Glowiak Hilton law ensures quality mental health resources for students

OAKBROOK TERRACE – After passing the General Assembly with strong bipartisan support, a new law sponsored by State Senator Suzy Glowiak Hilton (D-Western Springs) will improve student access to mental health education and resources by allowing partnerships between state agencies.

“As our schools recover from numerous pandemic-related challenges, our state must prioritize our students’ well-being,” Glowiak Hilton said. “To ensure children are receiving the best mental health services at school, this proposal allows two key state agencies to work together to improve prevention and treatment resources.”

An initiative of the Illinois State Board of Education, Glowiak Hilton’s law allows board officials to collaborate with the Illinois Children’s Mental Health Partnership (ICMHP) to give students access to a wider range of mental health resources at school.

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New Bennett law will help children and families build college savings

CHAMPAIGN – A new law sponsored by Senate Higher Education Chair Scott Bennett (D-Champaign) will improve the Illinois Higher Education Savings Program and ultimately help children and families build a meaningful college savings fund.

“For most families, paying for college is not as simple as writing a check each semester,” Bennett said. “This new law is an investment in our youth and will ensure families have the opportunity to build a college savings account for their children.”

In 2019, the Illinois Higher Education Savings Program, established as part of the Illinois treasurer’s existing Bright Start and Bright Directions programs, was signed into law. Under this law, the treasurer will automatically deposit $50 into a college savings account for every child born or adopted in Illinois.

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Senator Fine measure to make mental health care more accessible becomes law

SPRINGFIELD – Illinois families will be able to access mental health and substance use disorder treatment without traveling long distances or waiting unreasonable amounts of time under a measure sponsored by State Senator Laura Fine (D-Glenview), which was signed into law Friday.

“Oftentimes individuals can’t afford to wait days or weeks for mental health or substance use disorder treatment,” Senator Fine said. “It’s imperative that Illinoisans have easy access to timely and reliable mental health care.”

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Collins’ plan for annual truancy policies signed into law

CHICAGO – Illinois schools will be required to develop and communicate their truancy policies to families on a yearly basis under legislation by State Senator Jacqueline Collins (D-Chicago) that was signed into law today.

“When it comes to chronic absences, we tend to just see the empty desk. The truth is that we need to see the student and the challenges they may face with transportation, family illness, mental health difficulties or disabilities,” said Collins. “This ensures that families are being informed of absence policies that are consistent and are applied consistently. I thank Gov. Pritzker for signing this into law.”

Chronic truancy — when a student misses more than 5% of the school year — has increased in Illinois since 2015, when about 9% of students were considered chronically truant. As many as 13.4% are chronically truant currently. Senate Bill 605 requires schools to develop a truancy and chronic absence policy each year and report it to families, including information on chronic truancy.

The legislation takes effect July 1, 2022.