Last week, the Florida State Board of Education voted to require public schools in the state to start providing mental health education classes beginning in sixth grade.
The new mandate states that students in sixth through twelvth grades must take five hours of mental health classes. According to reports, the objective is to help young people identify mental illness and also help them find resources to treat depression and other mental health issues. WPLG-TV quoted state Education Commissioner Richard Corcoran saying:
“We are going to reinvent school-based mental health awareness in Florida, and we will be the No. 1 one state in the nation in terms of mental health outreach and school safety, all because of the governor’s and first lady’s remarkable vision.”
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Corcoran gave credit to Florida Governor Rick DeSantis’ wife, first lady Casey DeSantis, saying her statewide mental health campaign helped to craft and implement the new policy.
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DeSantis is the mother of two young children. She issued a statement on the new school requirement, calling it a “proactive” move, adding:
“We know that 50% of all mental illness cases begin by age 14, so we are being proactive in our commitment to provide our kids with the necessary tools to see them through their successes and challenges.”
“Providing mental health instruction is another important step forward in supporting our families.”
Florida Department of Education spokeswoman Cheryl Etters told the Sentinel that the new curriculum will include classes on suicide prevention, cyberbullying and substance abuse.
It is not yet clear when the new mental health curriculum will begin.
