HB1778eng 102ND GENERAL ASSEMBLY

HB1778 Engrossed LRB102 11751 CMG 17086 b

AN ACT concerning education.

Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois, represented in the General Assembly:

Section 1. This Act may be referred to as the Beyond Charity Law.

Section 5. The School Code is amended by adding Sections 10-20.75 and 34-18.67 as follows:

(105 ILCS 5/10-20.75 new)

Sec. 10-20.75. Identification cards; suicide prevention information. Each school district that serves pupils in any of grades 6 through 12 and that issues an identification card to pupils in any of grades 6 through 12 shall provide contact information for the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline (988), the Crisis Text Line, and either the Safe2Help Illinois helpline or a local suicide prevention hotline or both on the identification card. The contact information shall identify each helpline that may be contacted through text messaging. The contact information shall be included in the school's student handbook and also the student planner if a student planner is custom printed by the school for distribution to pupils in any of grades 6 through 12.

(105 ILCS 5/34-18.67 new)

Sec. 34-18.67. Identification cards; suicide prevention information. If the school district issues an identification card to pupils in any of grades 6 through 12, the district shall provide contact information for the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline (988), the Crisis Text Line, and either the Safe2Help Illinois helpline or a local suicide prevention hotline or both on the identification card. The contact information shall identify each helpline that may be contacted through text messaging. The contact information shall be included in the school's student handbook and also the student planner if a student planner is custom printed by the school for distribution to pupils in any of grades 6 through 12.

Section 10. The Mental Health Early Action on Campus Act is amended by changing Section 25 as follows:

(110 ILCS 58/25)

Sec. 25. Awareness. To raise mental health awareness on college campuses, each public college or university must do all of the following:

(1) Develop and implement an annual student orientation session aimed at raising awareness about mental health conditions.

(2) Assess courses and seminars available to students through their regular academic experiences and implement mental health awareness curricula if opportunities for integration exist.

(3) Create and feature a page on its website or mobile application with information dedicated solely to the mental health resources available to students at the public college or university and in the surrounding community.

(4) Distribute messages related to mental health resources that encourage help-seeking behavior through the online learning platform of the public college or university during high stress periods of the academic year, including, but not limited to, midterm or final examinations. These stigma-reducing strategies must be based on documented best practices.

(5) Three years after the effective date of this Act, implement an online screening tool to raise awareness and establish a mechanism to link or refer students of the public college or university to services. Screenings and resources must be available year round for students and, at a minimum, must (i) include validated screening tools for depression, an anxiety disorder, an eating disorder, substance use, alcohol-use disorder, post-traumatic stress disorder, and bipolar disorder, (ii) provide resources for immediate connection to services, if indicated, including emergency resources, (iii) provide general information about all mental health-related resources available to students of the public college or university, and (iv) function anonymously.

(6) At least once per term and at times of high academic stress, including midterm or final examinations, provide students information regarding online screenings and resources.

(7) Provide contact information for the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline (988), the Crisis Text Line, and a local suicide prevention hotline on each student identification card issued by the public college or university if the public college or university issues student identification cards. The contact information shall identify each helpline that may be contacted through text messaging. The contact information shall be included in the public college's or university's student handbook and also the student planner if a student planner is custom printed by the public college or university for distribution to students.

(Source: P.A. 101-251, eff. 7-1-20.)

Section 99. Effective date. This Act takes effect July 1, 2022.