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Bill would add 988 and substance‑use crisis numbers to middle/high school IDs
Summary
House Bill 7026 would require middle and high school student and staff ID cards to include a suicide prevention hotline number (988) and a substance‑use crisis line; sponsor and crisis‑line operators said the change is low‑cost and could increase help‑seeking.
Representative Reed presented House Bill 7026, which would require middle and high school student and staff identification cards to include two telephone numbers on the back: a national or state suicide‑prevention hotline (988) and a national or state substance‑use crisis center.
Reed framed the bill as a simple, cost‑effective step to connect students and staff to trusted help. "Providing suicide and substance abuse resources to students and staff is essential for creating a safe, supportive, and healthy school environment," he said, and described the measure as personal after losing a student to suicide.
Katie Anderson, vice president of acute services for Community Care Alliance, which staffs and operates the 988 lifeline center in East Providence, testified in support and described the center's operations: over 22,000 calls per year to their center, average answer times under two seconds, and that more than 95 percent of calls are resolved without emergency response. Anderson said including 988 on school IDs normalizes help‑seeking and could save lives.
Rick McAuliffe of the advocacy group Inseparable also supported the bill, suggested expanding it to higher education, and noted that funding for related services remains a separate issue. The bill received support from NEARI and the Rhode Island Federation of Teachers and Healthcare Professionals and will receive follow‑up on implementation details.
