The Student Mental Health Crisis Isn’t Going Away. It’s Time to Act.
For years, schools have worked tirelessly to respond to what many believed was a temporary mental health crisis tied to the isolation and upheaval of the pandemic. Educators and families hoped that as classrooms reopened and routines returned, students would regain their footing.
But the latest data tells a different story.
According to eLuma’s 2025 State of Student Mental Health Report, the crisis hasn’t eased in the five years since COVID-19 shut down schools nationwide. Nearly six in ten school-based providers say student mental health has worsened over the past year, while only four percent report improvement. Anxiety, depression, and behavioral challenges continue to rise, shaping students’ ability to learn, connect, and thrive.
These findings make one thing clear: what we are facing is not a temporary setback. Schools are facing a long-term shift that demands immediate, coordinated, and sustained action.
Among those who have witnessed this shift firsthand is Kay Kelly, Mental Health Clinical Services Specialist for eLuma and an experienced licensed school psychologist. Kay has worked in school-based mental health for over a decade, providing direct services, consultation, and leadership to support students’ mental health needs. At eLuma, she supports districts and school-based providers nationwide in building systems that ensure students receive consistent, high-quality services.
Key Takeaways from the 2025 Report
1. Student mental health challenges are entrenched, not temporary.
Five years post-pandemic, anxiety, depression, ADHD, and behavioral challenges remain widespread and increasingly complex. Providers report that these concerns are appearing earlier in students’ lives and compounding over time.
2. Continuity of care is the weakest point in school mental health systems.
Only 12 percent of providers describe school-based mental health services as consistent and well-coordinated. Staffing changes, absences, and limited infrastructure routinely disrupt care.
3. Schools know what works, but lack the capacity to sustain it.
Caregiver engagement, professional development, and universal screening tools are consistently identified as priorities, yet remain under-implemented due to staffing shortages and resource constraints.
4. Stress follows predictable patterns that schools can plan for.
Extended breaks, the start of the school year, and testing periods reliably trigger spikes in student stress and behavioral concerns.
5. Educators are carrying the burden without adequate support.
Teachers report the lowest confidence in available mental health supports, despite being on the front lines of student need every day.
These insights point to a critical truth: the gap is no longer awareness. It is infrastructure.
What the Data Reveals About Today’s School Reality
eLuma’s 2025 report draws on perspectives from nearly 250 administrators, more than 100 school-based mental health providers, and 125 teachers nationwide. Together, their responses paint a picture of a system under immense pressure.
Providers describe cycles of stress that repeat year after year. Administrators acknowledge the need for stronger systems but struggle to implement them sustainably. Teachers manage escalating student needs alongside academic expectations, often without training or backup.
As Kay Kelly, Mental Health Clinical Services Specialist at eLuma, explains,
“Over time, we’ve seen more students struggling with mental health, and the age of impact keeps getting younger. Each year, we’re seeing students face these challenges earlier, which makes the need for support even more urgent.”
This convergence of perspectives underscores a shared reality: schools are doing their best within systems that were never designed to handle the scope or scale of today’s mental health needs.
A Crisis That Has Outlasted Its Labels
Early conversations about student mental health centered on disruption. Today’s challenges are rooted in accumulation.
Pandemic-related anxiety and learning loss now intersect with increased social media exposure, evolving online relationships, family stressors, and unmet basic needs. These layered influences have deepened mental health concerns and made them more persistent.
The result is a system stuck in reaction mode. Each year without coordinated, proactive support widens the gap between what students need and what schools can reliably provide.
This is not a call for short-term fixes. It is a call for sustained, strategic change.
The Cost of Inconsistent Support
Teachers, counselors, and school psychologists report increasing numbers of students struggling with anxiety, depression, ADHD, and other behavioral concerns. Providers note stress spikes during testing periods, extended breaks, and the start of the school year.
When mental health services are inconsistent, students lose trust, and progress stalls. Only 12 percent of providers describe school mental health supports as consistent and well-coordinated.
When staff leave or funding shifts, services are delayed, redistributed, or lost altogether. For students, this means care often starts and stops without warning, leaving them without the stability they need to succeed academically and socially.
Kay emphasizes the impact of these interruptions:
“If a school community is already stretched, and a vital staff member leaves, those needs don’t disappear; they are delayed or reassigned, placing stress on often already at-capacity caseloads.”
Inconsistent support does not just affect students. It increases educator burnout and places schools in a constant state of crisis management rather than long-term planning.
To address this, schools must plan for long-term mental health support, providing structure and resources that meet students’ needs from the first day through the end of the school year and year after year.
Schools must move toward what Kay calls mental health 2.0: learning from past gaps, intervening early, and implementing robust, systematic strategies that allow students not just to receive support but to make meaningful, lasting progress.
From Isolated Efforts to Sustainable Systems
The good news is that effective strategies already exist. Effective approaches already exist, including small-group counseling, cognitive-behavioral strategies, mindfulness practices, and teacher-led check-ins.
The challenge isn’t knowing what works; it’s making what works sustainable.
Without consistent staffing, coordinated care, or reliable infrastructure, isolated efforts often lose momentum.
Without reliable staffing models, coordinated care systems, and tools that support early identification, even the strongest initiatives struggle to last. Sustainable mental health support requires infrastructure that can absorb change without breaking.
This is where long-term partnerships matter.
Building Capacity That Lasts
eLuma partners with districts to help move from reactive responses to proactive systems. Through online, hybrid, and on-site therapy services, flexible staffing models, and universal screening tools, schools can maintain continuity even when local resources are stretched.
Rather than operating alongside districts, eLuma’s providers integrate into existing teams, communication systems, and intervention plans. This approach helps ensure that mental health services remain consistent, coordinated, and aligned with school goals.
Kay explains:
“A new referral is a significant milestone and transition; we want our staff to be in a place where they are ready to welcome this student and be part of a school community that prioritizes this as well.”
Moving Forward With Intention
The 2025 State of Student Mental Health Report delivers a clear message: student mental health support can no longer be optional, temporary, or fragmented.
Sustainable systems are built when schools can:
- Expand capacity with qualified school-based mental health providers
- Maintain continuity during staffing shortages or absences
- Identify student needs early through universal screening
- Support educators with consultation, data, and ongoing guidance
- Engage families as consistent partners in care
With the right infrastructure and partnerships, schools can create stability for students and relief for educators.
The crisis may not be new, but it is not insurmountable.
The 2025 State of Student Mental Health Report offers evidence-based insights and practical recommendations to help schools turn awareness into sustainable action.
Download the full report to explore the data, trends, and strategies shaping the future of student mental health support.
