Madison – Representative Chanz Green (R-Grand View) issued the following statement after his bill, Assembly Bill 575, which would address mental health training in schools, passed the Assembly earlier today:

“We have continued to see a rise in youth facing issues with mental health, especially since the COVID-19 pandemic. We know that isolation during that time had significant negative impacts on our students, and today we see students experiencing historically high levels of anxiety, depression, and suicidal thoughts. This legislation supports students and our teachers by having DPI provide the tools to not only identify students who may be dealing with mental issues but also identify ways for them to receive the help they need.”

Assembly Bill 575 does three things:

1.      DPI must annually distribute information about this mental health training program to school boards, operators of independent charter schools, and the appropriate standing committees of the legislature.

2.      Each school board and charter school governing board must develop a plan for addressing mental health issues that arise for school staff members and pupils and must include these DPI-created video training sessions.

3.      The bill requires each school board and charter school governing board to annually distribute its mental health plan to all school staff.

Assembly Bill 575 heads to the State Senate for consideration.

Rep. Green also voted in favor of various mental health bills that included grants for suicide prevention programming, training for law enforcement to better respond to mental health crises, and expansion of Wisconsinites’ access and availability to mental health care services by reducing regulatory burdens and providing access to qualified out-of-state health care providers.

Constituents can contact our office by emailing [email protected] or by calling (608) 237-9174. Please feel free to contact our office with any questions or concerns.