WATCH: Baldwin Calls Out Education Secretary for Gutting Funding for Student Mental Health in Wisconsin

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, U.S. Senator Tammy Baldwin (D-WI), Ranking Member of the Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on Labor, Health and Human Services, and Education (LHHS) questioned Department of Education Secretary Linda McMahon on the Trump administration’s decision to cut off funding for grants for school based mental health, including a Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction program that provides mental healthcare for students.

“Secretary McMahon, the grant you discontinued for the Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction was being used to expand access to mental healthcare for students—we’re talking about more counselors and mental health professionals in schools,” Senator Baldwin said in the hearing. “Why did you cut off funding for this grant and take away this help for Wisconsin students and schools?

During the LHHS hearing, Secretary McMahon refused to answer why funding for Wisconsin was cut off and resources for Wisconsin students and schools were taken away.  In April, the Department of Education discontinued future funding approved for more than 200 grantees of the school based mental health services and mental health service professional development grant programs. According to the Department’s National Center for Education Statistics, less than half of all public schools reported they could effectively provide mental health services to all students who need them.

A recording of Senator Baldwin’s question is available here. 

###