Bill > HB3305

This bill modifies provisions governing mental health efforts in public schools by expanding and strengthening suicide prevention training for educators and mental health awareness instruction for students. Starting in the 2027-28 school year, all teachers, principals, and licensed educators will be required to complete at least two hours of in-service training annually on suicide prevention, which will now specifically include training on using the Columbia Protocol (also known as the Columbia-Suicide Severity Rating Scale or C-SSRS) for suicide risk assessment and a new virtual tool developed by the Missouri Department of Mental Health to help students access mental health information and support. For students, the bill mandates that by the 2027-28 school year, all students graduating high school must have received mental health awareness training at some point during their four years, and students in grades five through eight will also receive age-appropriate mental health awareness instruction, including suicide awareness, information about the 988 Suicide and Crisis Lifeline, and tools like the C-SSRS for identifying potential suicide signs. Additionally, public schools and charter schools serving grades seven through twelve that issue student identification cards will be required to print the 988 Lifeline number and the local police department's non-emergency number on these cards, with the option to include the Crisis Text Line number and a local suicide prevention hotline number. The bill also requires the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education to update its model policies and curriculum to reflect these new requirements and mandates the development of a virtual tool by the Department of Mental Health to provide individuals with access to mental health resources, screening questions, and assessments.

https://house.mo.gov/Bill.aspx?bill=HB3305&year=2026&code=R