Legislature(2025 - 2026)ADAMS 519
05/14/2025 09:00 AM House FINANCE
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| Audio | Topic |
|---|---|
| Start | |
| HB105 | |
| Adjourn |
* first hearing in first committee of referral
+ teleconferenced
= bill was previously heard/scheduled
+ teleconferenced
= bill was previously heard/scheduled
| += | HB 105 | TELECONFERENCED | |
| + | SB 156 | TELECONFERENCED | |
| + | TELECONFERENCED |
HOUSE BILL NO. 105
"An Act relating to mental health education."
9:16:12 AM
Representative Galvin provided a brief recap of HB 105. She
explained that the bill represented a significant effort to
address the mental health challenges facing youth in
Alaska. She clarified that the bill did not impose a
mandate on schools but instead created a tool that balanced
mental health and physical health in schools by providing
curriculum. She noted that the bill established a group of
experts who understood the field and how to provide
information in age-appropriate ways. She stated that the
Alaska Board of Education would be responsible for creating
clear guidelines to integrate mental health instruction
effectively into classrooms. She added that school
districts could choose to use and modify the guidelines to
fit the particular district.
9:17:17 AM
Co-Chair Foster OPENED public testimony.
9:18:07 AM
KATHLEEN WEDEMEYER, CITIZENS COMMISSION ON HUMAN RIGHTS,
SEATTLE (via teleconference), testified in opposition to
the bill. She explained that she represented the Citizens
Commission on Human Rights, which was a mental health and
psychiatric "watchdog" group. She asserted that the current
mental health system was based on a biomedical model and
lacked the validity of any objective laboratory test for
diagnosis. She asserted that the biomedical model of mental
health was based on the concept that conditions were caused
by neurobiological factors. She suggested that care often
focused on diagnosis, medication, and symptom reduction
rather than considering the full range of social and
environmental factors that could affect mental health.
Ms. Wedemeyer continued that the commission's concern was
that there would be a narrow focus on psychiatric or
clinical data. She emphasized that many factors contributed
to mental health. Many medical conditions such as
autoimmune disorders or diabetes were first diagnosed as
psychiatric or mental health conditions. She warned that if
such conditions were not treated correctly, the conditions
could become serious. She urged the committee to consider
the addition of a health care provider to the advisory
board, such as a naturopath or a medical doctor who had
experience in treating mental health without focusing
solely on psychiatric drugs. She recommended adding a
requirement that the training needed to include medical
data to identify known medical and nutritional factors that
could cause the type of distress that mimicked psychiatric
disorders.
Co-Chair Foster relayed to the committee that there was a
conflicting meeting at 9:30 a.m. and floor session was at
10:00 a.m., so the committee would be recessing at 9:30
a.m.
Representative Allard asked for clarification on who had
testified and what organization she represented.
Co-Chair Foster replied that it was Ms. Kathleen Wedemeyer
calling in from the Citizens Commission on Human Rights in
Seattle.
9:20:55 AM
Representative Stapp remarked that he was not well-versed
in the technical terminology and asked Ms. Wedemeyer to
clarify the material difference between biomedical
conditions and other conditions.
Ms. Wedemeyer responded that she would do her best to reply
to the question, but she would be happy to provide the
committee with more detailed informational materials after
the meeting. She explained that there was a school of
thought that believed that psychiatric conditions were
caused by a chemical imbalance in the brain and that
psychotropic drugs were one of the ways to address that
imbalance. However, she noted that there were recent
studies and data that invalidated the theory. She relayed
that recent studies looked into other real-life factors
that could alleviate mental health conditions. She stated
that there were studies that showed that exercise could
alleviate depression symptoms by as much as 30 percent. She
noted that exercise was frequently recommended as initial
treatment for mental health issues.
Ms. Wedemeyer reiterated that her concern was that there
would be a potential focus on psychiatric or clinical
perspectives. She emphasized the need for consideration of
other points of view and physical health data. She
cautioned that many conditions had symptoms that mimicked
psychiatric conditions, and if those were not diagnosed
correctly and were instead treated with psychotropic drugs,
the patient's situation could worsen. She argued that
mental health education should include information to
ensure that individuals and parents were aware of all
possibilities.
Representative Galvin remarked that the bill did not
address matters related to diagnoses. She suggested that
Ms. Ann Ringstad clarify the situation.
9:24:31 AM
ANN RINGSTAD, EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR, NATIONAL ALLIANCE ON
MENTAL ILLNESS, ANCHORAGE (via teleconference), stated that
the bill only established guidelines, which many schools
across Alaska had requested. She noted that in 2021, the
state conducted a study that captured information from 33
school districts regarding guidelines in place at the
respective districts. She explained that every district
reported having some guidelines, but the districts
requested more resources and additional guidance to address
specific challenges. She emphasized that the National
Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI) was not advocating for
any specific curriculum, therapy, medication, or diagnosis
by school staff. She stressed that the bill sought only to
provide guidelines so that schools could understand how to
support students and families.
Representative Stapp stated that his apprehensions about
the bill stemmed from concerns regarding long-term effects
of mental health diagnoses in childhood and how the
diagnoses could impact adulthood. He relayed that when he
joined the U.S. Army, he had a note in his school record
from the fourth grade indicating that he had ADHD, which
required him to undergo a three-hour psychological
evaluation to determine if he was eligible to join the
military. He shared that there was an incident in Fairbanks
involving a young boy, Cody Ayer, who wanted to join the
military and was similarly affected by a prior ADHD
diagnosis. He shared that the boy's life ended in tragedy a
few years prior. He asked how the bill would balance
providing access to mental health resources with preventing
adverse impacts on students' futures.
Ms. Ringstad responded that the bill only established
guidelines. She explained that supporting mental health
required a collaborative approach involving the community,
families, teachers, staff, administrators, and counselors
to recognize potential concerns in individual students and
worked collectively to provide support. She noted that the
guidelines could potentially address record-keeping,
although she did not know the legal specifics. She
emphasized that the bill aimed to guide staff and school
districts in addressing mental health thoughtfully and
respectfully while also involving families.
Co-Chair Foster recognized Representative Allard and
Representative Galvin for questions and reminded the
committee that the meeting would recess at 9:30 a.m.
Representative Allard stated that her question might
require more time and she was willing to withhold it until
after the committee returned.
Co-Chair Foster stated that the meeting was recessing in
case any open time became available for the committee to
reconvene. He noted that he did not anticipate there being
any time for the committee to reconvene. In all likelihood,
the meeting would time out and the committee would return
as scheduled at the 1:30 p.m. meeting. He would return to
Representative Allard's question during the afternoon
meeting. He noted that there were other testifiers online
and he would keep public testimony open.
9:29:43 AM
RECESSED
[Note: the meeting never reconvened.]
HB 105 was HEARD and HELD in committee for further
consideration.
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