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THE SENATE |
S.C.R. NO. |
50 |
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THIRTY-SECOND LEGISLATURE, 2024 |
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STATE OF HAWAII |
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SENATE CONCURRENT
RESOLUTION
requesting the department of education to DEVELOP AND IMPLEMENT A STATEWIDE Behavioral HEALTH Curricula PLAN for PUBLIC SCHOOL STUDENTS IN grades kindergarten through twelve.
WHEREAS, according to a 2021 United States Surgeon General's Advisory on protecting youth mental health, the growing use of digital social media; increased academic pressure; limited access to mental health care; health risk behaviors such as drug and alcohol use; broader stressors such as finance, income inequality, and racism, all contribute to the upward trend in mental health challenges facing young people; and
WHEREAS, a 2021 Centers for Disease Control and Prevention analysis states that nearly forty percent of high school students reported experiencing poor mental health during the coronavirus disease 2019 pandemic and forty-four percent of high school students reported persistent feelings of sadness or helplessness in the prior year; and
WHEREAS, providing behavioral health education in the State's public schools can assist students to better understand their feelings about, and responses to, various situations and where to get help; now, therefore,
BE IT RESOLVED by the Senate of the Thirty-second Legislature of the State of Hawaii, Regular Session of 2024, the House of Representatives concurring, that the Department of Education is requested to develop and implement a statewide behavioral health curricula plan for public school students in kindergarten through twelfth grade; and
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the curriculum include but not be limited to age-appropriate information on:
(1) Mental and emotional health;
(2) Personal health and wellness;
(3) Healthy eating and physical activity;
(4) Safety, including unintentional injury and prevention;
(5) Violence prevention;
(6) Tobacco use and prevention;
(7) Alcohol and other drug use prevention; and
(8) Sexual health and responsibility; and
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Department of Education is requested to review and determine into which courses the behavioral health curricula be integrated; and
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that only qualified health teachers are requested to teach behavioral health courses; and
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that certified copies of this Concurrent Resolution be transmitted to Chairperson of the Board of Education and Superintendent of Education.
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OFFERED BY: |
_____________________________ |
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Department of Education; Mental Health Curricula; Behavioral Health Curricula; Grades Kindergarten through Twelve; Public Schools.