Minnesota’s School Counselor Crisis
Friends and Neighbors,
I introduced a bill this week to increase the number of counselors and cap the counselor to student ratio for Minnesota’s students. The legislation, S.F. 431, addresses the persistent challenges faced by thousands of students in Minnesota who are unable to get necessary counseling support.
This legislation is a vital step in ensuring our students have support services available to them if they are experiencing personal and emotional turmoil. It is essential that these students have somewhere to turn if they face a mental health crisis. The shortage of these support services affects thousands of students in not only their class work, but in their home lives and can prevent them from reaching their full potential. More school counselors will have a tremendous positive effect on our students.
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, one in five children nationwide shows signs or symptoms of a mental health disorder such as anxiety, depression or even substance abuse. While the average counselor to student ratio in the United States is 450-to-1, Minnesota’s ratio is 748-to-1, one of the worst ratios in the nation. This bill mandates a ratio of 400-to-1 and would increase funding for school counselor aid, bringing more counselors into each school district, allowing more students to meet with them to discuss a wide variety of issues; issues that right now are frequently going un-addressed.
If you have any questions or wish to unsubscribe from this Newsletter please feel free to contact my office at 651-296-2556 or by email at sen.jerry.newton@senate.mn.
Thank you and have a great weekend,
Jerry Newton
State Senator
District 37