Intoduce mandatory mental healthcare screenings in k-12 public schools.

This petition calls for implementing mandatory mental healthcare screenings in k-12 public schools. Mental health is as important as any other public health issue and more needs to be done to help identify troubled youth and get them the necessary care they need. The majority of mass killings in our country are perpetrated by severely disturbed young men. This is not only a measure that will help prevent violence like we saw in Newtown, Connecticut, but one that will help many children and adolescents who stuggle with all kinds of mental illnesses. Mental illness has long been stigmatized and the consequences are deleterious to individuals and the society at large. Schools require physicals and vaccinations, and we believe mental health assessments should also be mandatory.