Mental health support
Student mental health was a top issue for all three candidates.
Gov. Jay Inslee declared a state of emergency in 2021 for youth mental health. In 2023, nearly a third of 10th-grade students reported experiencing depressive symptoms, and six in 10 of those students reported feeling “nervous, anxious, on edge, or not being able to stop or control worrying,” according to the Healthy Youth Survey.
But the candidates differ on how to address this. Both Saaris and Reykdal outlined holistic plans to improve mental health outcomes, while Olson’s focus is primarily on cell phone use.
Saaris pointed to a paper he recently published with Children’s Alliance that
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