Take Action Mental Health in Your State

Texas

By The Numbers

5,783,000

Number of K-12 Students (2022 Projection)i

363,000
Children with major depressionii
255,000

Children with major depression who do not receive treatmentiii

1:4,962

Ratio of School Psychologists to Students
(Recommended Ratio 1:500)

1:13,604

Ratio of School Social Workers to Students
(Recommended Ratio 1:250)

1:423

Ratio of School Counselors to Students
(Recommended Ratio 1:250)

Take Action
in Texas

There is a national emergency in children’s mental health. Children and youth are experiencing soaring rates of anxiety, depression, trauma, loneliness, and suicidality. 

Take Action

Children and youth are experiencing soaring rates of anxiety, depression, trauma, loneliness, and suicidality. Mental health challenges can affect success at school and in life, yet few students get the help they need to thrive.

The Hopeful Futures Campaign, a coalition of national organizations, is committed to ensuring that every student has access to effective and supportive school mental health care. The campaign’s school mental health report cards highlight accomplishments and provide important action steps to help address the children’s mental health crisis in every state.

At A Glance: State School Mental Health Policies

School Mental Health Professionals:

School-Family-Community Partnerships:

Teacher and Staff Training:

Funding
Supports:

Well-Being Checks:

Healthy School Climate:

Skills for Life Success:

Mental Health Education:

Little or no progress achieved

Some progress achieved

Meaningful progress achieved

Substantial progress achieved

HOW TEXAS COMPARES

State Rankings from Mental Health America iv 

2015

2020

2021

2022

Overall State Rank for Youth Mental Health

39

28

30

41

Youth with At Least One Major Depressive Episode in the Past Year

191,000 / 8.45%

296,000 / 12.19%

325,000 / 13.20%

363,000 / 14.60%

Youth with Major Depressive Episodes in the
Past Year Who Did Not Receive Treatment

Not Asked

180,000 / 65.4%

209,000 / 67.1%

255,000 / 73.10%

Youth with Major Severe Depressive Episodes in the Past Year

Not Asked

211,000 / 9.0%

219,000 / 9.2%

234,000 / 9.70%

Youth with Severe Major Depressive Episodes
Who Received Some Consistent Treatment

Not Asked

48,000 / 23.5%

54,000 / 25.0%

44,000 / 19.20%

Students Identified with Emotional Disturbance
for an Individualized Education Program

25,510 / 5.84%

28,884 / 6.09%

31,519 / 6.60%

35,851 / 7.41%

Youth with Private Insurance That Did Not
Cover Mental or Emotional Problems

179,103 / 40.5%

93,000 / 10.1%

108,000 / 11.5%

135,000 / 13.8%

Youth with Substance Use Disorder in the Past Year

151,000 / 6.68%

88,000 / 3.61%

80,000 / 3.24%

87,000 / 3.49%

i. Projections of education statistics to 2022. National Center of Education Statistics. (n.d.). Retrieved November 11, 2021, from https://nces.ed.gov/pubs2014/2014051.pdf.
ii. The state of Mental Health in America. Mental Health America. (n.d.). Retrieved November 9, 2021, from https://mhanational.org/issues/state-mental-health-america.
iii. The state of Mental Health in America. Mental Health America. (n.d.). Retrieved November 9, 2021, from https://mhanational.org/issues/state-mental-health-america.
iv. The state of Mental Health in America. Mental Health America. (n.d.). Retrieved November 9, 2021, from https://mhanational.org/issues/state-mental-health-america.
Texas

By The Numbers

5,783,000

Number of K-12 Students (2022 Projection)i

363,000
Children with major depressionii
255,000

Children with major depression who do not receive treatmentiii

1:4,962

Ratio of School Psychologists to Students
(Recommended Ratio 1:500)

1:13,604

Ratio of School Social Workers to Students
(Recommended Ratio 1:250)

1:423

Ratio of School Counselors to Students
(Recommended Ratio 1:250)

Take Action
in Texas

There is a national emergency in children’s mental health. Children and youth are experiencing soaring rates of anxiety, depression, trauma, loneliness, and suicidality. 

Take Action

Children and youth are experiencing soaring rates of anxiety, depression, trauma, loneliness, and suicidality. Mental health challenges can affect success at school and in life, yet few students get the help they need to thrive.

The Hopeful Futures Campaign, a coalition of national organizations, is committed to ensuring that every student has access to effective and supportive school mental health care. The campaign’s school mental health report cards highlight accomplishments and provide important action steps to help address the children’s mental health crisis in every state.

At A Glance: State School Mental Health Policies

School Mental Health Professionals:

School-Family-Community Partnerships:

Teacher and Staff Training:

Funding
Supports:

Well-Being Checks:

Healthy School Climate:

Skills for Life Success:

Mental Health Education:

Little or no progress achieved

Some progress achieved

Meaningful progress achieved

Substantial progress achieved

HOW TEXAS COMPARES

State Rankings from Mental Health America iv 

2015

2020

2021

2022

Overall State Rank for Youth Mental Health

39

28

30

41

Youth with At Least One Major Depressive Episode in the Past Year

191,000 / 8.45%

296,000 / 12.19%

325,000 / 13.20%

363,000 / 14.60%

Youth with Major Depressive Episodes in the
Past Year Who Did Not Receive Treatment

Not Asked

180,000 / 65.4%

209,000 / 67.1%

255,000 / 73.10%

Youth with Major Severe Depressive Episodes in the Past Year

Not Asked

211,000 / 9.0%

219,000 / 9.2%

234,000 / 9.70%

Youth with Severe Major Depressive Episodes
Who Received Some Consistent Treatment

