Public school students in grades 3 through 12 across Elmhurst and Villa Park will receive annual mental health screenings starting in 2027-28.
Gov. J.B. Pritzker signed Senate Bill 1560 in July 2025, making Illinois what Paula Kennedy of the DuPage Regional Office of Education called the first state to require universal mental health screenings in public schools, the Villa Park Review reported. The law applies to districts including Elmhurst Community Unit School District 205, DuPage District 88 and Villa Park District 45.
Parents can opt out.
The DuPage ROE is covering the cost for local schools. The office secured funding, in partnership with the West 40 Intermediate Service Center, to provide a computerized screening platform called Maro to all schools in DuPage and surrounding collar counties at no charge, according to a DuPage ROE announcement.
Kennedy, the DuPage ROE's director of school culture, climate and SEL, told the Villa Park Review that the screening is not a diagnostic tool. She said it looks at students' risks, assets, strengths and needs to identify early where they are struggling.
Kennedy, a parent and former middle school teacher, said she once had her own concerns about mental health screenings but now views them as similar to the hearing or vision screenings schools already conduct.
"The biggest push [for screenings] is because the suicide rate is climbing," Kennedy said. "Our underprivileged population gets the brunt of that."
She cited Lurie Children's Hospital data showing one in five youth will experience a mental health challenge. Lurie's data also shows approximately one in every 15 high school students will attempt suicide each year.
What districts must do
Each district must adopt a screening instrument that meets Illinois State Board of Education (ISBE) guidelines, establish parent consent policies communicated to families, document follow-up and referral steps when a student screens at-risk, and build data privacy infrastructure to store results securely, according to Maro's summary of the law's requirements. ISBE released non-regulatory guidance in August 2026 to help districts plan, according to an ISBE post on Aug. 25.
The Maro platform handles several of those requirements. It automatically sends plain-English consent forms to families before screening begins and lets parents opt out through a digital form. The platform is compliant with the Student Online Personal Protection Act (SOPPA) and the Children's Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA). Student data is encrypted and access-controlled.
Because the screening is computerized, schools can screen students broadly without relying entirely on clinical staff to administer each one manually.
What parents should know
The DuPage ROE is offering monthly webinars, implementation guidance, parent opt-out templates and district case studies to help schools prepare. Details are available at dupageroe.org.
Families who want behavioral health support beyond the screenings can contact BEACON (Behavioral Health Care and Ongoing Navigation) at beacon.illinois.gov. The service, run by the Illinois Department of Public Health, helps families find local community-based resources and state-funded assistance.
D205, District 88 and District 45 have not publicly detailed their individual compliance plans. Districts that cannot meet the 2027-28 deadline may apply for a waiver extension under the law.
If you are having suicidal thoughts, call or text 988 to reach the 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline.
