From The Intelligencer of Wheeling:
Public schools are supposed to focus on teaching children, not filling gaps in nutrition, health care and mental wellness services. Yet in part because those lapses become evident in classrooms — and affect students’ abilities to learn — educators have had to do something about them.
Emotional and behavioral challenges among children in West Virginia have increased, in large measure because of the drug abuse crisis. Older youngsters may be victims of it directly. Younger ones often are collateral damage because of parents’ substance addictions. As we have pointed out, a substantial portion of the state Supreme Court’s caseload involves children removed from homes for their own safety.
Compassion for Mountain State children ought to be enough to prompt us to provide more help for those dealing with mental challenges. Now, however, we have another reason to act: a mandate from the federal government. …
Read more: http://www.theintelligencer.net/opinion/editorials/2019/05/ensure-children-can-be-educated/
