SB 24-PUBLIC SCHOOLS: MENTAL HEALTH EDUCATION  4:04:59 PM CHAIR TOBIN reconvened the meeting and announced the consideration of SENATE BILL NO. 24 "An Act relating to mental health education; and providing for an effective date." 4:05:15 PM SENATOR GRAY-JACKSON said she appreciated the committee hearing SB 24 again. SB 24 encourages adding mental health education to the list of subjects already in statute. It also provides the agency names to develop the mental health education curriculum. 4:05:59 PM KELLY MANNING, Deputy Director, Innovation and Excellence in Education, Department of Education and Early Development (DEED), Juneau, Alaska, reviewed the fiscal note OMB component number 2796 as follows: [Original punctuation provided.] The fiscal note includes the following one-time expenses: 1) $120.0 for 30 committee members to travel twice a year for in-person convenings($2.0 per participant); 2) $36.0 for services including $30.0 to hire a facilitator to oversee implementation and professional development for educators and $6.0 for legal fees to implement the necessary regulation changes; and, 3) $60.0 for committee member stipends ($2.0 per participant). 4:07:45 PM CHAIR TOBIN opened public testimony on SB 24. 4:08:33 PM STEVEN PEARCE, Director, Citizens Commission on Human Rights, Seattle, Washington, testified in opposition to SB 24. He said he does not support SB 24 as written because it creates a wish list for the psychiatric lobby. Instead, it should create meaningful, effective education that leads the next generation of Alaskans to health and wellness. For decades chemical imbalances in the brain were thought to drive mental illness. Last July, this notion was called into question by a study that found no convincing evidence that serotonin abnormalities cause depression. People take antidepressants because they believe depression has a biochemical cause. The field of psychiatry does not admit there is a problem and therefore receives criticism. Patients quit taking their medication because of its inefficacy and intolerable side effects. Medications do not achieve the desired goal. He said he is seeking to correct the mistaken view of psychiatric drugs. There are no tests that analyze the body and definitively indicate depression. He opined that students should learn a holistic approach to wellness. He stated he was against devaluing people's ability to control themselves by encouraging drugs to avoid stigmatizing labels. Some doctors make a living dealing with psychiatry's failures. Psychiatry does not look for physical causes of mental illness, so psychiatrists do not screen to identify physical ailments, nutritional deficiencies, allergies, and toxic levels of metals. He questioned trusting a system that puts labels on patients without verification. 4:14:29 PM MADISON TRUITT, representing self, Juneau, Alaska, testified in opposition to SB 24. She said she works as a Behavioral Health Aide. She provided a metaphor of people repeatedly falling into a river and being rescued to describe the current state of the mental healthcare system in Alaska and nationwide. She opined that teaching mental health awareness early in a child's life is the first step to prevention. It teaches children about their emotions, feelings and how to express themselves. Mental health education is key to long-term and holistic well-being. Coping and attachment styles are learned based on what a person witnesses in childhood. What they witness often leads to struggles such as alcoholism, addiction, depression, anxiety, domestic violence, and suicide. Mental healthcare should not be only for the wealthy. Normalizing mental health through conversation reduces stigma. She stated that SB 24 made her feel hopeful because it allows indigenous people to care for each other. She said mental health education as a child would have helped her navigate the loss of her partner when she was 20. Every child deserves an opportunity to understand their feelings and learn healthy coping methods. Knowledge empowers children astronomically. 4:19:34 PM CHAIR TOBIN closed public testimony on SB 24. 4:19:45 PM SENATOR STEVENS moved to report SB 24, work order 33-LS0232\A, from committee with individual recommendations and attached fiscal note(s). 4:19:57 PM CHAIR TOBIN found no objection and SB 24 was reported from the Senate Education Standing Committee.