Mental Health Screenings: Model Policy OPT IN ONLY
After requests from Illinois parents and school policymakers, Awake Illinois today released Opt-In Only: Guidance for Illinois Boards of Education on the mental health screening mandate effective for the 2027-2028 school year. Those requests were consistent: develop a policy that will meet the state statute, mitigate federal liability, and protect parental rights.
Shannon Adcock, founder of Awake Illinois said:
“Families and board members asked us for model policy they could actually use. Parents direct the upbringing, education, and medical care of their children. The gold standard is opt-in only as it meets the state mandate and federal consent rules. The school is a temporary custodian, not a place of clinical care.”
Public Act 104-0032 (SB 1560) requires districts to offer an annual mental-health screening to students in grades 3–12 beginning in 2027–28, and only in years the State has supplied a free qualifying self-report tool. Student participation is not the mandate.
The Illinois State Board of Education (ISBE) August 2026 guidance is non-regulatory and already allows an opt-in model with affirmative written consent. The U.S. Department of Education’s August 26, 2026 PPRA letter states that an opt-out policy is not sufficient when school officials administer a mental-health instrument. ISBE has not named a State screening tool as of this publication.
Main Points:
The law is that the school offer a free screening.
It is not a requirement that students participate or that parents consent.
It is not a private-school mandate.
It does not strip a local board of the power to require affirmative written parental consent.
A board that adopts opt-in only policy ensures compliance with both state and federal laws.
This video podcast covers background on the law, the Awake Illinois model policy packet, and a call to action.
Boards that calendar or adopt the resolution—or a local rewrite—are asked to send the district name, date, and text as adopted to info@awakeIL.com to track resolution adoption and share working language. The video podcast will be posted to the blog after it airs today at noon CST. It may be viewed at our X, Youtube, or Facebook social pages.
Our goal is for opt-in only policy to be the gold standard during this mandate.
View the Opt-In Only: Guidance for Illinois Boards of Education below and download HERE.
SLIDE DECK FROM VIDEO PODCAST:
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