Read the four sources carefully, focusing on a theme or issue that connects them and the different perspective each represents. Then, write a logically organized, well-reasoned, and well-written argument that presents your own perspective on the theme or issue you identified. You must incorporate at least two of the sources provided and link the claims in your argument to supporting evidence. You may also use the other provided sources or draw upon your own knowledge. In your response, refer to the provided sources as Source A, Source B, Source C, or Source D, or by the authors’ names.

In Oregon, mental health is something that teens talk about, think about and see on a daily basis. Suicide is the second leading cause of death for people aged 10 to 35 in Oregon.

Since suicide has touched so many of our communities, the Students for a Healthy Oregon and our peers decided we had to do something. We couldn't sit by and watch our friends struggle any longer.

Sitting in a cramped room at a leadership summer camp with 30 students from all around Oregon, we started a conversation -- not one about making lunches better, or promising that homework will go away, but one with tangible goals and unbounded passion.

This room of 30 students opened a new door for possibilities, as we were hearing from students around the state that our peers were suffering. We heard stories about suicides, violence, bullying and stories about students' mental health manifesting in a physical way that made them unable to learn. We were being told that the students we represent, our friends and family, were suffering and didn't have any way to take a break; so we decided to give them the breaks they deserved.

Providing students with the ability to take mental health days was an idea that went without refute, and was an idea that all of us were proud to represent. From that cramped room, we took our concept directly to the Capitol thanks to our amazing advisers-we spoke alongside the governor, we met with representatives and senators alike and we pushed constantly to bring in more support.

This bill was so important to us because it confronted the stigma that so many teens with mental health problems face: This bill proves that mental health is just as valid as physical health. Schools have always been comfortable talking about physical health -- broken bones and sicknesses aren't seen as big deals to teachers and administrators.

We even learn about sexual health in a majority of schools. Yet if a student is going through depression or anxiety, schools still have a very long way to go to learn how to be comfortable talking about them and supporting those students accordingly.

We hope that this new bill will not only equalize mental and physical health, but that it will teach children and teens the important lesson that it's okay not to be okay and you must take care of yourself first.

If taking a break for one day could lead to being more productive and feeling better when you return, then it should absolutely be legal. We've even seen some companies that have learned this and allow their employees to take mental health days as well. We believe that as a society we could all do a better job of caring for ourselves and others a little more.

Students may be frequently absent from school for a wide variety of reasons. In the publication, “The Importance of Being in School: A Report on Absenteeism in the Nation’s Public Schools,” Balfanz and Byrnes describe 3 broad categories of causes: “(1) students who cannot attend school due to illness, family responsibilities, housing instability, the need to work or involvement with the juvenile justice system; (2) students who will not attend school to avoid bullying, unsafe conditions, harassment and embarrassment; and (3) students who do not attend school because they, or their parents, do not see the value in attending school, they have something else they would rather do, or nothing stops them from skipping school.” An additional category (ie, “myths”) is also thought to cause problem absenteeism. Myths include when students and their families do not realize that missing just 2 days a month can be a problem, think that it is a problem only if absences are unexcused, or do not think absences are a problem for younger children in preschool through grade school. Finally, school suspension and expulsion, as early as preschool, have increasingly been identified as causes of chronic absenteeism that disproportionately affect African American students and students with emotional and behavioral disorders and attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder.

Most studies of health-related causes of school absence have been conducted by authors focusing on a specific health condition and determining whether that condition is associated with missing school. Common health conditions that have been associated with school absenteeism include influenza infection, group A streptococcal pharyngitis, gastroenteritis, fractures, poorly controlled asthma, type 1 diabetes mellitus, chronic fatigue, chronic pain (including headaches and abdominal pain), seizures, poor oral health, dental pain, and obesity. Experienced clinicians know that mental health conditions may present with physical health complaints, including some of those listed above that have been associated with frequent absences. Few studies have been conducted to identify groups of children with higher absenteeism and lower absenteeism and determine which health conditions are most prevalent among those with higher absenteeism. Therefore, it is a challenge to clearly define which health conditions cause more absenteeism than others. In addition, although more data are needed, the data that exist and the authors’ clinical knowledge suggest that the most common health-related causes of school absenteeism likely vary among communities.

. . .

School absenteeism has been associated with mental health conditions and substance use disorders. Longitudinal cohort studies have revealed that conduct disorder and depressive symptoms can lead to frequent absenteeism and, conversely, that frequent absenteeism can lead to conduct disturbances and depressive symptoms. Youth who are truant, defined as willfully refusing to attend school, are more likely than youth who attend school regularly to be diagnosed with oppositional defiant disorder, conduct disorder, depression, and tobacco, alcohol, and marijuana abuse.

For parents and students, the most-often-cited reason for absence is sickness; however, substantial percentages of students reported that they missed school for reasons that schools generally do not consider valid, including family vacations or special events; skipping school for fun; nonschool events like sports, dance, or cheer competitions; taking a break or “mental health day”; or just not wanting to go (16 to 32 percent; see Figure 5). Substantial percentages also reported missing school for reasons that are arguably more justifiable, including feeling anxious, bad weather, or being unprepared for schoolwork (11 to 18 percent). Importantly, other sources of hardship commonly cited in research and professional discourse—such as a family death or illness, caring for siblings, bullying, safety concerns, housing instability, and having to work—were less common (8 percent or less). A student survey by the RAND Corporation in 2025 reflected similar patterns.

. . .

Chronic absenteeism is still a problem. It was a problem before the pandemic and rose dramatically by 2022, affecting every state and all student demographics. Rates have been improving since then, but slowly. Unfortunately, the rate of improvement is also slowing. After prior improvements of 2.6 percentage points in 2023 and 2.1 percentage points in 2024, chronic absenteeism rates improved by less than 1 percentage point in 2025.

To be sure, there is considerable variation in progress across states, with some states proving that substantial progress on chronic absenteeism is possible. Nonetheless, chronic absenteeism rates are almost 50 percent higher than they were before the pandemic, and at the current pace of improvement, the country is not on track to return to pre-pandemic attendance in the near term—or likely at all.

With the relatively slow progress on absenteeism, much of this report resembles the two reports that preceded it. However, the grade-level analysis adds an important piece of evidence to the picture. Chronic absenteeism does not look like a residual effect on students who experienced pandemic-era schooling. Students who entered school after classrooms reopened and nearly all quarantines were over nonetheless have chronic absenteeism trends that closely resemble those of earlier, COVID-era cohorts. In other words, whatever is keeping absenteeism elevated is a property of how American families and schools currently approach school attendance. The pandemic damaged our approach to schooling, not merely a particular generation of students.

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Renewing progress on chronic absenteeism will take ownership and determination. It will require leadership at the top, especially from governors and state education chiefs, who need to communicate to schools, parents, and students that fighting chronic absenteeism remains a priority. It will require continued efforts by schools generally and weary teachers in particular to leverage personal relationships to convince parents and students of the real downsides of irregular attendance. And more than anything else, it will require families, parents, and students to recognize that attendance matters every day and that the responsibility for ensuring consistent attendance—and the costs of students not attending school consistently—fall on them.