At Carlmont High School, students frequently call in sick. However, few realize that under California law, the list of excused absences includes mental health reasons.

In 2021, Senate Bill 14 expanded excused absences in California to include mental and behavioral health, but Carlmont students say this policy isn’t widely communicated.

“I don’t think many people know that mental health days are excused because it’s never mentioned in any syllabus or anything,” said Talia Loeb, a sophomore at Carlmont.

The topic of mental health days was raised by the Student Advisory Council (SAC) club at Carlmont, which provides a space for students to voice concerns about school policy.

“It was brought up by the Student Advisory Council to ask what’s going on with sick days. I tried to give some clarity around how these days live in the overall landscape of excused absences at Carlmont,” said Carlmont Principal Gay Buckland-Murray.

The Carlmont High School website doesn’t list excused absences and directs any questions to the attendance team. In contrast, the Sequoia Union High School District (SUHSD) handbook states that a student is excused from school “due to the pupil’s illness, including an absence for the benefit of the pupil’s mental or behavioral health.”

“I think it’s a good idea to put the language from the district on our website so parents can be like ‘oh, that’s an excused absence,’ and see it right there,” Buckland-Murray said.

Impact on students

The World Health Organization (WHO) reported in September 2025 that globally, one in seven 10- to 19-year-olds experience a mental disorder, and that depression and other mental health conditions are among the leading causes of illness and disability for adolescents.

At Carlmont, the pressures of school can make taking a break difficult.

“The tricky part about school is that when you fall behind, it really feels like a death sentence, or that the weight of the world is on you,” said Arie Pramono, a registered associate marriage and family therapist. “The stakes of taking a mental health day also add to stress, so it’s like you’re taking one step forward, but you might be taking two steps back.”

Buckland-Murray said that students at Carlmont often struggle to take breaks, even though mental health days can support better learning. 

“Taking a mental health day has given me a chance to recollect and feel better,” Loeb said.

Coping and wellness strategies

Stigma around the way mental health is treated makes it hard for students to step back when needed.

“Just like that sore throat could explode into something worse, that one day of anxiety could explode into something worse as well. I hope people start seeing it’s a symptom of overall wellness,” Buckland-Murray said. 

When taking time off for mental health, Shelley Bustamante, Carlmont’s Wellness Center therapist, suggests ways to make the most of the break.

“I would recommend when students do take that break to spend time in nature of some sort,” Bustamante said. “There’s a mindfulness app called Calm that has some great breathing activities.”

For students balancing a heavy workload and the pressures of high school, knowing that mental health days are an option can be as crucial as any other academic support. 

“Your mind and your body will choose when it’s time to take a break. It might be against your will, and you don’t want to get to that point,” Pramono said.

This story was originally published on Scot Scoop News on October 6, 2025.