Despite parents opting for hybrid learning, some are keeping children home during the first week of learning at John Wister Elementary Mastery Charter School in Philadelphia. (Kimberly Paynter/WHYY)
Kimberly Paynter / WHYY
Proposed legislation would give students in Pa. days off to focus on mental health
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Julia Agos/WITF
Kimberly Paynter / WHYY
Despite parents opting for hybrid learning, some are keeping children home during the first week of learning at John Wister Elementary Mastery Charter School in Philadelphia. (Kimberly Paynter/WHYY)
(Reading) – Democratic state Sen. Judy Schwank of Berks County is working to give students a break.
She has proposed giving them excused absence days to focus on their mental wellness.
Ideally, she’d like them to use the day to rest and talk to someone about the issues they could be facing.
“Then, they’ll be able to go back to school the next day refreshed,” Schwank said.
Senate Bill 506 would allow public school students from kindergarten to 12th grade to take two wellness days a semester, as long as they have a note from a parent indicating their approval.
Schwank said the COVID-19 pandemic has underscored the need for more mental health assistance for students.
“We are talking about kids. From the time they start school, even the youngest, face so many pressures. And getting up every day and going to school is not that easy sometimes,” she said. “They could use just a day off once in a while.”
Schwank points to studies showing anxiety rates among students on the rise – with about one in four reporting heightened symptoms.
The proposal is in line to be taken up by the chamber’s Education Committee. It has support from the Pennsylvania School Counselors Association.
Similar bills have been passed in Utah and Colorado.
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