Executive Summary
Summary
*Content Warning*
This bill information page contains content about suicide.
This bill encourages districts to provide instruction on skills that promote social-emotional learning, mental health, wellness, self-management, social skills, and more in schools.
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OSPI would distribute funding to schools to support this work in the next 5 years. Funding for this would first focus on high poverty schools, charter schools, and state-tribal compact schools
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The instruction would be based on learning standards adopted by OSPI
Key Points
Mental health and social-emotional wellness remain one of the most critical needs in schools and in the state right now. Before and since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, youth mental health is in crisis:
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The CDC reports that from 2016-2019, approximately 5.8 million children in the U.S. had been diagnosed with anxiety and 2.7 million had been diagnosed with depression.
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In 2018, the Washington state Healthy Youth Survey (HYS) indicated that 23% of tenth graders considered attempting suicide in that year. 20% of eighth graders had considered suicide.
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In 2021, the HYS in Washington showed that of the tenth graders who reported symptoms of depression, 13.8% of them also reported alcohol/substance use and over 35% were doing poorly in school.
While this bill continues an ever-important conversation about youth wellness, mental health, and social-emotional wellness in school, it is a small step. To meet the level of need in schools right now, we would need required instructional time and support towards SEL and mental health, as well as much greater, systemic funding.
Additional Details
For crisis support:
988 is the new, three-digit dialing code for the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline (NSPL).
Compassionate, accessible care and support are available for anyone experiencing mental healht-related distress. Call services are vailable with interpretation services in over 150 languages.
The Trevor Project (LGBTQ+ Youth)
Crisis Line: 1-866-488-7286
Text Line: text START to 678678
Trans Lifeline
Crisis Line: 1-877-565-8860
Other support resources:
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The Children & Youth Behavioral Health Work Group has collected resources on the Washington Health Care Authority website.
Ways to Get Involved
Steps to Get Started
- Learn where the bill is in the legislative process.
- If there is an upcoming hearing, decide how you would like to get your voice heard and take action.
- If there is not an upcoming hearing, or if you want to supplement your advocacy, call or write your legislators.
- Spread the word and get other people on board.
Participating in a Hearing
Sign in Pro, Con, or Other
This is when individuals, advocates, and organizations make their position on a particular bill known for the record. This is particularly powerful in large numbers. Many organizations will send out Action Alerts asking people to sign in Pro or Con on a bill.
Submit Written Testimony
Submitting written testimony is a great way not only to make your position known to legislators but also to explain why in more detail. This is a good option if you don’t want to speak in front of others. People also like to offer more nuance to their position by writing.
Testify Virtually
Since COVID, many legislators are allowing remote/virtual testimony for bill hearings, as it greatly expands access to the legislative process across the state. For this, individuals usually have between 1-2 minutes to state their opinion on a bill in front of the legislative committee on Zoom.