RFK Jr. wants to end mental health screenings in schools. Experts say it’s a bad idea

['Rhitu Chatterjee', '.Wp-Block-Co-Authors-Plus-Coauthors.Is-Layout-Flow', 'Class', 'Wp-Block-Co-Authors-Plus', 'Display Inline', '.Wp-Block-Co-Authors-Plus-Avatar', 'Where Img', 'Height Auto Max-Width', 'Vertical-Align Bottom .Wp-Block-Co-Authors-Plus-Coauthors.Is-Layout-Flow .Wp-Block-Co-Authors-Plus-Avatar', 'Vertical-Align Middle .Wp-Block-Co-Authors-Plus-Avatar Is .Alignleft .Alignright'] TPR: The Public's Radio 2025-09-16 19:08:23

NPR spoke to mental health experts who say the op-ed is misleading about school-based mental health screenings and therapy. Mental health screenings open up a conversation about mental health. Most schools doing school-wide mental health screens usually aren’t screening for a specific mental health condition. As she and other mental health experts noted, mental health screenings don’t end in a clinical diagnosis. “You can be eating and sleeping well and still have mental health challenges.”And that’s why regular school-based mental health screens are so important, say Alvord and others.