Senate Bill 359 is heading to the Indiana House after passing its third reading in the Senate Thursday with bipartisan support.
SB 359 is a multifaceted bill that requires the Indiana Department of Education (IDOE) to make student mental wellbeing resources available for certain schools.
In 2021-2022, Indiana ranked the worst among student-to-counselor ratios with only one counselor for every 694 students. The American School Counselor Association recommends a 250-to-1 ratio. Although the numbers have progressively decreased in the past years, Indiana still has a 497-to-1 ratio, almost double the recommended amount.
In 2023, the Youth Risk Behavior Surveillance System, run through the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, found that almost half (47%) of students had experienced depression. There was also an increase in the suicidal ideation and behavior rate, with one in four Indiana high-school students reportedly affected.
SB 359 would establish a resiliency program intended to help students “build resiliency and grit so that students are ready to learn.”
The bill is authored by Sen. Scott Alexander, R-Indianapolis, Sen. Stacey Donato, R-Indianapolis, and Sen. Linda Rogers, R-Indianapolis, joined by Sen. Andrea Hunley, D-Indianapolis, and Sen. Lonnie Randolph, D-Indianapolis, as co-authors. The House sponsors are Rep. Julie McGuire, R-Indianapolis, and Rep. Joanna King, R-Indianapolis.
Although SB 359 introduces the resiliency program, no new funding would be given to IDOE.
The program would offer universal life-skill lessons and virtual or in-person coaching.
IDOE would be responsible for developing guidelines to determine which schools would be eligible to participate in the resiliency program, and school corporations would be responsible for publishing and posting the approved student wellbeing resources so they would be accessible.
The bill requires IDOE to prepare a report regarding the program and submit the report to the Legislative Council, a group that studies relevant information between sessions and recommends new legislation. The Legislative Council includes eight members from the Indiana Senate and eight members from the Indiana House of Representatives.
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