Will Illinois Really Allow Students To Take 5 Mental Health Days?

Social Media Fact-Check

Background:

Due to the pandemic, many students have had trouble staying mentally stable adapting to the new life everyone had to start living. Students have been stressed about school and other things going on in their life, even before the pandemic. It has been said that there has been an increase in rates of depression, stress, and anxiety within adolescents since the pandemic started. There is reason to believe that Illinois has noticed this and may be granting students to to take 5 days off from school as mental health days.

Go To the Original Source:

Theshaderoom is an instagram account that posts about things going on in the world and on social media. One week ago they made a post informing everyone that Illinois made a law that allows students, ages 6-17, to take 5 mental health days off from school. They stated that starting in January 2022, thanks to J.B Pritzker, students will be able to start using this resource as an excused absence from school.

What Sources Are Saying:

According to other sources, children, ages 7-17, will soon be able to take those 5 mental health days. The article confirms that students across Illinois will have this opportunity. It also verifies that the bill was signed into law by J.B. Pritzker last month and was made to help kids get care. If a student chooses to take a day off they are not required to provide their school with a doctor’s note.

Is the Original Source Reliable?

Theshadroom did a very good job when it came to making sure their information was correct on that post. The only part that they got wrong was the age range that the law will be affected by. They put the age range from 6-17, but the actual age range was later found to be 7-17. From this post on the new law in Illinois it can be drawn not conclusion that they are a mostly legit source.