LANSING, Mich. — Sen. Mark Huizenga has turned in legislation to restore nearly $302 million in school safety and student mental health care funding that was cut in the recently signed state budget.
“The safety at our schools remains a huge concern for many parents in West Michigan and throughout our state, and various factors — from social media to COVID-19 school shutdowns — have led to a growing mental health crisis among our children,” said Huizenga, R-Walker. “We continue to see alarming rates of anxiety, depression and suicidal thoughts among Michigan’s children.
“Over the past few years, we focused more funding for schools to help address safety and student mental health — but this past summer, the Democratic-controlled Legislature decided to cut this critical funding by 92% in next year’s budget.”
Gov. Gretchen Whitmer in July signed a fiscal year 2025 budget that cut almost $302 million in funding dedicated to student mental health and school safety — going from $328 million in support in the current budget to just $26.5 million in the budget starting Oct. 1.
“In introducing this bill, my goal is to work together with the governor and Senate leadership to solve this problem by correcting course and restoring this vital funding so schools can better provide safe learning environments and ensure all our students have access to the mental health care services they need,” Huizenga said.
Senate Bill 1005 is a supplemental budget bill for fiscal year 2024-25 that would use $301.5 million from the state’s General Fund to restore school safety and student mental health funding to the current level.
SB 1005 will be formally introduced and referred to committee during the Senate’s next session day.
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