CERTIFICATION OF ENROLLMENT
SUBSTITUTE HOUSE BILL 1373
Chapter 167, Laws of 2021
67th Legislature
2021 Regular Session
PUBLIC SCHOOLS—BEHAVIORAL HEALTH RESOURCES—WEBSITE
EFFECTIVE DATE: July 25, 2021
Passed by the House April 12, 2021 CERTIFICATE
Yeas 92 Nays 6
I, Bernard Dean, Chief Clerk of the
House of Representatives of the
LAURIE JINKINS State of Washington, do hereby
Speaker of the House of certify that the attached is
Representatives SUBSTITUTE HOUSE BILL 1373 as
passed by the House of
Representatives and the Senate on
the dates hereon set forth.
Passed by the Senate April 3, 2021
Yeas 46 Nays 0
BERNARD DEAN
DENNY HECK Chief Clerk
President of the Senate
Approved May 3, 2021 2:21 PM FILED
May 3, 2021
Secretary of State
JAY INSLEE State of Washington
Governor of the State of Washington
 SUBSTITUTE HOUSE BILL 1373
AS AMENDED BY THE SENATE
Passed Legislature - 2021 Regular Session
State of Washington 67th Legislature 2021 Regular Session
By House Education (originally sponsored by Representatives Callan,
Steele, Ortiz-Self, Dolan, J. Johnson, Slatter, Bergquist, Leavitt,
Davis, Fey, Simmons, Berry, Thai, Wicks, Ryu, Kloba, Chambers, Berg,
Wylie, Santos, Paul, Ormsby, Ramel, Macri, Pollet, Morgan, and
Harris-Talley)
READ FIRST TIME 02/10/21.
1 AN ACT Relating to promoting student access to information about
2 behavioral health resources; adding a new section to chapter 28A.320
3 RCW; and creating a new section.
4 BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF WASHINGTON:
5 NEW SECTION. Sec. 1. (1) The legislature finds that student
6 behavioral health issues have become a crisis in Washington state,
7 necessitating the deployment of behavioral health resources in
8 schools throughout the state. The legislature's concerns are based on
9 the following facts:
10 (a) According to the healthy youth survey conducted by the office
11 of the superintendent of public instruction in 2018, one in five
12 students in eighth, 10th, and 12th grades considered attempting
13 suicide in the past year while just half of those surveyed had an
14 adult to turn to when feeling sad or hopeless;
15 (b) According to the national institute for mental health, more
16 than one in 25 adolescents between 13 and 18 years of age are
17 experiencing an eating disorder;
18 (c) According to the national institute of drug abuse, nearly
19 half of 12th grade students have used illicit drugs, six in 10 have
20 drank alcohol, and four in 10 have used marijuana;
p. 1 SHB 1373.SL
 1 (d) The COVID-19 pandemic has increased the prevalence of and
2 exacerbated existing behavioral health disorders for minors across
3 the state; and
4 (e) A major barrier to behavioral health support for minors is
5 lack of awareness and access to information about existing services.
6 (2) The legislature intends to require that contact information
7 for a suicide prevention organization, depression or anxiety support
8 organization, eating disorder support organization, substance abuse
9 support organization, and a mental health referral service for
10 children and teens be listed on the home page of each public school
11 website for the following reasons:
12 (a) Immediate access to behavioral health services often prevents
13 suicide, attempted suicide, and other self-harm; and
14 (b) Students in public schools often have access to and spend
15 time on the website for their school.
16 NEW SECTION. Sec. 2. A new section is added to chapter 28A.320
17 RCW to read as follows:
18 (1)(a) Within existing resources, every public school that
19 maintains a website must publish onto the home page of that website
20 the following information:
21 (i) The website address and phone number for one or more national
22 suicide prevention organizations;
23 (ii) The website address and phone number for one or more local,
24 state, or national organizations specializing in suicide prevention
25 or crisis intervention;
26 (iii) The website address and phone number for one or more local,
27 state, or national organizations specializing in depression, anxiety,
28 or counseling for adolescents;
29 (iv) The website address and phone number for one or more local,
30 state, or national organizations specializing in eating disorders for
31 adolescents;
32 (v) The website address and phone number for one or more local,
33 state, or national organizations specializing in substance abuse for
34 adolescents; and
35 (vi) The website address and phone number for a mental health
36 referral service for children and teens under chapter . . . (Second
37 Substitute House Bill No. 1325), Laws of 2021.
p. 2 SHB 1373.SL
1 (b) A public school may meet the requirements of this subsection
2 by publishing a prominent link on its home page to a behavioral and
3 emotional health website that contains the required information.
4 (2) Public schools, in complying with the requirements of this
5 section, must post information on social media websites used by the
6 school district for the purpose of notifying students, families, and
7 the public of the behavioral health resources available on websites
8 as required by this section. The postings required by this subsection
9 (2) must occur multiple times each year and no less than quarterly.
Passed by the House April 12, 2021.
Passed by the Senate April 3, 2021.
Approved by the Governor May 3, 2021.
Filed in Office of Secretary of State May 3, 2021.
--- END ---
p. 3 SHB 1373.SL