Across the Country, Parents are Protesting Suicide Prevention Programs, Why?

23Nov
by Leticia Chavez-Garcia

Unfortunately, there’s yet another trend popping up at School Board meetings all over the country and it’s from the same group of parents protesting critical race theory, which ironically doesn’t even exist in public school curriculum. Some parents are now protesting suicide prevention and are targeting district programs that provide resources about suicide prevention. 

Parents are arguing that their children do not need suicide prevention and that teachers and counselors need to stick to providing academic support. Arguing that counselors should focus only on getting students into college because that’s what students need, parents have addressed boards urging them to stop suicide prevention programs, as well as other critical mental health resources.  

Here’s the problem. So many of these parents don’t understand and don’t know what their children go through at school. In many cases, the same parents that are vocal about ending suicide prevention programs have children who are undiagnosed and in crisis. Many times parents don’t find out until after their child commits suicide or harms themselves that their child was suffering from depression, anxiety, or other emotional or mental health issues.

Parents that turn a blind eye to the mental health needs of their children are showing up at school board meetings to say that they don’t want the issue of mental health addressed in our public schools. The reality is, many students only have knowledge of what depression and anxiety looks like based on what they’ve learned in school because we haven’t been socialized to openly talk about mental health.

There are parents complaining about their children being “brainwashed” into believing they have mental health problems. These are the same parents who don’t believe or know that their child is being bullied and refuse to acknowledge that these things happen in schools daily. We have kids who are struggling with gender identity and their parents don’t even realize what’s happening at home with their own children. We cannot ignore these realities. 

In California, Assemblymember James Ramos of San Bernardino county recently passed legislation to promote emotional health and well-being in schools across the state by providing mandatory suicide prevention programs and resources for all students. Here at La Comadre, we have shared many instances of student suicide over the last few years and we know it’s important and critical to give children a safe space at school. We support resources, programs, and policies that consider the mental health and emotional well-being of students. 

It’s mind-boggling to know that there’s a group of people out there who refuse to acknowledge these things. Even if your own children don’t need help, it’s selfish to advocate for denying access to mental health resources that other students might need.

Comadres, how do you feel about this?

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Leticia Chavez-Garcia

Leticia Chavez-Garcia is a Mother, Grandmother, former Middle School Teacher, former Member of a School Board of Education and an Education Advocate for hundreds of parents and students in the Inland Empire. Having become a mother at 15, Leticia knows what it’s like to be a single mother trying to navigate the education system. Leticia received her Bachelor of Science Degree in Political Science and Public Administration from California Baptist University and a Masters’ Degree in Education Technology from Cal State Fullerton in her 30’s. Leticia has used her knowledge and experience to help hundreds of families as an Education Advocate in the Inland Empire and currently works as an Education Specialist.

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