States attempting to address worsening mental health problems among students have hit upon a novel remedy: allowing them to take time off from school. The idea, which started catching on even before the pandemic began, has already been enacted in nine states. Lawmakers in several others, including Kentucky and Maryland, are considering similar proposals.

Some educators and therapists have signaled their approval, arguing that the freedom to stay home from classes could allow kids to restore their energies and come back ready to learn. But other experts warn that, in itself, absence from an academic setting may not be a useful tool to address the issues facing troubled young people. The prospect of time off might also prod some students to miss class who otherwise wouldn’t.

“It seems perfectly reasonable, and nothing new, for parents to decide their kids can stay home from school for a day because they’re tired or don’t feel well,” said Paul Hill, founder of the Center on Reinventing Public Education and a professor emeritus at the University of Washington Bothell. “But I just don’t see a reason to make it some official category, or give kids a number of days they can tap into. All that does is encourage absenteeism.”

Barbara Solish, director of youth and young adult initiatives at the National Alliance on Mental Illness, countered that mental health days offered students “the opportunity to pause, check in, and recharge physically and emotionally.”

Read the full article about student mental health days by Kevin Mahnken at The 74.