The COVID-19 pandemic has exacerbated the mental health challenges of youth and young adults, many of whom struggled to access mental health services even before the pandemic. Despite the high levels of need, many young people don’t have access to culturally relevant mental health services due to cost, access, and other barriers. School-based mental health services offer a promising strategy in addressing the high levels of unmet need.

In the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, Congress appropriated funds for schools primarily through the new Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief Fund (ESSER). The American Rescue Plan allocated $122 billion for school reopening. ESSER funding offers an opportunity to invest in the mental health of young people; however, schools must be intentional about substantially investing in student mental health.

The U.S. Department of Education required each state to submit a reopening plan outlining how they were using and planned on using ESSER funds. CLASP conducted an analysis of 37 state plans to better understand if and how schools were prioritizing student mental health.



In our overview, we outline sources of ESSER funding, CLASP’s framework for school-based mental health, takeaways from all 37 plans, and key recommendations.



Over the next three weeks, we will release five factsheets that go in-depth on each of our key recommendations, outlining how states prioritized mental health in their reopening plans:

Culturally Responsive, Trauma-Informed, Healing-Centered Mental Health Care

Social Emotional Learning

Expanding the Behavioral Health Workforce

Collecting Mental Health Data

Authentic Youth Engagement

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