Two teenagers are spearheading an initiative to expand mental health education in Illinois schools.“We were inspired by our classmates, our friends, our very family that suffer from mental health illnesses, and we realized that we needed to do something right now,” Ganbote said. “There’s been an epidemic of mental illnesses spread, especially after COVID-19, and we wanted to bring resources right to our future, our students through the school system.”
The idea for the bill garnered support from several lawmakers and was filed by co-sponsor Rep. Laura Faver Dias in February. Dias helped write the legislation and get it on the House floor. Currently, it would amend the school code so that all public schools with health education would be required to include comprehensive mental health. Read more