vote.
This article was originally published by WyoFile and is republished here with permission. WyoFile is an independent nonprofit news organization focused on the people, places and policies of Wyoming.
