The Ohio House passed a wide-ranging education bill Wednesday that would require public schools to teach a number of programs on violence and suicide prevention and “social isolation.”
House Bill 123, referred to as the Safety and Violence Education for Students Act, or SAVE Students Act, was first introduced in March by State Rep. Gayle Manning (R-North Ridgeville).
Under the bill, Ohio’s public schools would be required to teach “at least one hour or one standard class period per school year of evidence-based suicide awareness and prevention and at least one hour or one standard class period per school year of safety training and violence prevention.”
The Ohio Department of Education in consultation with the Department of Public Safety and the Department of Mental Health and Addiction Services would be responsible for developing model programs for schools to use. These programs would need to include information on how to instruct students and staff in identifying “the signs and symptoms of depression, suicide and self harm.”
They would also need to explain “how to teach students about mental health and depression, warning signs of suicide, and the importance of and processes for seeking help on behalf of self and peers and reporting of these behaviors.”
Additionally, the bill would require “at least one hour or one standard class period per school year of evidence-based social inclusion instruction,” which would instruct students in “what social isolation is and how to identify it in others.”
All of these programs would be taught in grades 6-12. Other provisions in the bill would require public schools to establish a “student-led violence prevention club” and launch an anonymous reporting system for students to report threats or safety concerns.
“As a retired teacher, mother, and grandmother, I understand the importance of giving our children the tools and resources they need to be safe, both mentally and physically,” Manning said in a statement. “Safety and mental health care should be addressed, as they are vital to students’ success. HB 123 is a great piece of legislation that works to better the lives of our students.”
The bill passed in a vote of 85-7 and now heads to the Ohio Senate for consideration.
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Anthony Gockowski is managing editor of Battleground State News, The Ohio Star, and The Minnesota Sun. Follow Anthony on Twitter. Email tips to [email protected].
Photo “Teacher in Classroom” by Ilmicrofono Oggiono. CC BY 2.0.
