HB1529--MENTALHEALTHEFFORTSINPUBLICSCHOOLS
SPONSOR: Rush
Beginninginthe2026-27schoolyear,suicidepreventiontraining
andschooldistrictpoliciesonyouthsuicideawarenessare
requiredtoincludetrainingandguidanceonusingtheColumbia
Protocol,alsoknownasColumbia-SuicideSeverityRatingScale(C-
SSRS),forsuicideriskassessmentandtrainingonthemental
healthvirtualtoolcreatedunderthisbill.
Beginninginthe2026-27schoolyear,mentalhealthawareness
trainingcurrentlyprovidedingradesnineto12mustbeexpanded
toincludeadditionalageappropriateinstructionrelatingto
suicideawareness,toolsforidentifyingpotentialsuicidesigns,
strategiesandprotocolsforhelpingstudentsatrisk,andother
provisionsspecifiedinthebill.
Thebillrequiresthatthecurrentmentalhealthtrainingand
awarenessinstructionbeexpandedtogradesfivetoeightbeginning
inthe2026-27schoolyear;thisprovisionwillbeknownas
"Brennan'sLaw"andsuchinstructionmustbeincludedinexisting
healthorphysicaleducationcurriculum.
ThebillrequirestheDepartmentofMentalHealth'sChildren's
Officetodevelopandimplementavirtualtooltoenhanceaccessto
mentalhealthresources. Criteriaforthevirtualtoolincludean
onlineresourcedirectory,amethodtoallowindividualscreening
andassessmentrelatingtomentalhealth,andadditional
informationandsupportdeemednecessarybytheDepartment.
ThisbillissimilartoHB244(2025)andHCSHB2471(2024).