An Act to amend and reenact § 22.1-298.6 of the Code of Virginia, relating to public schools; mental health awareness training and instruction; requirements.
HB38 amends Virginia’s public school mental health awareness training law to require each school board to adopt and implement policies ensuring that each full-time teacher and other school personnel selected by the board complete mental health awareness training or a similar program at least once. The bill specifies that the training must address the needs of youth populations at higher risk of mental health challenges, using evidence-based best practices developed by the American Psychological Association. The listed groups include youth bereaved by suicide, youth with mental or physical disabilities or chronic health conditions, including substance use disorders, youth experiencing homelessness or housing instability, youth in foster care or other unstable custodial or living situations, and youth who identify as LGBTQ+.
The bill also directs that the training may be provided by the Department of Behavioral Health and Developmental Services, a community services board, a behavioral health authority, a nonprofit organization, or another certified trainer, and that it may be delivered online. It further states that neither the statute nor any policy adopted under it may be construed to allow biased or discriminatory treatment of any youth population identified as being at higher risk of mental health challenges.
HB38 expands and clarifies § 22.1-298.6 of the Code of Virginia by making mental health awareness training more specific about the student populations that must be covered and by authorizing additional providers and online delivery options. In practice, the bill affects local school boards, teachers, and other designated school personnel by imposing a one-time training requirement and by tying the content of that training to evidence-based guidance and enumerated at-risk youth groups. It also reinforces nondiscrimination principles in the implementation of school mental health policies.
The available record shows no committee transcript or recorded votes, so there is no documented debate or split vote to measure. Based on the enacted text, the bill appears to have been treated as a straightforward school mental health measure, with a focus on training, student support, and implementation flexibility. The absence of recorded opposition in the provided materials suggests the bill moved without notable public controversy in the available record.
No specific points of contention are documented in the provided committee or vote history. The only potentially sensitive aspect of the bill is its explicit inclusion of LGBTQ+ youth among the populations the training must address, along with the instruction that the policy not be used for biased or discriminatory treatment. Other possible discussion points, if they occurred, would likely have centered on the scope of the training mandate, which personnel must participate, and whether the requirement should be delivered in-person or online, but none are reflected in the supplied materials.