Bill Text: NJ S358 | 2020-2021 | Regular Session | Introduced
Bill Title: Requires public school instruction in mental health as it relates to suicide prevention and provides various elements which may be included in instruction.
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 4-0)
Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2020-01-14 - Introduced in the Senate, Referred to Senate Education Committee [S358 Detail]
Download: New_Jersey-2020-S358-Introduced.html
STATE OF NEW JERSEY
219th LEGISLATURE
PRE-FILED FOR INTRODUCTION IN THE 2020 SESSION
Sponsored by:
Senator JOSEPH P. CRYAN
District 20 (Union)
Senator M. TERESA RUIZ
District 29 (Essex)
Co-Sponsored by:
Senators Greenstein and Gopal
SYNOPSIS
Requires public school instruction in mental health as it relates to suicide prevention and provides various elements which may be included in instruction.
CURRENT VERSION OF TEXT
Introduced Pending Technical Review by Legislative Counsel.
An Act concerning public school instruction in suicide prevention and amending P.L.2005, c.310.
Be It Enacted by the Senate and General Assembly of the State of New Jersey:
1. Section 3 of P.L.2005, c.310 (C.18A:6-113) is amended to read as follows:
3. The State Board of Education shall revise the New Jersey Student Learning Standards in Comprehensive Health and Physical Education to provide for instruction in suicide prevention , and mental health as it relates to suicide prevention, in an appropriate place in the curriculum of [elementary school, middle school, and high school pupils] students in elementary school, middle school, and high school. The instruction shall incorporate evidence-based standards and shall be adapted to the age and understanding of the students. The instruction may include the following elements:
a. the concept of wellness including self-care and personal responsibility for one's own mental health and wellness;
b. the concept of mental health as an integral part of health;
c. recognition of the warning signs of suicide;
d. awareness of the risk of suicide and self-harm;
e. the relationship between mental health, substance abuse, and other negative coping behaviors;
f. the negative impact of stigma and cultural attitudes toward mental illness;
g. the implications of risk factors, protective factors, and resiliency on mental health and wellness; and
h. identifying appropriate professionals, services, and family supports for suicide prevention.
(cf: P.L.2005, c.310, s.3)
2. This act shall take effect immediately and shall first apply to the first full school year following the date of enactment.
STATEMENT
Current law requires that instruction in suicide prevention be included in an appropriate place in the curriculum of elementary school, middle school, and high school students. This bill provides that the instruction in suicide prevention will also include mental health as it relates to suicide prevention. The instruction must incorporate evidence-based standards and be adapted to the age and understanding of the students. The bill also provides elements that may be included as part of the instruction: (a) the concept of wellness including self-care and personal responsibility for one's own mental health and wellness; (b) the concept of mental health as an integral part of health; (c) recognition of the warning signs of suicide; (d) awareness of the risk of suicide and self-harm; (e) the relationship between mental health, substance abuse, and other negative coping behaviors; (f) the negative impact of stigma and cultural attitudes toward mental illness; (g) the implications of risk factors, protective factors, and resiliency on mental health and wellness; and (h) identifying appropriate professionals, services, and family supports for suicide prevention.
The bill:
· updates a reference to the Core Curriculum Content Standards to reflect the current name of the State standards, the New Jersey Student Learning Standards;
· eliminates the requirement that the revision of the standards by the State Board of Education be accomplished within 180-days; and
· eliminates the requirement that instruction in suicide prevention be provided to students in each grade from kindergarten through high school. Instead, the instruction will be provided in an appropriate place in the curriculum of students in elementary school, middle school, and high school, as the law currently provides.
