By now, many readers are likely aware of the new Illinois law that Gov. Pritzker just signed – another of his “first in the nation” ones, and that fact alone should be a warning to all that the bill is a disaster.
The bill mandates schools provide mental health screenings to 3rd-12th graders beginning next school year. BTW – Universal mental health screening is already happening in 28% of school districts. Of those districts, 15% are using Social-Emotional Learning screeners, and 13% are using other screeners. SEL is a mental health screener, not just a school and academic readiness screener.
If you have not heard about this new law, please take time to learn about it. You can start by reading the articles linked below and my comments. The 50-page report that ISBE used to justify this intrusive policy can be read HERE.
The more salient discussion, though, must be how this law came to be and how we can push back against it.
The enacted bill, SB 1560, according to the legislation description on the ILGA website, says in part that the bill:
Provides that mental health screenings shall be offered by school districts to students enrolled in grade 3 (rather than kindergarten) through grade 12, at least once a year, beginning with the 2027-2028 school year. Provides that the requirement to offer mental health screenings shall be in effect only for school years in which the State has successfully procured a screening tool that offers a self-report option for students and is made available to school districts at no cost.
There are other provisions dealing with youth mental health, but the universal and mandatory school screenings have garnered media attention nationwide.
In announcing the new law on X, Pritzker said, “Illinois is now the first state in the nation to require mental health screenings in its public schools. Our schools should be inclusive places where students are not just comfortable asking for help — they’re empowered to do it.”
There he goes again, using the inclusive word as if that magically makes whatever he is talking about a good thing, as he panders to his progressive Left. But not everyone was on board. The bill passed unanimously out of the Senate, with every Republican voting for it. But SEVEN Democratic state senators, along with a few House Democrats, refused to vote for the bill, not voting on it at all—hence the unanimous vote.
Many of those Democrats are minorities. They likely knew that these screenings would be unfairly administered, stigmatize minority kids, and put a permanent mark on their school records that they have mental health issues. A mark that could lead to harmful counseling and possibly medical interventions.
Every Republican Senator who voted for the bill blew it—and they know it now. The bill slipped past them, which can happen. A brick should have been put on it before it was heard in committee. In my opinion, the staffer in charge of analyzing the bill blew it.
But anytime you see mental health and public school in the same sentence, you should be on full alert. In Illinois, the system can’t even educate the majority of the students, so why would anyone let them evaluate kids for mental health issues?
I don’t know what Republican legislators were thinking. Fortunately, no Republican voted for it in the House.
Legislators were probably told that failure to implement something like universal mental health screenings would end in tragedy somewhere, sometime, and hey, if this can save one life, we should do it. I’m betting this is what the Democrats put up as arguments.
More than likely, though, the bill went up for a vote. There was no discussion, at least in the Senate, and the vote went by quickly before anyone could stop it. But some Democrats were definitely paying attention, which is interesting.
Now every parent needs to be concerned and fight to have this law repealed.
And now, better, more informed experts are weighing in about the law, giving folks ample ammunition to fight back.
Author and researcher Abigail Schrier, most well-known for her book Irreversible Damage: The Transgender Craze Seducing Our Daughters , which identified the trans movement as a social contagion, especially among young girls, wrote this in her article about the Illinois mental health screening law:
In 2024, I published Bad Therapy, an investigation into the surge in adolescent mental-health diagnoses and psychiatric prescription drug use. Many young people without serious mental illness nonetheless spend years languishing with a diagnosis, alternately cursing it and embracing it, believing they have a broken brain, convincing themselves that their struggles are insurmountable because of the disorder’s constraints. They meet regularly with a therapist or school counselor on whom they become increasingly reliant, losing a sense of efficacy, unable to navigate on their own even minor setbacks and interpersonal conflicts. They begin courses of antidepressants that carry all kinds of side effects—suppressed libido, fatigue, the muffling of all emotion, and even an increase in depression. Antianxiety drugs and the stimulants given to kids diagnosed with ADHD are both addictive and ubiquitously abused.
Often that tragic descent begins with a simple mental health survey.
In a FOX News interview, Dr. Leonard Sax said, and I will paraphrase, that there are likely to be a lot more kids put on medication, and there is no medical oversight. This is being run by the Illinois State Board of Education, and it’s based on teacher referral.
Listen to the entire clip HERE.
