Oregon Bill Would Give Students A ‘Mental Health Day’; Florida Schools Will Be Required To Provide Students With Mental Health Education

The Associated Press: Teen Activists Score Mental Health Days For Oregon Students
Oregon will allow students to take "mental health days" just as they would sick days, expanding the reasons for excused school absences to include mental or behavioral health under a new law that experts say is one of the first of its kind in the U.S. But don't call it coddling. The students behind the measure say it's meant to change the stigma around mental health in a state that has some of the United States' highest suicide rates. (Zimmerman, 7/21)

The Hill: Oregon Students Able To Take 'Mental Health Day' Under New Bill 
The bill, signed last month by Gov. Kate Brown (D), will give students the ability to take up to five excused absences in a three-month span for mental health reasons. Any additional absences will require a written excuse. Most schools were previously only able to excuse absences related to physical illnesses. (Daugherty, 7/21)

The Hill: Florida Public Schools Will Be Required To Provide Mental Health Education For Students
The Florida State Board of Education voted this week to require public schools to provide students with mental health education. Under the new directive, the department said in an announcement that schools will be required to “provide students in grades 6-12 at least five hours of mental health instruction” on an annual basis. (Foley, 7/20)

Health News Florida: Florida Education Boards Signs Off On Mental Health Instruction For Students
Education officials proposed the change to the statewide school curriculum in June, following discussions with First Lady Casey DeSantis, who has made the mental health issue one of her top priorities. The new requirement will require students to take courses aimed at helping them to identify the signs and symptoms of mental illness, find resources if they are battling with depression or other issues, and teach them how to help peers who are struggling with a mental health disorder. (Ceballos, 7/19)

The Associated Press: Instagram Expands Hiding 'Likes' To Make You Happier
Instagram is expanding a test to hide how many "likes" people's posts receive as it tries to combat criticism that such counts hurt mental health and make people feel bad when comparing themselves to others. The Facebook-owned photo-sharing service has been running the test in Canada since May. Now, Facebook said the test has been expanded to Ireland, Italy, Japan, Australia, Brazil and New Zealand. (7/19)

Boston Globe: Nearly A Third Of High School Students With Disabilities Experience Cyberbullying, Report Says
Nearly a third of high school students with disabilities in Greater Boston have experienced cyberbullying over the past year, despite efforts by the state and local districts to curb that kind of harassment, according to an analysis of health survey results by a local foundation. The online bullying can have profound impacts, with more than a third of those victims reporting they had suicidal tendencies due to the harassment they encountered on social media, according to the analysis by the Ruderman Family Foundation, a Boston nonprofit that works on behalf of people with disabilities. (Vaznis, 7/21)

Boston Globe: ‘Why Don’t They Go Back’: The Increasing Psychological Toll Of Racism In The Trump Era
As Trump doubles down on attacks against the four women of color in Congress known as “The Squad,” which includes Omar and Representative Ayanna Pressley of Massachusetts, some people of color in the Boston area describe a psychological toll that the episodes, and Trump’s frequent overt hostility, have had on their daily lives — not just this month, but in the many months since the 2016 presidential campaign began. (Greenberg, 7/21)

North Carolina Health News: Eastern NC Mental Health Unit Slated For Closure
The contracts are a partnership between local hospitals, together with regional state-funded mental health agencies (called LME-MCOs) and the state DHHS. Funding for the contracts is allocated by the General Assembly with the intent of providing short-term psychiatric treatment in local hospitals, keeping people with less serious behavioral health issues out of state facilities. The funds are also meant to help inpatient psychiatric wards like the one at Vidant Beaufort remain open. The contract between the Washington-based facility, the state, and LME-MCO Trillium Health Resources, was worth more than $1.1 million in the state fiscal year which ended in June 2018. (Liora Engel-Smith, 7/22)

San Jose Mercury News: Bed Shortages At California Mental Health Facilities Leave Inmates Deemed Incompetent In Limbo
Those who are found incompetent to stand trial begin the rehabilitation process. [Mike] Ramsey said Butte County Behavioral Health Services checks to see if there is a local facility that will suffice, though that is often not the case. The default, Ramsey said, is to send them to a state facility, though this presents a problem as most facilities have long wait lists and the defendants end up sitting in the local jail, waiting for beds to open up. (Hutchison, 7/21)

MPR News: Prisons Resort To Video For Psychiatric Care
As more and more people in prison need mental health care, more and more prison systems are turning to telepsychiatry. It’s basically a video psychiatry appointment, a doctor’s visit via Skype or FaceTime. ... It’s tough to find doctors who will work in rural areas. And it’s hard to recruit doctors to work in prison because the working conditions are usually pretty unpleasant. (Roth, 7/22)