After talking to numerous students I learned that mental health days would be beneficial to students mental health and may even help them with their grades. Mental health days also may help teachers catch up on grading or even allow them more time to make lesson plans. A few ways students could use these days are to catch up on homework, study, or simply relax. We could have collective school-wide mental health days or individual mental health days where they just have to talk to the counselors about it. These mental health days don't need to keep students at home because for some being at school is a relief from their home life as it could be stressful. 

Although there are maybe some teachers who may find this stupid and a waste of learning time but the other teachers may be neutral about it or be supportive of these days. Along with that, there may be some students who won't take these days seriously when in reality they are very important. 

Mental health days could not only impact them positively but in so many other ways as well. The mental health days students could use to help manage their stress levels, catch up on work if they need to, or use it to get away from everything for a while. Not adding these mental health days I personally feel is a mistake due to the rate of depression and anxiety among 12-17-year-olds. Based on a study done by the National Institution of Mental health, there are an estimated 3.8 million adolescents aged 12 to 17 in the United States had at least one major depressive episode. This number represented 15.7% of the U.S. population aged 12-17. The prevalence of major depressive episodes was higher among adolescent females (23.0%) compared to males (8.8%). In 2019 an estimated 2.7 million adolescents aged 12 to 17 in the United States had at least one major depressive episode in the past year This number represented 11.1% of the U.S. population aged 12 to 17. Other Studies indicate that suicide attempts among young people may be based on long-standing problems triggered by a specific event in their life. Suicidal adolescents may view a temporary situation as permanent. There may be feelings of anger and resentment combined with exaggerated guilt that can lead to impulsive self-destructive acts. Not to mention that studies show normal children today report more anxiety than child psychiatric patients in the 1950's.  

Students feel pressured to perform well academically so they can secure their futures, They also feel pressured to fit in with their peers and live up to their parents’ expectations. Unfortunately, all this pressure and stress can negatively impact teens’ mental health, which can lead to even more problems if not properly treated. These mental health days can minimize the amount of stress. According to Education Week, mental health days allow students to support themselves outside of the school environment. By taking a mental health day, students can focus on themselves and take a step back before things become too overwhelming. They can also give students the time and space to seek outside support from therapists or other mental health providers who can provide students with coping skills and other tools to help them manage stress more effectively. There are many shown benefits of adding mental health days in for all students such as it helps students learn and grasp information making teaching overall more effective. It is also believed allowing mental health days will help decrease the stigma associated with mental health and mental illness.  In the past two years, several states, including Arizona, Colorado, Connecticut, Illinois, Maine, Nevada, Oregon, and Virginia, have passed bills allowing students to miss school for mental health reasons. This is a major step in prioritizing mental health and providing support. for all students, this could be beneficial for many reasons such as they could use this day to study for tests, simply to relax, catch up on homework or do homework, etc. These could help students’ grades improve in many areas. Not to mention that this could also help teachers catch up on grading work and lesson planning. These mental health days don't need to keep students at home because for some being at school is a relief from their home life as it could be stressful. Granting mental health days validates students who live with anxiety, depression, and other conditions. Even more so, these days help students feel supported by their teachers and school administration. By doing this, students learn that they can accept themselves exactly the way they are and they can take the time they need to care for their health and wellbeing. In many instances, these mental health days not only help students perform better academically but also help students get the care they need before they reach a level of desperation.