Skip to main content
California Department of Education Logo
California Department of Education
Official Letter
California Department of Education
Official Letter
February 24, 2022

Dear School Administrator:

Mental Health Professional and Student Mental Health Needs Survey

I am writing today to encourage you to participate in a brief, confidential online survey regarding student mental health. The purpose of this survey is to gather information to better understand the mental health needs, necessary supports, and available services for students. This information will be particularly helpful as we plan to recruit 10,000 mental health clinicians to support California students. For more information on this initiative, please see the California Department of Education (CDE) news release on the CDE Year 2021 web page at https://www.cde.ca.gov/nr/ne/yr21/yr21rel100.asp.

This survey is administered by the University of California, San Francisco (UCSF) with support from the CDE’s Project Cal-Well mental health initiative. Read more about the initiative on the CDE Project Cal-Well web page at https://www.cde.ca.gov/ls/cg/mh/projectcalwell.asp.

Confidentiality is critical; therefore, your survey responses will be kept private by the UCSF team. The CDE, your staff, students, their parents, and other schools will not see your individual survey responses.

The survey will take approximately 10 minutes to complete. To ensure a high response rate, you may receive follow-up emails from UCSF and CDE to encourage you to complete the survey.

I hope you will participate in this voluntary survey to assist in efforts to better address the emotional and behavioral needs of our students statewide. Please complete the survey by March 1, 2022, by going to the UCSF 2021–22 California Principals survey web page.

If you require technical assistance to access the survey, please contact Dr. Samira Soleimanpour at UCSF at Samira.Soleimanpour@ucsf.edu.

If you have any further questions, please contact the Office of School-Based Health Programs at 916-323-6277 or OSBHP@cde.ca.gov Rick Petrino, Office of School-Based Health Programs, at rpetrino@cde.ca.gov [NOTE: this individual is no longer the contact person].

Sincerely,

Tony Thurmond
State Superintendent of Public Instruction

TT:mn
Last Reviewed: Thursday, April 02, 2026

Recently Posted in Letters

  • 2027 California Schools to Watch Program (added 13-May-2026)
    Letter to County and District Superintendents, Charter School Administrators, and Middle School Principals regarding an invitation to apply for the 2027 California Schools to Watch program.
  • AAPI Heritage Month Kickoff Webinar (added 13-May-2026)
    Letter to county and district superintendents, charter school administrators, and school principals regarding Asian American and Pacific Islander (AAPI) Heritage Month kickoff webinar: Living History at Angel Island Immigration Station.
  • Invitation to SSPI's Literacy Leadership Summit (added 12-May-2026)
    Letter to county and district superintendents and charter school administrators regarding an invitation to State Superintendent Thurmond's Literacy Leadership Summit.
  • Reminder: Graduates’ Rights to Wear Tribal Regalia (added 23-Apr-2026)
    Joint letter from the California Department of Education and the California Department of Justice regarding a reminder of graduates’ rights to wear tribal regalia.
  • Reminder: Graduates’ Rights to Wear Tribal Regalia (added 22-Apr-2026)
    Joint letter from the CDE and California Department of Justice to County and District Superintendents, Charter School Administrators, and School Principals reminding them of graduates’ rights to wear tribal regalia.

  • Celebration of California State Student Authors (added 03-Apr-2026)
    Letter regarding the Celebration of California State Student Authors.
  • Approved List of Screening Instruments for TK (added 27-Mar-2026)
    Letter to County and District Superintendents and Charter School Administrators regarding the approved list of screening instruments for Transitional Kindergarten Multilingual Learners.
  • Upcoming Observance of Farmworkers Day (added 26-Mar-2026)
    Letter to County and District Superintendents and Charter School Administrators regarding the upcoming observance of Farmworkers Day on March 31, 2026.
  • 2026 Workplace Readiness Week (added 26-Mar-2026)
    Letter to County and District Superintendents and Charter School Administrators regarding Workplace Readiness Week.
  • Supporting Student Mental Health (added 24-Mar-2026)
    Joint letter from the California Department of Education, the California Department of Health Care Services, and the California Health and Human Services Agency to colleagues regarding supporting student mental health.