Legislature(2021 - 2022)DAVIS 106
03/31/2021 08:00 AM House EDUCATION
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| Audio | Topic |
|---|---|
| Start | |
| University of Alaska Board of Regents | |
| HB60 | |
| Adjourn |
* first hearing in first committee of referral
+ teleconferenced
= bill was previously heard/scheduled
+ teleconferenced
= bill was previously heard/scheduled
| + | TELECONFERENCED | ||
| *+ | HB 60 | TELECONFERENCED | |
| + | TELECONFERENCED | ||
HB 60-PUBLIC SCHOOLS: MENTAL HEALTH EDUCATION
9:27:50 AM
CO-CHAIR DRUMMOND announced that the final order of business
would be HOUSE BILL NO. 60, "An Act relating to mental health
education."
9:28:00 AM
CO-CHAIR STORY moved to adopt the proposed committee substitute
(CS) for HB 60, Version 32-LS0261\B, Klein, 3/25/21, as a work
draft.
9:28:17 AM
CO-CHAIR DRUMMOND objected for purposes of discussion.
9:28:29 AM
REPRESENTATIVE MATT CLAMAN, Alaska State Legislature, as prime
sponsor, introduced HB 60. He stated that the bill would amend
the existing K-12 public school health education statute to
include mental health education guidelines. He explained that,
currently, the health curriculum guidelines developed by the
State Board of Education & Early Development include learning
about prevention and treatment of diseases, good health
practices like diet and exercise and personal hygiene, and bad
health habits such as substance abuse, alcoholism, and physical
abuse. But the guidelines do not address mental health.
REPRESENTATIVE CLAMAN related that this bill was brought to his
attention in 2019 by a college student who successfully
advocated for similar legislation when he was in high school in
Virginia, and who then worked with a group of Alaska high school
students advocating for increased mental health resources in
Alaska schools. These students spoke of their own struggles
with mental health as well as those of their peers. Some
students even said their mental health struggles began as early
as elementary school. These students continue to say that while
they learned about treatments for physical health at school
there wasn't nearly enough conversation about mental health with
their friends and teachers.
REPRESENTATIVE CLAMAN specified that Alaska's adolescent suicide
rate is three times higher than the nationwide rate. Alaska's
adolescent suicide rates are increasing, he noted. According to
the 2019 Alaska High School Youth Risk Behavior Survey, which
surveyed 1,875 students in grades 9-12 from 39 high schools
across the state, the percentage of students who have attempted
suicide has doubled since 2007. Given that 50 percent of all
lifetime cases of a mental illness begin by age 14, and 75
percent by age 24, these conversations about mental health need
to be started at an early age.
REPRESENTATIVE CLAMAN said HB 60 requires the State Board of
Education & Early Development to work with representatives from
tribal and mental health organizations to update the health
education standards to include guidelines in mental health
education. Once the legislation passes it will be up to high
schools and school districts across Alaska whether to use the
guidelines to incorporate mental health into their education
curriculum. As is the case with current health education
curriculum, the Department of Education & Early Development
(DEED) is available to assist schools with incorporating health
standards into local curriculum. He stressed that HB 60 does
not create or mandate that schools adopt a curriculum.
REPRESENTATIVE CLAMAN said the state has a responsibility to
treat the current mental health crisis in Alaska as a serious
public health issue. This bill underscores the notion that
mental health is just as important as physical health and should
be treated as such. Conversations about mental health must be
normalized starting at an early age, just as is done with
physical health, in order to de-stigmatize mental illness and
increase knowledge on the fundamental aspects of mental health,
as well the causes, risk factors, and treatments for mental
illness.
9:31:43 AM
SOPHIE JONAS, Staff, Representative Matt Claman, Alaska State
Legislature, on behalf of Representative Claman, prime sponsor
of HB 60, provided a sectional analysis of the proposed
committee substitute, Version B. She began by first relating
that during a hearing of the Senate companion bill, SB 80, in
the Senate Education Standing Committee (SEDC), the Advisory
Board on Alcoholism and Drug Abuse and the Alaska Mental Health
Board recommended changing the intent language to eliminate
organizations that were specifically listed out so as to not
exclude anyone. Additionally, there was confusion about the
word "standard" as opposed to "guideline." So, she explained,
the proposed work draft before this committee mirrors the
changes that were adopted in the Senate Education Standing
Committee.
MS. JONAS reviewed the sectional analysis for the proposed work
draft, Version B. She said Section 1 adds intent language
stating it is the intent of the legislature that the Board of
Education & Early Development develop guidelines for instruction
in mental health in consultation with the Department of Health
and Social Services, regional tribal health organizations, and
representatives of national and state mental health
organizations.
MS. JONAS stated that Section 2 amends AS 14.30.360(a) by
removing the word "physical" when referencing instruction for
health education and adding "mental health" to the list of
curriculum items that each district is encouraged to include in
health education programs.
MS. JONAS specified that Section 3 amends AS 14.30.360(b) by
adding that, in addition to establishing guidelines for health
and personal safety education programs, the State Board of
Education & Early Development shall establish guidelines for
developmentally appropriate instruction in mental health.
MS. JONAS explained that Section 4 amends the uncodified law of
the State of Alaska by providing that the State Board of
Education & Early Development shall develop the aforementioned
guidelines within two years of the effective date of this Act.
9:34:28 AM
CO-CHAIR DRUMMOND opened invited testimony.
