Fiscal impact reports (FIRs) are prepared by the Legislative Finance Committee (LFC) for standing finance
committees of the Legislature. LFC does not assume responsibility for the accuracy of these reports if they
are used for other purposes.
F I S C A L I M P A C T R E P O R T
SPONSOR Herndon/Gurrola
LAST UPDATED 01/29/2025
ORIGINAL DATE 01/27/2025
SHORT TITLE
Mental Health Programs in Schools
Funding
BILL
NUMBER House Bill 58
ANALYST Chilton
APPROPRIATION*
(dollars in thousands)
FY25 FY26
Recurring or
Nonrecurring
Fund
Affected
$2,050.0 $2,050.0 Recurring General Fund
Parentheses ( ) indicate expenditure decreases.
*Amounts reflect most recent analysis of this legislation.
Sources of Information
LFC Files
Agency Analysis Received From
Public School Facilities Authority (PSFA)
Health Care Authority (HCA)
Public Education Department (PED)
Agency Analysis was Solicited but Not Received From
Regional Education Cooperatives (REC) Albuquerque Public Schools (APS)
SUMMARY
Synopsis of House Bill 58
House Bill 58 (HB58) appropriates $300 thousand from the general fund to the Public Education
Department for the purpose of partnering with an organization to train school staff, students, and
community members in culturally appropriate suicide prevention and trauma-informed care. It
also appropriates $1.75 million to support the operation of 14 mental health rooms in schools
throughout the state. The bill does not specify school management (public or private) or level
(elementary, junior/middle, or high school) in the schools to be chosen.
This bill does not contain an effective date and, as a result, would go into effect 90 days after the
Legislature adjourns if enacted, or June 20, 2025.
FISCAL IMPLICATIONS
The appropriations of $2.05 million contained in this bill are recurring expenses to the general
fund. Any unexpended or unencumbered balance remaining at the end of FY26 shall revert to the
general fund. House Bill 58 – Page 2
SIGNIFICANT ISSUES
Mental health problems are common among children throughout the United States and within
New Mexico. The federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) states about one in
every seven school-aged children is afflicted by a mental health disorder. CDC data from prior
to the pandemic are as follows:
Condition Ages 3-5
Ages 6-
11 Ages 12-17
Anxiety 2.2% 8% 15.3%
Depression 0.1% 1.8% 8.9%
Behavior
Disorders 4.6% 8.4% 7.5%
Further, the prevalence of mental health disorders seems to be increasing, whether due to
pandemic-related restrictions and social isolation, children’s heavy use of social media, unrest in
the larger society, or other factors. CDC findings from 2023 indicate that 4 in 10 high school
students had persistent feelings of sadness or hopelessness, 2 in 10 high school students had
seriously considered attempting suicide, and 9 percent had attempted suicide. Clearly students
afflicted with mental health disorders are at risk for self-injury and have difficulty learning in
school.
According to PED:
New Mexico ranks 34 out of 50 states and the District of Columbia for prevalence of
mental health issues and access to mental health services among children. States with
greater access to mental health services rank higher on the list. Approximately 16 percent
of children ages 12 to 17 nationwide reported suffering from at least one major
depressive episode in the past year, compared with 19 percent of children in the same age
group in New Mexico. From 2018 to 2021, 99 children ages five to 17 died from suicide
in New Mexico. New Mexico's youth suicide rate of 6.9 deaths per 100 thousand
residents was more than double the U.S.’s youth suicide rate of 3.2 deaths per 100
thousand residents.
HCA notes data gathered within New Mexico:
Per the 2022 State of Mental Health in New Mexico report published by the Behavioral
Epidemiology Bureau, Epidemiology and Response Division, within the New Mexico
Department of Health, youth in New Mexico are currently in need of mental health
support. In 2019, 2 out of 5 high school students stated they felt sad and hopeless and 1
out of 6 youth ages 12-17 experienced a major depressive episode. [Almost 94] youth per
10 thousand experienced a hospitalization for a mental health concern in 2020. This
suggests that any wellness efforts aimed at supporting mental health should be explored
in places where youth and children will have access to them. A number of schools,
including schools in Utah and California, have utilized wellness rooms in schools and
their initial data is promising.
Addressing these disorders in school-based mental health rooms or clinics appears to be a
worthwhile approach to a growing problem, especially with the well-documented paucity of
other mental health care in this state. Fourteen centers throughout the state would represent a House Bill 58 – Page 3
significant starting point, even as that would serve only 1.6 percent of the 854 schools in the
state. Although the bill does not identify this as a pilot program, it appears to be one, and as
such, might need to include monitoring and reporting requirements to assess effectiveness. PED
notes the success of existing mental health wellness spaces, including 21 already existing in New
Mexico.
ADMINISTRATIVE IMPLICATIONS
HCA indicates its Behavioral Health Services Division “could partner with the Public Education
Department (PED) to identify trauma-informed and culture-centered suicide prevention training
to school staff, students and community members that aligns with the Pax good behavior games,
mental health first aid Yellow Ribbon Suicide Prevention and other efforts that are utilized
statewide currently.”
PSFA notes that schools would not be able to locate wellness rooms unless they had unused
space, but “[d]epending on the room requirements of the wellness rooms, schools could
potentially utilize underutilized or vacant rooms in schools where they are available.”
RELATIONSHIP
HB58 relates to House Bill 112 from 2023, which did not pass but would have appropriated $5
million to establish school wellness rooms at schools chosen by PED using bill-specified criteria,
including geographic representation throughout the state. It also relates House Bill 70 from 2024,
which would have provided $38 million for school-based mental health counselors in public
middle and high schools. It also did not pass.
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