LINCOLN- A Nebraska panel on civil rights continued diving into the effects of COVID-19 on K-12 education on Wednesday with a focus on youth mental health, the third such meeting held by the Nebraska Advisory Committee to the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights. Jen Pollock, a representative of the Nebraska School Psychologists Association, said there is a dramatic national workforce shortage, particularly in education.

But, she added, teachers cannot be expected to be mental health experts. "They are experts in the content," she said, "and that's what we need them to be." Liesel Hogan, a licensed mental health practitioner who works in Educational Service Unit #3, added that the shortage has had a direct impact on students. Hogan also highlighted the pandemic as an issue, saying that it has led to more anxiety, more school absences, and more students lacking motivation.

Corey Lieneman, an assistant professor in the University of Nebraska Medical Center Department of Psychiatry, highlighted that, since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, there has been a 25% increase globally in anxiety and depression. Nationally, around 20% of youths aged 3-17 have at least one mental or behavioral health disorder, and suicide is the second leading cause of death in children ages 10-14, more than doubling since 2008.

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