The City Journal posted an article calling the law disastrous. The author noted:
Experts caution against universal mental-health assessments even when they are administered by licensed physicians in primary-care settings. One reason is that such screenings—whether for depression, behavioral or emotional risk, or suicide—lack any empirical support to show that they prevent mental-health challenges from developing or help those in need of services to get them sooner.
Another is that universal assessments can yield more than 50 percent false positives, resulting in inappropriate diagnoses and unnecessary treatments. That’s why experts believe that screening is “unethical” unless schools have the resources to ensure accurate diagnosis, treatment, and follow-up. Illinois schools are not clinical settings, so they cannot deliver on any of these prerequisites.
Laurie Higgins’ article is linked below, and in typical Laurie-ese, she minced no words, remarking:
The nation’s children—at least those in dysfunctional and perverse family structures who spend their formative years in government indoctrination centers—are lost, broken, hurt, and angry. What they don’t need is to be evaluated by Big Brother’s minions—minions schooled in leftist ways of assessing and treating mental health issues.
And obviously, those children raised in happy, healthy, intact families with one mother and one father do not need the state to evaluate their mental health.
Remember, the leftists who are mandating mental health screenings are the same leftists who believe women should be legally permitted to kill their offspring throughout the entire nine months of gestation for any or no reason…
And these are the same people who shut down schools unnecessarily during the COVID pandemic, which caused mental health problems in many children.
How Did This Pass?
If you’ve ever spent time around Springfield legislators, it’s easy to see how bills like this move forward. Many of them truly believe:
- Government should fix every problem and control every outcome
- Families and individuals can’t be trusted to make their own decisions
That mindset explains how SB 1560 passed — and why Illinois government keeps growing more intrusive.
Who Sponsored It?
State Senator District 6, Sara Feigenholtz is the chief sponsor. She has been in office for 30 years and calls herself a “founding member” of the Kennedy Forum, a group focused on mental health policy.
In her press release, Feigenholtz claimed the bill will help tackle “the staggering rise of sadness, hopelessness, and difficulty with schoolwork in youth.”
Translation? She believes it’s the government’s responsibility to make sure your child never struggles with sadness or homework.
What the Bill Does
When I tested BEACON myself, all it did was list nearby nonprofits for the type of help I pretended to need. It’s duplicative, not innovative — just another way to justify more spending
Why It’s a Problem
- Universal screening is intrusive: every child could be flagged for something as normal as having a bad week.
- Records won’t stay private: once notes are in a student’s file, they can follow that child for years.
- It disrupts learning: schools exist to teach, not to serve as mental health clinics.
- It expands bureaucracy: new systems, new training, and new costs — even if the state claims it will pay.
Feigenholtz has a record of pushing extreme policies. She also sponsored SB 40 (2017), which forced taxpayers to fund abortions. Adoption is personal to her — she was adopted and even started a committee on adoption in the legislature — but she refuses to strongly promote it as an option for pregnant women.
Who Supported the Bill?
- Illinois Department of Human Services & DCFS
- Numerous mental health agencies and nonprofits
- Illinois Association of School Boards (after amendments)
- Teachers’ unions (neutral but not opposed)
Only the Illinois Family Institute opposed it.
What Parents & Taxpayers Should Do
The law won’t take effect until the 2026–2027 school year, so there’s time to act.
Here’s how:
- Speak up at your school board meetings.
- Talk directly with principals and superintendents.
- Hold school boards accountable: They are IASB members and did know about this bill.
- Demand opt-in only for any screenings. Require multiple parent notifications — including mailed letters.
- Utilize the best opt-OUT forms we have found so far, which are from Illinois Family Institute > https://illinoisfamily.org/education/opting-out-of-controversial-public-school-content/
Remember: only trained professionals should conduct mental health evaluations. Teachers and school staff should not be screening every child for subjective conditions.
What’s Next?
If this mandate stands, expect:
- Lawsuits over false positives
- Breaches of confidentiality
- Stigmatizing records that follow children long after school
On the federal level, Rep. Mary Miller (IL-15) plans to reintroduce the Parents Opt-In Protection Act, which would require written consent before any school survey or screening on sensitive personal information.
Thank you, Rep. Miller, for standing up for parents.
Bottom Line: Parents need to protect their kids, and schools need to stay in their lane. Springfield politicians should not be inserting themselves into your child’s private life.