SIGN NOW: Tell Congress to support the Counseling Not Criminalization Act!

Tell Congress to Support the Counseling Not Criminalization Act

Young people who experience anxiety, depression, and worse, are struggling with mental health challenges, can be incredibly overwhelming for parents and educators to navigate. There is a dire need for more investment in school counselors, nurses, social workers, and school psychologists who are often the first to see children who are sick, stressed, or traumatized — particularly in low-income school districts.

The Counseling Not Criminalization Act is an important step in shifting resources away from practices that harm and push kids out of school into what helps students thrive, keeps schools safe, and ends the criminalization of kids in schools.

Yes, we want schools to be safe but there is no evidence that increasing the number of police in schools improves school safety. Instead, it takes critical resources from what keeps schools safe and helps ALL kids thrive.

The time is now to stand for students: Say NO to the regular presence of law enforcement in schools and say YES to healthier policies that support our kids.

The time is NOW to stand for students and end the regular presence of law enforcement in schools.

Dear Representative,

We urge you to support the Counseling Not Criminalization Act (CNCA).

Our schools need more counselors, nurses, social workers, and educators who have the training they need to effectively support students NOT more cops.

Now more than ever young people, and specifically school-aged children, need support. As our country experiences an urgent youth mental health crisis, the data shows that more than one in three high school students said they experienced persistent feelings of sadness or hopelessness, and one in five students seriously considered suicide.

Restorative approaches would include:

More mental health staff and counselors,
Social-emotional learning, and
Trauma-informed care in our schools.

When we invest in school counselors, nurses, social workers, and psychologists who are trained to support children, and in schools, we see improved attendance rates, better academic achievement, and higher graduation rates, and lower rates of suspension, expulsion, and other disciplinary incidents. The data on this is crystal clear.

The presence of school-based mental health providers doesn't just improve outcomes for students but also improves overall school safety.

The Counseling Not Criminalization Act is an important step towards shifting resources away from practices that harm and push kids out of school into what helps students thrive, keeps schools safe, and ends the criminalization of kids in schools. Support and protect children and future students by backing this important legislation.

Thank you,

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