03/26/2025 08:00 AM House EDUCATION

         HB 105-PUBLIC SCHOOLS: MENTAL HEALTH EDUCATION                                                                     
                                                                                                                                
8:28:10 AM                                                                                                                    
                                                                                                                                
CO-CHAIR STORY  announced that the  next order of  business would                                                               
be  HOUSE  BILL  NO.  105,  "An Act  relating  to  mental  health                                                               
education."                                                                                                                     
                                                                                                                                
8:29:03 AM                                                                                                                    
                                                                                                                                
REPRESENTATIVE SCHWANKE  moved to  adopt Amendment  1 to  HB 105,                                                               
labeled 34-LS0558\A.3, Bergerud, 3/24/25, which read:                                                                           
                                                                                                                                
     INSERT HERE                                                                                                                
                                                                                                                                
CO-CHAIR STORY objected.                                                                                                        
                                                                                                                                
8:29:27 AM                                                                                                                    
                                                                                                                                
REPRESENTATIVE  SCHWANKE explained  that  the proposed  amendment                                                               
would mandate that mental health  instruction in Alaska be taught                                                               
under the definitions written by  the Institute of Medicine.  She                                                               
read  from  specific  definitions   of  mental  health  from  the                                                               
Institute  of  Medicine and  said  that  "elevating physical  and                                                               
mental  health is  misguided".   She said  that kids'  cell phone                                                               
addictions  and not  getting outdoors  are  causing "really  poor                                                               
mental  health  outcomes" and  said  that  terminology in  mental                                                               
health education  curriculums around the  world is unclear.   She                                                               
said  it is  "not the  role" of  educators to  begin with  mental                                                               
health case  identifications.  She  said that anxiety  and stress                                                               
are not  mental health disorders,  they're "emotions that  we all                                                               
feel on a daily basis".                                                                                                         
                                                                                                                                
8:36:31 AM                                                                                                                    
                                                                                                                                
CO-CHAIR STORY shared her understanding  that teachers in schools                                                               
are  not  taking  it  upon   themselves  to  deliver  psychiatric                                                               
evaluations.                                                                                                                    
                                                                                                                                
8:37:04 AM                                                                                                                    
                                                                                                                                
DAVID JIANG,  Staff, Representative  Alyese Galvin,  Alaska State                                                               
Legislature,  on behalf  of Representative  Alyese Galvin,  prime                                                               
sponsor, presented  HB 105 to  the committee.  He  explained that                                                               
it  is  not  the  role  of  teachers  to  diagnose  or  recommend                                                               
treatment to their students and said  that HB 105 was intended to                                                               
create  guidelines for  a curriculum  surrounding mental  health,                                                               
not allow  for teachers to  diagnose students with  mental health                                                               
conditions.                                                                                                                     
                                                                                                                                
8:38:35 AM                                                                                                                    
                                                                                                                                
CO-CHAIR  HIMSCHOOT shared  her understanding  that the  National                                                               
Academy of  Medicine developed mental  health terminology  in the                                                               
name of psychiatric recovery.                                                                                                   
                                                                                                                                
CO-CHAIR STORY maintained her objection.                                                                                        
                                                                                                                                
8:40:20 AM                                                                                                                    
                                                                                                                                
A roll call vote was  taken.  Representatives Schwanke, Elam, and                                                               
Underwood   voted  in   favor   of  Amendment   1   to  HB   105.                                                               
Representatives  Eischeid,  Dibert,  Story, and  Himschoot  voted                                                               
against it.   Therefore, Amendment 1  to HB 105 failed  by a vote                                                               
of 3-4.                                                                                                                         
                                                                                                                                
8:41:35 AM                                                                                                                    
                                                                                                                                
CO-CHAIR HIMSCHOOT moved  to report HB 105 out  of committee with                                                               
individual recommendations and the accompanying fiscal notes.                                                                   
                                                                                                                                
REPRESENTATIVE  SCHWANKE objected.   She  shared her  belief that                                                               
the  proposed legislation  wasn't  necessary,  given the  current                                                               
curriculum outlined by Alaska state standards of education.                                                                     
                                                                                                                                
8:43:12 AM                                                                                                                    
                                                                                                                                
REPRESENTATIVE  ELAM shared  his  concern that  HB  105 was  more                                                               
focused  on the  diagnostics  of mental  health  rather than  the                                                               
education of mental health.                                                                                                     
                                                                                                                                
8:44:30 AM                                                                                                                    
                                                                                                                                
CO-CHAIR  HIMSCHOOT commented  that  HB 105  would provide  clear                                                               
mental  health curriculum  guidelines  for  school districts  and                                                               
said that  the real issue is  meeting the mental health  needs of                                                               
students in Alaska.                                                                                                             
                                                                                                                                
8:46:39 AM                                                                                                                    
                                                                                                                                
CO-CHAIR STORY added  that it is important that  the committee do                                                               
the work to ensure a  broad perspective is obtained while working                                                               
to create new standards of education  for schools in Alaska.  She                                                               
explained  that  the bill  does  include  a clause  for  parental                                                               
notification  regarding a  possible  mental health  concern of  a                                                               
student.                                                                                                                        
                                                                                                                                
8:48:58 AM                                                                                                                    
                                                                                                                                
REPRESENTATIVE DIBERT said  that she supported HB  105 because it                                                               
could make  in-person counseling more accessible  for students in                                                               
rural Alaska.                                                                                                                   
                                                                                                                                
8:51:14 AM                                                                                                                    
                                                                                                                                
REPRESENTATIVE UNDERWOOD shared  that she did not  support HB 105                                                               
because there were  already school districts in  Alaska that were                                                               
implementing mental health curriculums of their own.                                                                            
                                                                                                                                
8:53:07 AM                                                                                                                    
                                                                                                                                
REPRESENTATIVE  EISCHEID  explained  that  he  supported  HB  105                                                               
because  of  his own  experience  in  witnessing the  barrier  to                                                               
learning that is created by a student's poor mental health.                                                                     
                                                                                                                                
REPRESENTATIVE SCHWANKE maintained her objection.                                                                               
                                                                                                                                
8:54:50 AM                                                                                                                    
                                                                                                                                
A roll  call vote was  taken.  Representatives  Himschoot, Story,                                                               
Eischeid, and  Dibert voted in favor  of reporting HB 105  out of                                                               
committee.   Representatives Schwanke, Elam, and  Underwood voted                                                               
against it.   Therefore,  HB 105  was reported  out of  the House                                                               
Education Standing Committee by a vote of 4-3.                                                                                  
                                                                                                                                
8:55:47 AM                                                                                                                    
                                                                                                                                
The committee took an at-ease from 8:55 a.m. to 8:59 a.m.