As the COVID-19 pandemic continues to affect families across Texas, children are showing increasing signs of distress, anxiety, grief, depression, and thoughts of suicide. These emotional reactions not only impact children’s health and well-being, but their education, too. The student mental health and school safety laws passed in 2019 by the Texas Legislature can help prevent and address learning loss stemming from mental health concerns and help students heal from trauma, but it will take additional action from the Texas Legislature in 2021 to help school districts turn those laws into the successful practices that protect students from the harmful and long-lasting impacts of the pandemic on their education and well-being.
