A bill requiring student ID cards to include suicide prevention hotline numbers — legislation proposed by a Naperville Central High School teen and her student-led organization — has been signed into law by Gov. J.B. Pritzker.
More Top Picks Why Do My Eyes Hurt After A Day At The Screen
“It’s amazing just to see the impact it will have on over 1 million students,” said Aparna Ramakrishnan, who came up with the idea after seeing something similar on her sister’s college ID. “It will provide easy resources that could be life saving.”
All school IDs issued for junior/middle school, high school and college/university students will be required to include the suicide prevention information starting in the 2022-23 school year.
Because Ramakrishnan and the other students in her Beyond Charity group were in school, Pritzker conducted the signing virtually Friday. He described the action as an “affirmative message that mental health matters.”
“It’s more important than ever that (students) have the resources to remind them they’re not alone,” Pritzker said prior to signing the bill.
The bill was sponsored by state Reps. Janet Yang Rohr, D-Naperville, and Michelle Mussman, D-Schaumburg, who won unanimous votes for it in the House and Senate earlier this year.
Ramakrishnan started Beyond Charity with other students to end the stigma surrounding mental health issues through the use of educational presentations and legislative action. So far the group has reached more than 11,000 students through 50 presentations.
“To see that even no matter your age that you can make a difference, it goes to show how hard work can pay off in the end,” she said.
The ID cards will include numbers like the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline (988), the Crisis Text Line, the state’s Safe2Help Illinois helpline and/or a local suicide prevention hotline.
The law also requires public higher education institutions to print the contact information in student handbooks and planners.