TASKFORCE: Texas school districts should expand teacher's mental health services under insurance
AUSTIN (KXAN) – A Texas task force of more than 40 teachers and administrators recommended Friday that school districts provide or expand health insurance plans to include clinical mental health services at no cost to teachers.
Gov. Greg Abbott ordered the Texas Education Agency in March 2022 to create a task force – and look for solutions to the steep increase in teachers in the state quitting.
On Friday, the group released more than 20 recommendations to districts, lawmakers and the TEA to help keep and retain teachers.
The report cited a CDC Foundation study where nearly a third of teachers nationwide reported symptoms related to depression and anxiety.
"I love being an educator and even on my best days it is difficult for me to stay being an educator because I am constantly worried about whether I can support my family," Mesquite ISD English Teacher Hayden Cepak said. "I have seen firsthand teachers leave because of lack of appropriate amount of money or the amount of appropriate time in their schedule to be better educators."
A KXAN analysis in August of exit forms from Texas teachers found several where educators attributed their resignation to mental health, including one Austin Independent School District speech-language pathologist who said she felt “mentally beat up,” adding the “workload is not realistic.”
The task force recommended school systems and the Teacher Retirement System provide or expand access to teacher well-being support as a part of their healthcare insurance, including access to tele-mental health services and Employee Assistance Programs for no cost.
“I have spent over $3,000 per year out of pocket to see a therapist,” one elementary school teacher quoted in the task force’s input survey said.
The report also asked districts to provide other benefits like subsidized housing and affordable childcare options for teachers.
On KXAN at 6, we explore how this recommendation could become reality, including what it would mean for insurance. We will update this story.