School screenings cause mass false positives

Universal mental‑health questionnaires administered to entire student cohorts flag large numbers of transient, nonclinical distress as 'at risk,' producing very high false‑positive rates and triggering unnecessary labeling and interventions. A lawmaking process that studies such programs (e.g., Virginia HB355) is typically the first step toward mandatory implementation across districts. — If adopted at scale, universal school screening could expand the medical system's reach into childhood experience, reshaping privacy, educational practice, and who gets labeled as a patient.