Education Minister Elisabeth Borne announces an "ambitious overhaul" of the school health system

National Education Minister Elisabeth Borne announced on Wednesday, May 14, that she wants to improve health and well-being in schools, emphasizing better care for students' mental health problems. Faced with a system that "no longer meets students' needs," she called for its "ambitious overhaul" at the School Health Conference in Paris.

The Minister of Education has announced that, starting in 2026, all 6-year-old students will be required to undergo a "personalized health assessment." Currently, only 20% of students of this age are eligible for medical examinations. Another measure: starting in June 2025, vulnerable students will be able to benefit from a "fast-track" system for priority access to medical-psychological centers.

^Ms. Borne emphasized the importance of mental health care, which she defined as "a national priority," stating that one in three high school students had experienced suicidal thoughts in the last twelve months. Thus, all middle and high schools will have to adopt a mental health protocol by the end of the year, to better identify and address students' psychological suffering.

Next year, a "mental health technical advisor" will be appointed in each department. These 100 advisors should be recruited primarily from among school psychologists, who are already in critical short supply, unions regularly emphasize. Tasked with providing expertise to school principals and inspectors, the technical advisors will also be required to establish a mental health roadmap. In each high school, middle school, and district, two "mental health reference staff" will also be trained by the end of the 2026 school year.

^Ms. Borne also indicated that school inspectors and directors, as well as social and health staff, will have access to training modules related to mental health. Psychosocial skills will also be developed among students, by being integrated into the common core curriculum from kindergarten to ninth grade starting in the 2026 school year. The objective: to promote "peer support."

Finally, the issue of resources was addressed by the minister, who pointed out that nearly 40% of school doctor positions are vacant . Their careers "will be upgraded and streamlined," ^Ms. Borne stated. The objective is to allow for an increase of up to 500 euros gross per month, the ministry told Agence France-Presse.

The minister also mentioned " increasing the number of nurses and psychologists in the national education system." These two points will be the subject of negotiations during the preparation of the 2026 finance bill.