By Marlin Adams, VCU Capital News Service
RICHMOND, Va. — State lawmakers want to help teachers and students have better access to mental health resources, to meet a growing need after the pandemic.
Two companion bills passed the General Assembly with unanimous support that aim to increase participation in the state Mental Health First Aid Training Program. Sen. Ghazala Hashmi, D-Richmond, introduced Senate Bill 1377 and Del. Destiny LeVere Bolling, D-Henrico, introduced House Bill 2637.
The Virginia Department of Education and the Department of Behavioral Health and Developmental Services will create and implement the plan to get public high school students and teachers involved with the Mental Health First Aid Training Program.
Virginia established the program in 2016 to help people understand mental health and substance abuse and respond to the signs. A certified trainer in the program has to meet specific criteria. Lawmakers hope boosting participation in the program will provide students with more resources to utilize when they are having a mental health crisis.
The state’s Behavioral Health Commission, or BHC, reported in 2023 that 49% of school divisions have difficulty filling school psychologist positions. Schools attributed the unfilled positions to lack of funding, with 59% of schools needing “additional funding to hire one or more school social workers or school psychologists, according to the report.
Schools are required to hire counselors at a rate of 1 per 325 students, but do not have to employ social workers or psychologists. Classroom teachers have an important role in providing mental health services to students, according to the BHC report.
Public schools in several districts across the state will host the training, on multiple dates and times. This includes during and outside of regular school hours.
The training will last a total of eight hours, Hashmi stated over email. Two hours will be self-paced, prework, and six hours will be either live or synchronous virtual training. State education and behavioral health officials will create materials to help spread awareness about the no-cost, mental health program and training opportunities.
There will be two courses for adults, according to Hashmi. The first course is for adults working with and treating adults, while the other is for adults working with and treating youths.
Virginia ranks 48th in youth access to mental health care, according to a 2023 study by Mental Health America, a more than century-old organization dedicated to mental health advocacy resources.
The state’s Joint Legislative Audit and Review Commission studied the effect of the pandemic on K-12 education. Its report also found schools do not employ enough mental health staff to address the increases in mental health issues.
JLARC found in 2022 that 40% of surveyed high school students reported feeling sad or hopeless for two weeks or more, and 13% seriously considered attempting suicide.
The bills do not require mandatory participation from students or staff, but will provide schools with the proper education on mental health topics.
Teachers could benefit from a yearly training course, said Norfolk Public Schools teacher Kim Jordan. Teachers handle mental health crises on a regular basis, she said. They have yearly training for things such as first aid, but there currently is no training for mental health-related issues, according to Jordan.
“I feel that [mental health] definitely should be part of that training,” Jordan said. “It should be probably yearly.”
The training will help teachers connect better with their students, which will be extremely beneficial, said fellow Norfolk Public Schools teacher Byron Whitehead.
“If we have that training, we can identify that stuff and know how to respond,” Whitehead said. “Because the more I understand them, the better I can approach the situation.”
Whitehead thinks getting students to participate in the program could be a challenge. Some of his concerns are that children might feel “singled out” for going to a program on mental health.
“You want to encourage them and incentives is what kids respond to,” Whitehead said.
There will be an “age-appropriate” training program developed specifically for children by the Virginia Department of Education, according to Hashmi.