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Trustee Coston’s Response to U.S. Department of Education decision to Cancel the School-Based Mental Health Grant

Two days before Mental Health Awareness Month kicked off, the US Department of Education informed La Mesa-Spring Valley and other school districts across the country that we would no longer be receiving a School-Based Mental Health (SBMH) Grant which was set to have two years left of Congressional appropriated funding from the Bipartisan Safer Communities Act.

Supporting student mental health is critical now more than ever. According to the Youth Risk Behavior Survey released by the CDC in 2024, the percentage of students increased by 10% between 2013 and 2023. The SBMH grant allowed us provide Social Workers at each of our school sites. These social workers are able to provide various services from preventative and behavioral supports for our most at risk students, to social skills development and small group interventions allowing students to get the services and support they need without the need to overload our already impacted special education department.

One of the most impressive programs we provide that receives funding from this grant is the Parent Empowerment Program (PEP) which helps to support students and their caregivers with challenging behaviors a student may be having. This is an early intervention resource for our 3-6 year-olds so the students can learn skills to regulate their own selves and parents learn strategies to utilize with their kids. PEP at LMSV is an expansion of a research-based program out of Vanderbilt University that has done longitudinal studies with students to track the huge impact this can have on mitigating serious behaviors at older ages.

The Department of Education unilaterally cancelling this congressionally funded grant program will have catastrophic effects for our students across the nation. In a survey conducted by All4Ed prior to the 2024 election, 71% of voters said it was very important or extremely important for K-12 public schools to focus on improving mental health care for students. With the increase in behavioral outbursts and other mental health concerns with students post-pandemic, the idea that school-based mental health is “inconsistent with, and no longer effectuates, the best interest of the Federal Government” is ludicrous.

Providing students with the supports needed to succeed at school will ALWAYS be consistent with our East County Values and in the best interest of the Federal Government. I urge the Department of Education to reconsider their decision to end this grant funding early. 

This week, I had the opportunity to attend the annual Coast2Coast Federal Advocacy Trip hosted jointly by the California School Boards Association (CSBA) and Association of California School Administrators (ACSA). While there, school board trustees and superintendents from across the state were able to speak with congressional offices to urge public education to be fully funded. Our meetings on the hill occurred the day after we received the letter from the Department of Education so we were able to tell our members of congress exactly how this would effect LMSV. There were many other issues related to funding that we advocated for including Special Education (IDEA) and Title funding. I want to be clear, the removal of the funds for the SBMH grant will impact ALL programs in our schools, not just those directly related to Mental Health.

I will ALWAYS advocate for LMSV students and work with our legislators at all levels for fully funded schools.