San Francisco said the lack of in-class learning is fueling a growing “mental health crisis” among students who have been isolated and out of classes for nearly a year in a lawsuit against its own school district.
San Francisco City Attorney Dennis Herrera filed the lawsuit on Thursday in San Francisco Superior Court. The motion, which was announced last week, contains troubling testimony from area hospitals that treatment for suicidal children has increased as well as treatment for other mental health disorders.
The University of California, San Francisco Benioff Children’s Hospital reported a 75% increase in youth hospitalizations for mental health services and a 66% increase in suicidal children in the emergency room, according to the Associated Press. While it did not provide exact numbers, UCSF Children’s Emergency Department at Mission Bay reported surging numbers of suicidal children and youth with eating disorders, depression, and anxiety issues.
“The medical evidence is clear that keeping public schools closed is catalyzing a mental health crisis among school-aged children in San Francisco,” said Dr. Jeanne Noble, the COVID-19 response director for the UCSF Emergency Department.
Officials have allowed schools to reopen for in-person learning since September, although the district and teachers union haven’t been unable to come to any agreements on doing so, despite scientific data showing that reopening is safe if certain health guidelines are implemented at schools.
“We wholeheartedly agree that students are better served with in-person learning,” district spokeswoman Laura Dudnick said. “Bringing students back to school in a large public school district is very complex and requires partnership.”
“We are eager for the city to make vaccines available to our staff,” she said.
The lawsuit includes data that analyzes private school reopenings in the area. Nearly 16,000 students have returned to classes, as have 2,400 staff at the private schools, and there have been fewer than five confirmed cases of in-person COVID-19 transmission, the lawsuit contends.
Like San Francisco, Chicago has also been struggling with the teachers union to reopen classes. Just this week, the union agreed to a reopening plan with the district after threats of a strike loomed large.
