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House advances bill to expand peer‑to‑peer mental health supports in schools
Summary
H.817 would establish non‑clinical, supervised peer support programs in schools, create a mental‑health literacy framework, and allow grants as funding is available; the Health Care and Appropriations committees recommended amendment and the House ordered third reading.
The House advanced H.817 after committee reporters described the bill’s focus on upstream prevention, mental‑health literacy, and supervised peer‑to‑peer supports in schools. "One in four high school students in Vermont report self‑harm behaviors in the past year," the member reporting the bill said, citing the Youth Risk Behavioral Survey to explain the bill’s urgency.
The statute would establish a framework for mental‑health literacy training for school staff, create parameters for supervised, non‑clinical peer‑to‑peer programs, and allow schools to apply for grants through the Department of Mental Health "as funding is available." Supporters stressed that the programs are not clinical treatment, that adults must supervise peer activities, and that the Department of Mental Health would set age‑appropriate guidance and annual reporting requirements.
Debate included questions about parental notification and mandated curricula. The bill’s reporter said prior drafts removed parental‑notification mandates because the state does not mandate curricula and that local schools would design programs within state guidance. Both the Health Care committee (10‑0‑1) and the Appropriations committee (11‑0) recommended advancing the bill; the House adopted the committee amendment and ordered the bill read a third time.
