Pritzker signs bill to implement mental health screenings in schools

Illinois public school students could soon receive free mental health screenings each year.

Gov. JB Pritzker signed Senate Bill 1560 Thursday, which would require the State Board of Education and a children’s behavioral health team within the governor’s office to develop procedures and make mental health materials available to school districts. The board will provide those materials to schools beginning in September 2026.

The tests would be provided to schools at no cost beginning in the 2027-28 school year, so long as the state has approved funding to develop screenings. Parents would be able to opt their children out of the screenings, which would be made available once a year to students in third grade through high school.

“This is a national first that’s worth celebrating about the state of Illinois,” Pritzker said at a news conference Thursday at an Evanston middle school.

The bill was approved by the Senate 52-0, but passed on a partisan 72-36 vote in the House.

Pritzker said it’s important to overcome the stigma around getting help for mental health issues and to treat mental health as a priority, like physical health. Illinois schools already offer screenings for vision and hearing problems and require students to have physical checkups with their pediatrician.

“We know how transformational these screenings can be for kids at this age,” Pritzker said. “They provide early identification and intervention so those who are struggling get the help that they need as soon as possible. They improve academic and social outcomes. They help us break down the stigma that too often is a barrier to seeking help.”

State Superintendent of Education Tony Sanders said mental health issues are one of the leading causes of hospitalization for children and teenagers and schools can play a role in preventing problems from reaching a point that requires more extreme intervention.

“Too often we recognize a student’s distress when it becomes a crisis, when they begin failing classes, when they begin withdrawing from peers or experiencing harm,” Sanders said. “Too often, we only recognize a student’s distress when it’s too late.”

The new policy would allow schools to focus on preventing mental health issues rather than only implementing plans that react to a student’s problem.

House Republicans opposed the bill, arguing it won’t be as effective as the governor believes and that it creates confidentiality problems.

“Universal mental health screenings are going to get us nothing except possibly finding things, finding reasons for denial of coverage of insurance,” Rep. Steve Reick, R-Woodstock, told reporters at a news conference Thursday.