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Senate Bill 4028 was filed by state Sen. Mike Simmons,
D-Chicago, and would require schools to provide information on
how and where to find mental health resources in the state.
Simmons discussed his bill before the committee earlier this
month.
"This piece of legislation would require that mental health
resources be taught to children in our schools," Simmons said.
"Both how and where to access those resources."
According to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and
Prevention, mental health-related visits are up by 24% since
2020 for children aged 5-11 and visits by children ages 12-17
have gone up 31%. Simmons said that the pandemic has increased
the need for this legislation.
"This legislation is an effort to help students navigate a lot
of the mental health crisis that's been born about by the
pandemic and aggravated by the pandemic," Simmons said.
The bill was met with little pushback during the committee
hearing. State Sen. Sue Rezin, R-Morris, said that she is
surprised that this is not being done already at schools across
the state.
"I'm actually very surprised that this is not being done in the
schools," Rezin said. "Is this what you are finding out from
your meetings in the schools?"
Simmons, who has been meeting with students in schools across
the state, said that the students have raised the issue
frequently.
"There is a committee made up of young people from schools and
this is something that they consistently raise that either them
or their friends are experiencing," Simmons said.
The bill was voted to pass out of the Education Committee and
now has gained about a dozen co-sponsors.
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