Another reason they are doing this is to bolster the system for their own children.
There is a crisis in the mental health system, and not just for children. (No, school isn’t the answer, but I don’t know what is.)
Three years ago, my daughter had a psychotic break due to a medical condition. When we tried to get her to a shrink (a counselor wasn’t going to cut it, this was much more serious) there was a 3 month waiting list to get an initial appointment. Thankfully, there was a cancellation and they worked her in pretty fast. But had that one person not canceled, I may have a dead daughter right now.
There have been many times when I’ve known people who needed some in-patient care, but they won’t give it to you unless you’re suicidal. And even then, they kick you out a few days later. There is very little follow-up for these people.
For people with *serious* mental health problems, there’s very little that is done.
But the school system is NOT the place to do this. It won’t be the parents initiating the therapy, it’ll be the government and they will be in control. A kid who’s acting out in class (because there is no discipline) would be sent to mental health instead of getting the change of environment that’s needed. This would be the easy out for teachers and the admin.