Bill Proposal

THE PEOPLE OF CALIFORNIA DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:

SECTION 1. 

(a) The Legislature finds and declares all of the following:

     (1) The mental health crisis in children, exacerbated by the pandemic, has been established as a national emergency by the American Academy of Pediatrics.

     (2) Responses to the mental health crisis have been overwhelmingly reactionary (counseling services, suicide-prevention presentations). Proactive, long term solutions (comprehensive education) have largely been neglected.

     (3) Despite widespread recognition that mental health is just as important as physical health, the disparity in state-mandated hours allocated to physical education versus mental health education is appalling. 

           (i) The California Department of Education mandates physical education: 100 minutes per week for 1st through 8th grade and 200 minutes per week for 7th through 12th grade. 

           (ii) Mental health education, on the other hand, is relegated to a mental health unit within pre-existing health courses once in elementary school, once in middle school, and once in high school. 

 

SEC 2. Section 51925 of the Education Code is amended to read:

Every school district shall be required to implement K-12 age-appropriate Compulsory and Comprehensive Mental Health Education as a Core Curriculum. Mental Health Education shall be allocated the same number of years and hours of school time as Physical Education. This instruction shall include (but is not limited to) all of the following:

1. Principle:

   1. Establishing mental health (as distinguished from mental illness) as an aspect of our intrinsic wellbeing (similar to physical health).

   2. A strong foundation in mental health literacy: the ability to understand one’s own mental health and identify crises in others. 

   3. Understanding the causes and effects of the mental health crisis.

      1. How intersectionality and identity may affect mental health.

   4. The relationship between mental health and physical health.

 

1. Practice:

   1. How to actively condition and care for the mind: methods of maintaining a proper mental wellbeing (just as one would actively maintain physical wellbeing). 

   2. How to develop a mental health toolbox (healthy coping mechanisms for stress, anxiety, and sadness). 

      1. Mindfulness training

      2. Breathing techniques 

   3. How to navigate a tumultuous social/political climate.

   4. How to prepare for future stressors and hardships.