Under a new law signed by the governor, schools are provided with mental health resources that will help the next generations of students.
An important topic within the education system is mental health. Over the past couple decades, mental health is progressively becoming more and more recognized. Although it is a major issue, the recognition alone provides a gateway for help that many students and faculty members are seeking, and school legalization is catching on.
With over 3,000 school bills being introduced in the 2021 session alone, eighty-one of those were processed and passed. Since the 2022 session is now in full swing, hopefully we will see just as many in the next year.
Mental health education was not mandated in some states until 2018, however these past few years have had a substantial amount of progression. Working hard every year to make a change, Oklahoma is now one of the few states in the US that provides mental health education within their school programs. According to nces.ed.gov, at least “20 states and the District of Columbia include mental health in their health or education standards.”
A handful of powerful bills have been passed over the past few years, providing help and shedding light on this ever-growing issue, one of those bills being House Bill 1568. Written by Representative Jeff Boatman and Senator John Haste, this bill creates Maria’s Law. Going into effect at the beginning of the 2022/2023 school year, the next generation of students will be provided with mental health education. This new law requires every district in the state of Oklahoma to provide grades K-12 with mental health education in any health based curriculum.
Being passed with an overwhelming 14-0 vote. This was a bipartisanship where both political parties agreed.
Alongside HB1568, the bill SB21 is a staple in the development of the education system. Having yet another astonishing outcome, this bill ended with a 12-0 vote. Written by Senator Kay Floyd and Representative Marcus McEntire, this bill provides district-wide suicide awareness training for faculty. This bill became effective at the beginning of the 2021-2022 school year.
Coupling this, this bill also requires grades 7th-12th to take suicide awareness training, this is going into effect the 2022-2023 school year.
Bill SB12 requires the school board to take action and provide mental health education and suicide awareness to not only the students, but to also teachers and faculty.
Oklahoma continues to incorporate mental health awareness in schools by passing bills that provide helpful classes for students and also training for teachers. These bills will now influence and provide momentum for school legislation in other states to do the same.
I am a senior XC/track runner, and also a writer for the CPHS Sandtonian.
