Wisconsin GOP cruelty alert: Joint Finance Committee cuts critical funding for school mental health services

 

Top headline:  Wisconsin Association of School Boards, 7/31/2024

Bottom headline:  Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, 6/13/2025

Natalie Ellbert reports for the Journal Sentinel:

The Legislature's Joint Finance Committee approved a Republican-backed motion along party lines on June 12 to cut funding for school-based mental health services by $10 million over the next two fiscal years. 

It was the latest blow to the Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction's efforts to expand mental health services in K-12 school buildings. 

The decision comes nearly eight months after state Superintendent Jill Underly proposed a record $304 million in youth mental health services, including $168 million for school-based mental health over the two-year budget. And it comes on the heels of the federal Department of Education abruptly cutting $1 billion in grants that supported school-based mental health programs, including more than $8 million in Wisconsin.

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