The state of Iowa will use $20 million in federal relief dollars to fund a new center for school mental health that will provide resources to Iowa schools for the upcoming school year, Gov. Kim Reynolds announced.
“This new center will help teachers and schools across the state meet the mental and behavioral health needs of K-12 students, a role that’s increasingly important in the post-pandemic world that we live in,” Reynolds said during a news conference.
The Iowa Center for School Mental Health will be a partnership between the Iowa Department of Education and the University of Iowa. Iowa Department of Education director Ann Lebo said that it expands on work underway at the state level and at the University of Iowa College of Education.
“We are allocating $20 million in federal relief funding the department received to support this work and expand the center services across the state, especially in rural communities,” she said. “Starting this summer, all Iowa schools – large and small, rural and urban – will benefit from ongoing research, best practices and evidence-based support.”
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