MARYLAND – “There’s just a push all over the nation now to take mental health seriously,” Senator Muse said.
Maryland lawmakers are also on board, introducing Senate Bill 567. The bill would ensure that college students get reimbursed for tuition and fees paid for a certain semester due to mental health related concerns. “We don’t want to push anybody with a mental health illness over the cliff,” Senator Muse said.
Senate Bill 567 is also called the Cameron Carden Act of 2024. Carden was a student at Salisbury University who had to withdraw due to mental health issues.
Bill Sponsor Senator C. Anthony Muse told us each public higher education institution would be required to adopt a policy to authorize a student to withdraw from their courses under certain circumstances. “We put in place an infrastructure of psychologists and psychiatrists who will go through various means to come to an agreement to determine whether a student should sit out or not,” he said.
Registered Psychology Associate under the Supervision of Dr. Samantha Scott Heather Brown said it’s important to look at that time for students as a pivotal point in their adulthood that can be challenging. “Stress can come from the class load that they’re taking, balancing work and school, and even just the transition in general of leaving home,” she said. “The more stress you have, there’s a higher likelihood that if you do have a mental health disorder it’s going to start to really exhibit at that time.”
Dr. Brown added that if those concerns go overlooked, that could potentially lead to dangerous outcomes. “We don’t want people to get to that point where they’re thinking of suicide, drinking, or using other bad coping mechanism that end up getting them kicked out or impact the rest of their lives,” she said.
Senator Muse said that this is actually the third time this legislation has been introduced but believes it could reach the finish line with support from stakeholders and Governor Wes Moore.
Senator Muse also us there’s currently no opposition to the bill. The bill now sits in the Senate Education, Energy, and the Environment committee.