Israel's Schools Lack Adequate Medical, Psychological Support for Students
Translated & summarized from Zman Yisrael by baba
Israeli schools are facing a severe lack of medical and psychological support for students, with critical shortages of nurses and psychologists, and outdated policies leaving vulnerable children without adequate care. These systemic issues have persisted for years, impacting students with allergies and those experiencing mental health challenges.
The story in 5 lines · by baba
- Schools lack sufficient nurses and psychologists for student needs.
- Policies leave students with life-threatening allergies unprotected after second grade.
- Psychologist staffing standards haven't been updated in over 35 years.
- Ministries lack data on allergic reactions and student mental health issues.
- A pilot program replacing medical aides with nurses faces legal challenges.
Israeli schools are failing to provide consistent medical and psychological care for students, according to a report highlighting systemic failures by the Ministries of Education and Health. A significant issue is the lack of support for students with life-threatening allergies. While the Ministry of Education mandates full supervision for first graders with such allergies, this requirement drops to three hours daily for second graders and is eliminated entirely from third grade onwards. Data from the Taub Center reveals that in the 2024-2025 school year, 78% of students needing an epinephrine auto-injector were not eligible for it. Furthermore, only 559 nurses are responsible for approximately 1.57 million students, and they are not stationed at schools.
The shortage of educational psychologists is also critical, with standards for their positions not updated in over 35 years. As of December 2023, only 2,429 psychologist positions were filled out of 3,343 allocated. This means a third-grader with a life-threatening allergy might attend a school without a permanent nurse or medical aide, while a student experiencing psychological distress may only see a school psychologist for 4 to 12 hours per week.
These deficiencies stem from three core problems: procedures that cease eligibility for supervision after second grade, an insufficient number of nurses relative to the number of schools, and outdated psychologist staffing standards. The Ministry of Education admitted in a High Court of Justice hearing that it lacks data on the number of allergic children and allergic reactions in schools.
A pilot program replacing medical aides with nurses for 30 hours a week in some schools is being tested in just ten schools. This pilot faces legal challenges, with an organization petitioning the Supreme Court, arguing it's proceeding without parental consent. The Health Ministry has also noted that expanding the school nurse system could worsen existing nurse shortages, particularly in peripheral areas.
The article also points out that the Ministry of Education has not updated psychologist standards in over 35 years, despite being aware of the shortage since 2010. Even with the outdated standards, the ministry fails to meet existing allocations. The average wait time for an initial response from a school psychologist was already over 54 days before the recent war, which has exacerbated mental health crises among children and youth.
Estimates suggest placing a nurse in all elementary and middle schools would cost between 462 and 488 million shekels annually, a figure comparable to current budgets allocated for student health services and aides. The report concludes that these systemic failures, affecting both medical and psychological support, have persisted for years under various education and health ministers, with former Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu also sharing responsibility during much of this period.