think about the vision and hearing tests. they do those in NY schools. remember, the government can decide whatever it wants. they could have "mental health technicians" do quick evaluations.
refer the kids to "psychiatric technicians" for medication. who needs doctors. the government is notorious for using whatever level of training it chooses to do what it wants accomplished.
remember, this is FOR THE CHILDREN!
Well yes, there are a number of brief questionnaires and inventories for use with children to spot issues such as depressed mood and potential for drug abuse ("The Children's Depression Inventory" and the "Personal Experience Inventory", as examples), but most are used as part of an individualized assessment battery - to try to apply them for screening en masse to the "entire" population of US children, no matter what validity and reliability they boast in a facility setting, would most probably result in literally millions of misclassified "emotionally disturbed", especially if evaluation and follow-up are provided by "technicians" trained to whatever minimal standards the government wants - to do the technical part at a level I would want for my kid is impossible, but public opinion will put a stop to the program once the populace finds out what a farce it is......