For the duration of Mental Overall health Awareness Month, legislators introduce Student Mental Overall health Rights Act, legislation requiring the Division of Education to problem guidance to colleges, universities on upholding civil rights

Bill Text (PDF)

Washington (May well 25, 2023) – For the duration of Mental Overall health Awareness Month, Senator Edward J. Markey (D-Mass.), chair of the Senate Overall health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Subcommittee on Major Overall health and Retirement Safety, and Representative Katie Porter (CA-47) nowadays announced the introduction of Student Mental Overall health Rights Act, legislation that would call for the Division of Education (DOE), in consultation with the Assistant Lawyer Basic of the Civil Rights Division of the Division of Justice (DOJ), publish guidance for colleges and universities to far better assistance students with mental well being disabilities and substance use disorder and to assure they are meeting current federal civil rights laws. To inform the guidance, the legislation also would call for the Secretary of Education to gather information on the prevalence of mental well being disabilities and substance use problems at colleges and universities, assessment ideal practices for supporting students, and assess present policies at academic institutions concerning leaves of absence.

Healthful Minds Network (HMN) reported that from 2021 to 2022, 44 % of college student suffered from depression and 37 % suffered from anxiousness. Having said that, students reported barriers to accessing care for these and other mental well being disabilities, like monetary expense, lack of obtainable appointments and confusion on exactly where to seek assist. Students with disabilities are protected by civil rights laws, like the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), the Rehabilitation Act, and the Fair Housing Act. But, disabled students continue to report discrimination, monetary burdens and the denial of affordable accommodations, which forces students to take involuntary healthcare leaves of absence, and in some situations, tends to make their requests for voluntary leaves of absence complicated to access or return from.

“We are in the midst of a mental well being crisis, but for also extended, we have left students and their schools with out a roadmap for navigating it,” stated Senator Markey. “Failing to give students and institutions of larger education the sources they require to assistance students experiencing a mental well being crisis or substance use disorder indicates failing to give all students the chance for complete and equal access to an education. This legislation will assistance students who have faced discrimination whilst offering clarity to academic institutions about their responsibilities to guard students’ civil rights.”

“Our young people today can not thrive and succeed if we do not seriously address our nation’s mental well being crisis,” stated Representative Porter. “The laws we have on the books are not translating into protections for students, which is a sign we should redouble our efforts to get schools to comply with mental well being safeguards. My Student Mental Overall health Rights Act with Senator Markey will assist make campuses safer for students in crisis.”

A copy of the Student Mental Overall health Rights Act can be located Right here.

Cosponsors of the legislation consist of Representatives Suzanne Bonamici (OR-01), Joe Courtney (CT-02), and Darren Soto (FL-09).

The Student Mental Overall health Rights Act is endorsed by American Foundation for Suicide Prevention, American Psychological Association, Anxiousness and Depression Association of America, Association on Larger Education and Disability, Council of Administrators of Unique Education, International OCD Foundation, National Association for Children’s Behavioral Overall health, National Association of Social Workers, National Center for Finding out Disabilities, the Arc of the United States, the Kennedy Forum, the National Education Association, Autistic Self Advocacy Network, Bazelon Center for Mental Overall health Law, Trust for America’s Overall health, the American Federation of Teachers, and the University of California Technique.

This month, Senator Markey held a Assistance subcommittee hearing convening public well being leaders on the require to expand access to mental well being care and substance use disorder care. Earlier in May well, Senator Markey and Representatives Paul Tonko (NY-20) and Brian Fitzpatrick (PA-01) reintroduced their Neighborhood Mental Wellness and Resilience Act (CMWRA), legislation to establish a initial-of-its-sort $36 million pilot grant system by means of the Centers for Illness Manage and Prevention (CDC) to present funding to nearby neighborhood-primarily based mental wellness and resilience applications. In February, Senator Markey and Representative Jamie Raskin (MD-08) sent a letter to Dr. Lawrence A. Tabak, Acting Director of the National Institutes of Overall health (NIH), calling for the swift launch of an in depth research initiative on the effect of technologies and media on young children, teens, and infants, constant with the Young children and Media Study Advancement (CAMRA) Act. Final November, Senator Markey sent a letter to the DOE and the DOJ calling for stronger policies associated to involuntary healthcare leaves of absence to assure students with disabilities’ access to larger education is protected.  

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