Virginia’s schools will begin teaching students this
fall about the importance of mental health and the
signs of mental illness under a new state law passed
in response to last year’s massacre at Virginia Tech.
The law, Senate Bill 640, will add mental-health
awareness to the family-life education curricula taught
in kindergarten through 12th grade.
The bill was passed unanimously by the Senate and
the House in February and was signed into law by Gov.
Timothy M. Kaine March 5. It will take effect July 1.
Sen. Patricia S. Ticer, D-Alexandria, was the chief
sponsor of the bill. Sen. Mary Margaret Whipple, DArlington,
was also a patron of the legislation.
The Virginia office of the National Alliance on Mental
Illness came up with the idea for the bill.
“We support it, because we want to find additional
ways to try to educate people about mental illness,” said
Mira Signer, executive director of NAMI Virginia.
“Also, stigma is a major barrier to treatment. This bill can
help address lack of understanding of mental illness.”
The shootings at Virginia Tech demonstrated the
need for such understanding, mental-health advocates
say. Last April, a student with a history of mental-health
problems shot and killed 32 people at Tech before
killing himself.
“In the aftermath of the Virginia Tech tragedy
of April 2007, the public needs to become more
educated and aware about mental health, including
mental illnesses, symptoms, treatment options, and
the concept of recovery,” states a fact sheet produced
by NAMI Virginia.
According to the fact sheet, adding mental-health
education and awareness to family life education
achieves this goal.
“Family Life Education gives young people tools
to use for the rest of their lives,” the fact sheet states.
“Educating students about mental health may assist
them later in life when faced with a personal or loved
one’s experience with mental illness, possibly before
it reaches a crisis point.”
About a quarter of the U.S. population experiences
a mental disorder in any given year, but almost half
of these individuals do not seek treatment, according
to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services
and the U.S. surgeon general.
“We want to make sure people are educated so
that they are able to help themselves or others if at
some point they know someone dealing with mental
illness,” Signer said.
“Given that one in four adults will experience a
mental-health disorder, and one in 17 will live with
a serious mental illness like schizophrenia, bipolar
disorder or major depression, the more tools we can
give young people, the better,” she said.
Virginia’s family-life education currently covers
substance abuse, dating violence, child abuse and
human reproduction.
This week, Kaine signed 31 other bills to bolster
Virginia’s mental-health system.
“The Virginia Tech tragedy reminded us that we
must address the mental-health needs of those in our
family, among our friends and in our community,”
the governor said.
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The new laws will: