Reps. Newman and Stewart Introduce Bipartisan Bill to Create and Support Student Mental Health Hotlines

Press Release

Today, U.S. Representatives Marie Newman (D-IL) and Chris Stewart (R-UT) introduced the bipartisan Student Mental Health Helpline Act of 2021. This bill creates a grant program to assist state efforts in the maintenance or establishment of a student mental health and safety helpline. The legislation would also support the coordination of state student mental health helplines with the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline.

"It is past time that we recognize that a student's access to high-quality mental health resources and services is just as imperative to their future as their own education is. Over the past year, we have seen first-hand how the devastating effects of this pandemic have exacerbated the mental health crises that far too many students face every single day in Illinois' 3rd District and across the entire nation," said Rep. Newman. "By passing the Bipartisan Student Mental Health Helpline Act of 2021, we can truly grow and support state-run mental health hotlines that will substantially increase access to the crucial resources that our youngest generation needs and deserves. Each of us in Congress has a moral obligation to make this a reality for our children," concluded Newman.

In the past several years, many states have created student-focused mental health helplines that are free, confidential, and provide 24/7 support. While these helplines vary from state-to-state, they are unique from other mental health helplines in that they are accessible over several platforms including texting, social media accounts, and phone apps. Additionally, these lines have direct relationships with schools so that schools can follow up with the resources and support students need. This bill would create a grant program to support states' existing mental health helplines and help states without an existing helpline to create one.

"There is no excuse for Americans with mental health challenges not getting the help they need," said Rep. Stewart. "Suicide is preventable with early intervention, but too often we are missing the opportunity to reach those in distress. This bipartisan legislation will take a step in the direction of righting that wrong. Suicide is an issue that hits home for everyone -- it is a top ten cause of death nationwide, as well as in my home state. I encourage all of my colleagues, on both sides of the aisle, to join Rep. Newman and I in extending a much needed hand to those in need," concluded Stewart.

Students across the country have been impacted by COVID-related disruptions, cutting many students off from resources that support their social and emotional wellbeing. Schools play an outsized role in the provision of mental health services for students -- more than a third of students receive mental health services only from schools. Further, students from lower-income households and students of color are more likely to access mental health services in an education setting only.

A number of endorsing organizations released the following statements:

"By expanding the media through which crisis helplines operate, including texting and social media, the Student Mental Health Helpline Act recognizes the various ways in which today's children and adolescents communicate," said Arthur C. Evans Jr., PhD, CEO of the American Psychological Association. "APA commends Representatives Newman and Stewart for introducing this bipartisan legislation, which provides more pathways for students experiencing mental health concerns to receive timely, quality support."

"It is crucial that we keep building out our national mental health infrastructure to meet the growing need and provide every student with access to culturally competent services. This legislation will help provide students with more avenues to access mental health support in moments of crisis and facilitate better coordination among local schools and public health resources," said Sam Brinton (they/them pronouns), VP of Advocacy & Government Affairs for The Trevor Project. "The Trevor Project works every day to reach the more than 1.8 million LGBTQ youth who seriously consider suicide each year in the U.S., and we are thankful to Rep. Newman for taking a comprehensive, intersectional approach to supporting youth mental health."

"The School Social Work Association of America (SSWAA) is honored to endorse the Student Mental Health Helpline Act. Social isolation, anxiety, and increases in youth suicide have brought the issue of youth mental health to the forefront. We are appreciative of the bipartisan legislative work of Congressman Chris Stewart and Congresswoman Marie Newman, which will ensure our students have immediate access to critical mental health resources," the School Social Work Association of America released in a statement.

"AFSP commends Congresswoman Newman and Congressman Stewart for introducing bipartisan legislation to promote student mental health and safety helplines. The Student Mental Health Helpline Act of 2021 will facilitate student's access to confidential 24/7 helplines that can help normalize help-seeking behavior and increase the likelihood that a student will call to help themselves or a peer through a mental health or suicidal crisis," said Laurel Stine, J.D., M.A., Senior Vice President for Public Policy, American Foundation for Suicide Prevention.

"Individualized support for youth and students at acute risk of suicide or in the midst of a mental health crisis is absolutely critical to ensure their safety. Providing resources like the one in this bipartisan bill will allow students across our nation to break through one of the major barriers in reaching out - easy access to services," said Chris Maxwell, Director of Public Relations and Media for the American Association of Suicidology. "Establishing resources like this will go a long way to dismantling the prejudice and discrimination many feel when asking for mental health support and has the potential to save an enormous number of our young ones."

"Parents and families expect schools to be safe environments for learning, not centers of trauma for their children. We also know schools have too often been places where students begin a pathway to incarceration after behaving in ways warranting counseling and not involvement with law enforcement," said Khalilah M. Harris, EdD, JD, Acting Vice President of Center for American Progress. "Center for American Progress fully supports the Student Mental Health Helpline Act of 2021 as a means of ensuring schools and the broader community have the type of training needed to support children experiencing mental health crises without unnecessary involvement of the criminal justice system."

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