A West Virginia bill that would require all schools with students in grades 6-12 to print suicide prevention resources on identification cards was unanimously passed Thursday by the state’s House of Delegates.
Now it is headed to the Senate.
“I am super excited,” said House of Delegates member Charlie Reynolds, a Republican who sponsored the bill. “What a great day in the House of Delegates.”
According to an advisory issued in 2021 by U.S. Surgeon General Vivek Murthy, national surveys had already started showing “alarming increases” in mental health challenges for young Americans. These included data from 2019 that found one in three students reported persistent feelings of sadness or hopelessness.
Data released this week from the U.S. Centers from Disease Control and Prevention shows that figure increased to 40% in 2021 amid the COVID-19 pandemic. This updated data also shows that 22% of high school students surveyed in 2021 said they seriously considered attempting suicide during the past year.
“We know that mental health is shaped by many factors, from our genes and brain chemistry to our relationships with family and friends, neighborhood conditions, and larger social forces and policies. We also know that, too often, young people are bombarded with messages through the media and popular culture that erode their sense of self-worth—telling them they are not good looking enough, popular enough, smart enough, or rich enough,” said Murthy. “That comes as progress on legitimate, and distressing, issues like climate change, income inequality, racial injustice, the opioid epidemic, and gun violence feels too slow.”
National legislation proposed this week – the Making Age-Verification Technology Uniform, Robust, and Effective Act – also aims to address youth mental health. However, some question whether that bill, which would limit social media use to people age 16 and older, would be effective.
“The challenges today’s generation of young people face are unprecedented and uniquely hard to navigate,” said Murthy. U.S. Secretary of Education Miguel Cardona and Murthy participated in a town hall event on teen mental health in Virginia Thursday.
In West Virginia, the proposed legislation is poised to require suicide prevention resources be printed on student identification cards for students in grades 6-12 in public schools that issue student identification cards. It would also require suicide prevention resources be printed on student identification cards for students in a public or private institution of higher education that issues student identification cards.
This would include contact information for the Suicide & Crisis Lifeline, available via call or text at 988 and the Crisis Text line, which can be accessed by texting HOME to 741741.
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