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Senate passes House Bill 256 to put crisis‑hotline numbers on student ID cards
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Summary
The Delaware Senate approved House Bill 256 to require certain life‑saving hotline numbers to be printed on public school student ID cards for grades 7–12; the bill passed by a roll call vote of 21–0 in the Senate. Supporters said the change is low‑cost and aims to improve access to help for youth facing dating violence or bullying.
The Delaware Senate voted to pass House Bill 256, which requires specific life‑saving hotline numbers to be printed directly on public school student identification cards for students in grades 7 through 12.
Sponsor Senator Lachman told colleagues the measure moves two hotline numbers from optional to mandatory and explicitly includes the teen‑dating‑violence hotline and the StopBullying.gov line. "It requires life saving hotline numbers to be printed directly on student ID cards for all public school students in grades 7 to 12," Lachman said, adding that implementation was written to be "practical and flexible" so districts can use existing card supplies until depleted to minimize cost.
The bill was considered after being read by title and then taken up for a roll call vote. The clerk recorded 21 yes votes; the President declared House Bill 256 passed in the Senate.
According to the sponsor, the change is intended to make information about support services accessible "no more than a glance and a phone call away" for students dealing with issues such as dating violence and bullying. The bill's title, as read on the floor, indicates it would amend provisions in Title 14 of the Delaware Code related to pupil and student identification cards. The Senate record does not show any amendments adopted on the floor during this session.
Implementation details cited on the floor emphasize minimizing financial burden on districts: current card inventories may be used until they are replaced and updated to comply, which the sponsor described as reducing immediate cost while ensuring eventual compliance.
The Senate's passage is the chamber's approval; the transcript does not record whether the House took separate action after this session or the bill's final enactment status. The measure was sponsored in the House by Representative Morrison and in the Senate by Senator Lockman (sponsorship listed when the title was read). Next procedural steps (conference, enrollment, governor's signature) were not discussed in the on‑record remarks during this session.
