By Senator Rosilicie Ochoa Bogh, 23rd Senate District
It’s back-to-school time again, except back-to-school, this year still doesn’t mean back to normal.
Educators and parents still face tremendous challenges to ensure school is safe and that those kids impacted negatively can recover from lost learning and the trauma caused by the pandemic. Now more than ever, kids need to be prepared to accept some new norms.
We know students benefit from in-person learning, so reopening schools for in-person instruction is critical. However, good safety protocols need to be in place to ensure as safe a learning experience as can be provided. Students will need to accept new and different safety protocols, and parents need to talk in advance with their children and teens about the protocols implemented at their local schools.
I encourage parents to learn in advance the local safety protocols at their schools and why they are in place. Then, have a sit-down conversation with their kids to explain the new norms and give their children a chance to ask about the “whys?” and “how comes?”
As a parent and talking to other parents, it’s clear that we have prioritized the purpose of education a little differently over the past year – from primarily building academic skills to supporting social-emotional development as well. Even simple things like recess require good planning and monitoring. And recess – fresh air, movement, and play – is critical to a child’s physical, social and emotional development.
Another aspect of education I hope parents soon will see happening in schools is an increased emphasis on students’ mental health, which suffered greatly during the pandemic and school closures. I think it’s essential to focus more resources on educating students on mental health and developing better protocols for educators for addressing student mental health concerns.
For those purposes, I have coauthored two bills, Senate Bill 224 and Assembly Bill 309.
If signed by the governor, SB 224 will require each school district, county office of education, state special school, and charter school that offers courses in health education to students in middle and/or high school to include medically accurate, age-appropriate instruction in mental health from trained instructors.
AB 309 would require the State Department of Education to develop model referral protocols for addressing student mental health concerns. It would require the department to consult with various entities in developing the protocols, including teachers, administrators, students, and parents, and the protocols would be posted on the department’s website.
Both of these bills are in process and have strong bipartisan support.
The pandemic taught us many things, including how vital in-person learning is for children and teens. For our kids’ safety and greater well-being, they need not just academic development but social and emotional development as well, and being in the classroom provides that. We also know better now that back-to-school must focus on mental health as part of a well-rounded education.