9:34:43 AM
JASON LESSARD, Executive Director, National Alliance of Mental
Illness (NAMI), Anchorage Chapter, provided invited testimony in
support of HB 60. He first noted that he is the parent of a
current Anchorage School District (ASD) student and a graduate
of the ASD. He said it is important to recognize that mental
health is health; there is not one without the other. While
that is a simple and obvious statement, it is still a struggle
to incorporate that concept into school curricula. This is why
NAMI chapters in Alaska and the Lower 48 are advocating for the
types of updates and guidance in bills like HB 60.
MR. LESSARD related that while there is much national and Alaska
centric data relevant to this conversation, he will focus on
just two in the interest of time. He said the first data point
is that one in five U.S. adults experiences a mental illness.
Given this prevalence, he urged members to think about how many
people they may know or how many high school students might go
home to a family member with a mental illness. This is not just
talking to students about their own mental health, this is about
having evidence-based curricula that discusses and de-mystifies
a set of illnesses that affects 20 percent of the population.
And, he added, that's just adults and just diagnosable mental
illnesses. He urged members to think about the benefits that
these conversations concerning wellness and self-care could have
on helping students to process grief or a depressive episode
that don't have anything to do with mental health necessarily.
MR. LESSARD said the next data point is that 50 percent of all
lifetime mental illnesses begin by age 14, and 75 percent begin
by age 24. He pointed out that age 14 is a ninth grader. These
illnesses are showing their onset largely in the teenage brain,
he continued, and it's really important to talk about it with
them in a healthy, supportive, and effective manner. This is
why this type of legislation and, hopefully, changes to
curricula throughout Alaska's districts is critical. Giving
students a better understanding of mental illness and mental
wellness, the language to talk about it safely, the
understanding of how and where to find resources for themselves,
their family, and their peers is vital. He urged committee
members to support HB 60 and pointed out that it will help to
address these topics in an evidence-based, proactive, and caring
way.
9:37:39 AM
CLAIR RHYNEER, Representative, Mental Health Advocacy Through
Storytelling (MHATS), provided invited testimony in support of
HB 60. She noted she is testifying on behalf of MHATS as well
as herself. She related that a few years ago she experienced a
difficult and dark period of depression. But more than being
difficult and dark, she said, her experience was governed by
confusion. She was self-harming and all she felt was
uncertainty. Did she need help? How should she know? She
turned to Google and took dozens of "Are you depressed quizzes?"
However, she continued, Google is not a doctor and is in no
position to diagnose a seventh grade girl, let alone anyone, and
it left her more confused. Each night she wondered not only
what was wrong, but if something was wrong at all. In hindsight
it is terrifying to know that she was physically harming herself
and still unsure if she needed support.
MS. RHYNEER pointed out that she isn't the only one. She said
she could personally count on more than one hand the number of
close friends who experienced suicidal ideation, and all of them
filled the gap of mental health education with scrappy online
resources. In 2019, she continued, 20 percent of ASD students
reported attempting suicide one or more times. That means
roughly four people in each of her classes attempted suicide
that year. This bill would teach someone like her younger self
about how to recognize symptoms of mental illness, and what to
do moving forward. She doesn't wish her experience on anyone
else and the best way of achieving that goal is to inform
Alaska's youth. She continued: "We cannot be satisfied with
Google University. We cannot be satisfied with allowing my
friends and classmates and your constituents and neighbors to
remain uneducated. We cannot knowingly let our students
experience the confusion and harm that I felt." She said HB 60
must be passed.
9:39:55 AM
KEEGAN BLAIN, Representative, Mental Health Advocacy Through
Storytelling (MHATS), provided invited testimony in support of
HB 60. She said she is testifying on behalf of MHATS as well as
herself, a graduate of Dimond High School. She related that
while growing up her parents had all the standard conversations
with her, and answered questions like the standard health
questions about sex and where the places are that only a doctor
should touch. At 10 years old, her elementary school health
teacher had her and her peers practicing saying no to alcohol
and drugs. At age 13 her middle school health teacher taught
about STDs and the major signs of domestic abuse. Ms. Blain
stated that 10 years old is the age when her symptoms of
depression first started, and at 13, she was institutionalized
for the first time. She felt alone in her fight against her own
mind. She had never been taught what mental illness was. She
didn't know if she could go back to school, whether she should
tell her friends and teachers. It was completely uncharted
territory.
MS. BLAIN said the Alaska Department of Health and Social
Services reports that from 2005-2006, 8.6 percent of adolescents
aged 12-17 reported having a major depressive episode. That
percentage nearly doubled to 15.2 percent from 2015-2016. There
is a clear upward trend in cases of mental illness in Alaskan
teens, she continued, but no response at the educational level.
She stated she is a success story of the Anchorage School
District. She graduated summa cum laude from Dimond and has
gone on to study bioengineering at a top research university,
but the odds were against her. Sixty percent of students with a
diagnosed mental illness don't ever graduate high school, she
specified. Research has shown that early intervention is key to
preventing the development of severe mental illness in later
years, and HB 60 has the potential to bring that intervention
into Alaska's schools. She asked committee members to please
take this first step towards bringing mental health education to
Alaska's students who so desperately need it.
9:42:30 AM
CO-CHAIR DRUMMOND held over HB 60 for further consideration and
public testimony. [The motion to adopt the proposed committee
substitute (CS) for HB 60, Version 32-LS0261\B, Klein, 3/25/21,
as a work draft was left pending with an objection.]