Murray bill aims to address mental health crisis in schools

STATE HOUSE — Chairwoman of the Senate Health and Human Services Committee Melissa Murray, a Democrat representing District 24 in Woonsocket and North Smithfield, and Rep. Jenni Furtado of District 64 have introduced legislation to provide additional support to schools to fund mental and behavioral health for students.

“Our students and schools need more support to address the continuing youth mental health crisis,” said Murray. “For schools that are not sufficiently resourced, this additional state aid will allow them to increase mental health staffing to appropriate, industry-recommended levels to address our children’s unmet needs and set them up for academic success.”

“Both our students and our teachers need this support in order to learn and teach effectively,” said Furtado. “Especially in the post-pandemic era, mental health support is an essential component of successful classrooms and if we want to improve the academic achievements of our schools, we need to invest in the health of our students.”

The legislation (2025-S 0256, 2025-H 5532) would provide school districts with additional state support equaling two percent of total district spending to hire mental and behavioral support specialists. To qualify, districts would need to be below the industry-recommended behavioral health staffing levels of one school social worker per 250 students, one school counselor per 250 students, one school psychologist per 500 students – or have elementary classrooms without full-time paraprofessional behavioral health support.

To be eligible for the funding, school districts would also have to meet certain requirements, such as complying with the provisions of the School Improvement Team Act and practicing de-escalation support for students removed from classrooms. Additionally, the funds would go to new programs, not activities the districts are already funding.

Under this program, the Department of Education would collect performance reports from districts and approve the funds before they are spent. In the event that costs exceed the available funding, the department would prorate the funds among eligible districts.

“Rhode Island students are facing a mental health crisis, which is profoundly affecting teaching and learning,” said National Education Association Rhode Island Executive Director Mary Barden of the legislation. “Our school districts need resources and staff to support student well-being, ensuring they can learn and thrive. This legislation establishes a permanent funding stream to help districts hire and retain dedicated staff while providing essential resources to close gaps and set students up for success. It also relieves classroom teachers, allowing them to focus on teaching. Student health and well-being remain our organization’s top priority at the State House, and we are grateful to Chairwoman Murray and Representative Furtado for championing this critical legislation.”

The 2023 Youth Risk Behavior Survey showed feelings of sadness or hopelessness at near all-time highs both in Rhode Island and nationally. The same survey reported that more than 15 percent of high school students and 20 percent of middle school students said they seriously considered suicide.