In Texas, the youth mental health crisis is worsening, and the state is facing a critical shortage of school psychologists. According to data from the Texas Education Agency, there was only one school psychologist for every 2,617 students in Texas public schools last year, far below the recommended ratio of one psychologist for every 500 students set by the National Association of School Psychologists.
Despite previous investments by the Texas Legislature in child mental health resources, the shortage of in-school mental health professionals has had minimal impact. CBS News Texas I-Team’s analysis of state data reveals that Texas schools have added less than 200 school psychologist positions across the entire state in the past five years.
This shortage highlights the urgent need for more school psychologists to support the mental well-being of Texas students and address the growing youth mental health crisis.