Students in the Commonwealth are getting a break when it comes to their mental health. On Thursday Governor Beshear signed House Bill 44 into law. This piece of legislation gives school districts the ability to adjust their attendance policies to include provisions for a student’s mental health or behavioral health status. During the signing ceremony, Governor Beshear said this bill was pushed by students.
“And it’s happening today because they stood up for it. They came up here, would not be silenced, were as loud as they needed to be and talked about their own experience and how these days can help. I am proud that at least this time, people listened.”
Democratic State Representative Lisa Willner was one of the sponsors of the Bill. She said she is proud of this legislation.
“I just cannot thank enough the students who came to us from across Kentucky, who brought us this legislation for excused mental health absences. This is my favorite kind of legislation, its bipartisan, its urban/rural and it came from the folks most affected.”
Willner was joined by cosponsor GOP Representative Bobby McCool. They were joined by students who helped lobby for the legislation as the governor signed it into law.