Not Asked

48,000 / 23.5%

54,000 / 25.0%

44,000 / 19.20%

Students Identified with Emotional Disturbance
for an Individualized Education Program

25,510 / 5.84%

28,884 / 6.09%

31,519 / 6.60%

35,851 / 7.41%

Youth with Private Insurance That Did Not
Cover Mental or Emotional Problems

179,103 / 40.5%

93,000 / 10.1%

108,000 / 11.5%

135,000 / 13.8%

Youth with Substance Use Disorder in the Past Year

151,000 / 6.68%

88,000 / 3.61%

80,000 / 3.24%

87,000 / 3.49%

i. Projections of education statistics to 2022. National Center of Education Statistics. (n.d.). Retrieved November 11, 2021, from https://nces.ed.gov/pubs2014/2014051.pdf.
ii. The state of Mental Health in America. Mental Health America. (n.d.). Retrieved November 9, 2021, from https://mhanational.org/issues/state-mental-health-america.
iii. The state of Mental Health in America. Mental Health America. (n.d.). Retrieved November 9, 2021, from https://mhanational.org/issues/state-mental-health-america.
iv. The state of Mental Health in America. Mental Health America. (n.d.). Retrieved November 9, 2021, from https://mhanational.org/issues/state-mental-health-america.

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School Mental Health Professionals

Little or no progress achieved

School psychologists, social workers, and counselors who, together, provide a range of necessary mental health services in schools. 

 

Current Policy:

  • School psychologists: Texas has one school psychologist for every 4,962 students (the recommended ratio is 1:500).
  • School social workers: Texas has one school social worker for every 13,604 students (the recommended ratio is 1:250).
  • School counselors: Texas has one school counselor for every 423 students (the recommended ratio is 1:250).

 

Policy Opportunity:

  • Invest in significantly improving the ratios of school psychologists, school social workers, and counselors in K-12, including through telehealth partnerships and workforce programs that incentivize careers in mental health.

School-Family-Community Partnerships

Substantial progress achieved

Policies that support and enable schools to engage with families and community partners.   

 

Current Policy:

  • Family/community engagement: Texas Education Code 29.168 (2017) requires districts to adopt plans, policies, or strategies to engage parents and families in the educational process.
  • Mental health partnership: Texas Health and Safety Code 113.0001 et seq. (2019) establishes the Texas Child Mental Health Care Consortium, which consists of several medical schools and other stakeholders and is designed to “leverage the expertise and capacity” of these institutions “to address mental health care needs of children and adolescents.”
  • School mental health task force:  Texas Education Code 38.301 et seq. (2019) establishes the Collaborative Task Force on Public School Mental Health Services, which is established to study and evaluate school mental health services.

Teacher and Staff Training:

Substantial progress achieved

Policies that support training of teachers and staff in mental health, substance use, and suicide prevention. 

 

Current Policy:

  • Teacher/staff training: Texas Education Code 38.351 (2021) requires each school district to adopt a suicide prevention program, which must include training on how to recognize students at risk of suicide or mental health and substance use conditions, and on how to intervene effectively and assist students.

Funding Supports

Some progress achieved

Policies that help support funding of school mental health services for Medicaid-eligible students.   

 

Current Policy:

  • Medicaid coverage: State Medicaid program does not cover school-based mental health services for all Medicaid-eligible students.
  • Medicaid telehealth: State Medicaid program covers school-based mental health services delivered via telehealth. 

 

Policy Opportunity:

  • Expand Medicaid billing to include school-based mental health services, including via telehealth, for all Medicaid eligible students (beyond students with an IEP). 
  • Ensure the state Medicaid program covers services delivered by school psychologists, social workers, and school counselors. 

Well-Being Checks

Little or no progress achieved

Regular checks of mental wellness that help identify students and staff who may need support.   

 

Current Policy:

  • No well-being checks required.

 

Policy Opportunity:

  • Require annual well-being checks for all students and staff in K-12.

Healthy School Climate

Some progress achieved

Policies that foster safe, supportive schools, including anti-bullying policies, school climate surveys, inclusive environment (anti-discrimination) policies, excused absences for mental health, alternatives to exclusionary discipline, and suicide prevention programs.  

Current Policy:

  • Anti-bullying:
    • Texas Education Code 37.0832 (2021) requires each school district to implement an anti-bullying policy that, among other things, prohibits bullying, establishes a procedure for reporting incidents of bullying, and prohibits retaliation against students who report incidents of bullying. 
    • Texas Education Code 21.451 (2021) requires each school district to implement a staff development plan that includes training on preventing, identifying, responding to, and reporting incidents of bullying.

Policy Opportunity:

  • Enact legislation to address additional healthy school climate policies, such as requiring annual school climate surveys, promoting an inclusive environment through anti-discrimination policies, permitting excused absences for mental health concerns, requiring age-appropriate suicide prevention education for students, and requiring adoption of alternatives to exclusionary discipline that keep youth in school, with services and supports to get their lives on track. 

Skills for Life Success

Little or no progress achieved

Skills, such as responsible decision-making, relationship skills, and self-management, that help students succeed in school and life.   

Current Policy:

  • No recommended life skills competencies in K-12 (CASEL). 

 

Policy Opportunity:

  • Require adoption of evidence-based life skills education for K-12, including making training in the curriculum available to parents and caregivers. 

Mental Health Education

Substantial progress achieved

Health education in K-12 that includes instruction on mental health.   

 

Current Policy:

  • Mental health education: Texas Education Code 28.002 (2021) requires each K-12 school district health education curriculum to include mental health, including instruction about mental health conditions, substance abuse, skills to manage emotions, establishing and maintaining positive relationships, and responsible decision-making.