Mental Health

Education news, analysis, and opinion about the psychological and emotional well-being of staff and students

Data

Close up of a psychologist with a clipboard and taking notes and a student's knees in the background - stock photo
Data: Does Your State Have Enough School Psychologists and Counselors?
Education Week examined ratios of school psychologists and counselors to students across the country. 
View Data
ISTErobotics025
Google had a big presence in late June at the ISTELive 26 + ASCD Annual Conference in Orlando, Fla., which attracted thousands of educators. But a new report says the company's AI search tools have problems that educators should not ignore.
Marvin Joseph/Education Week
Artificial Intelligence Scathing Analysis Concludes Google Search's AI Tools Are Bad for Kids
Google’s "AI overview" and "AI mode" were each rated "Unacceptable" by a media watchdog.
Alyson Klein, July 15, 2026
•
5 min read
Morocco's Achraf Hakimi (2) and France's Kylian Mbappe (10) hug after the World Cup quarterfinal soccer match between France and Morocco in Foxborough, Mass., near Boston, on July 9, 2026.
Morocco's Achraf Hakimi, in the red jersey, embraces France's Kylian Mbappe after the World Cup quarterfinal between France and Morocco on July 9, 2026. Mental health experts see creative options for engaging students through the competition.
Steven Senne/AP
Teaching Q&A How the World Cup Can Build Students' Sense of Belonging
A pair of healthcare researchers say simple activities tied to the mega-competition can support mental health.
Jennifer Vilcarino, July 14, 2026
•
8 min read
Students embrace Sage, a therapy dog, at Valley View Elementary on April 29, 2026, in Columbia Heights, Minn.
Students embrace a therapy dog at an elementary school in Columbia Heights, Minn., on April 29, 2026. Efforts to help kids improve their social and emotional well-being need to be combined with schools taking a hard look at how they are contributing to high levels of student stress, experts say.
Ellen Schmidt/MinnPost via AP
Student Well-Being & Movement Q&A Is SEL a Band-Aid Patching Over Schools' Systemic Problems?
Why schools need to take a hard look at how their decisions heighten student stress.
Arianna Prothero, June 24, 2026
•
3 min read
Wed., June 17, 2026, 2:00 p.m. - 3:00 p.m. ET
Classroom Technology Live Online Discussion A Seat at the Table: The Rewiring of Childhood With Jonathan Haidt
Jonathan Haidt, Catherine Price, and Adam Swinyard join Peter DeWitt on how to get students off devices and back to the basics of childhood.
Register
June 17, 2026
121225 Spokane KD 61
Emily Torres speaks with her creative writing students at Joel E. Ferris High School in Spokane, Wash., on Dec. 4, 2025. Students in the class have experienced significant trauma, mental health challenges, or both.
Kaylee Domzalski/Education Week
Student Well-Being & Movement Q&A 'The Most Authentic English Class I've Ever Taught'
Emily Torres said the class has been the most meaningful teaching experience of her career.
Alyson Klein, June 15, 2026
•
3 min read
121225 Spokane KD 58
Emily Torres teaches a creative writing class at Joel E. Ferris High School in Spokane, Wash., on Dec. 4, 2025. All the students in the class have experienced significant trauma, mental health challenges, or both.
Kaylee Domzalski/Education Week
Student Well-Being & Movement Inside a School Where Creative Writing Helps Teens Cope With Trauma
Students in a class taught by Emily Torres have significant trauma, mental health challenges, or both.
Alyson Klein, June 15, 2026
•
15 min read
Immigration Enforcement Texas 26036856269438
Hutto High School students protest U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, Thursday, Feb. 5, 2026, in Hutto, Texas. New national survey data found that immigration enforcement continues to affect schools.
Jay Janner/STATESMAN.COM via AP
School & District Management From Our Research Center Schools Saw Rising Student Anxiety From Immigration Enforcement in 2025-26
New national survey data from this spring found increased absences due to immigration enforcement.
Ileana Najarro & Alex Harwin, June 2, 2026
•
7 min read
Teachers talk during lunch in the teacher’s lounge at Annunciation Catholic School in Minneapolis, Minnesota on Tuesday, May 5, 2026. ] LEILA NAVIDI • leila.navidi@startribune.com
Teachers talk during lunch in the teacher’s lounge at Annunciation Catholic School in Minneapolis on May 5, 2026. Teachers here have spent the nine months since last August’s mass shooting trying to create normalcy in a school year that’s been anything but normal.
Leila Navidi/Star Tribune via TNS
Student Well-Being & Movement Annunciation School Teachers Look Back on a Year That Started With a Shooting
Since August, teachers have navigated raw and unpredictable grief—the children’s and their own.
Reid Forgrave, The Minnesota Star Tribune, June 2, 2026
•
11 min read
Teenage girl looking at smart phone
iStock/Getty
Student Well-Being & Movement Mental Health Apps for Students Are Growing. Here's What Schools Need to Know
A new report issues caveats and warnings about AI-driven mental health apps.
Arianna Prothero, May 22, 2026
•
6 min read
A pair of Miami Arts Studio students hug as others walk between classes, on World Mental Health Day, Tuesday, Oct. 10, 2023, at the public 6th-12th grade magnet school, in Miami.
Students hug during World Mental Health Day on Oct. 10, 2023, at a public magnet school in Miami. A coalition of school health professionals are asking Congress to invest in school-based health resources.
Rebecca Blackwell/AP
Student Well-Being & Movement The Hidden Force Behind Student Success: School-Based Health Workers Make Their Case
Organizations representing school-based health workers want legislative support from Congress.
Lauraine Langreo, May 21, 2026
•
5 min read
Conceptual illustration of classroom conversations and fragmented education elements coming together to form a cohesive picture of a book of classroom knowledge.
Sonia Pulido for Education Week
Student Well-Being & Movement Opinion Your Students Are Stressed. You Can Help Them
Teachers can guide students out of survival mode and into readiness for learning.
Larry Ferlazzo, May 21, 2026
•
4 min read
A student holds their cell phone during class at Bel Air High School in Bel Air, Md., on Jan. 25, 2024.
A student holds their cell phone during class at a high school in Bel Air, Md., on Jan. 25, 2024. The U.S. Surgeon General's office recommends schools invest in physical textbooks and put a premium on paper-and-pencil classroom assignments and curriculum materials at all grade levels.
Jaclyn Borowski/Education Week
Student Well-Being & Movement Trump's Surgeon General's Office Advises Schools to Limit Screen Time
Schools should emphasize paper-and-pencil assignments, Trump administration recommends.
Alyson Klein, May 20, 2026
•
4 min read
Artificial Intelligence Video How AI Complicates Student Well-Being. What Schools Should Know
Many kids cannot tell the difference between an AI-driven chatbot and genuine human understanding.
Kevin Bushweller, Arianna Prothero & Yi-Jo Shen, May 20, 2026
•
1 min read
Michigan celebrates after defeating UConn in the NCAA college basketball tournament national championship game at the Final Four, Monday, April 6, 2026, in Indianapolis. The tournament is the center of an enormous amount of gambling activity each year.
Michigan celebrates winning the national championship game at the Final Four on April 6, 2026, in Indianapolis. High school students are engaging in sports betting more often, which falls under gambling, resulting in advocacy organizations creating courses on how this behavior can be harmful.
Michael Conroy/AP
Student Well-Being & Movement Student Gambling Is on the Rise. That Puts Schools on Alert
A prominent high school athletic association has launched a course to help schools identify and combat the risks of sports betting.
Jennifer Vilcarino, April 29, 2026
•
4 min read