Enhancing youth mental health and well-being through advanced training and expansion of the workforce in schools.

 S-1460.1

SUBSTITUTE SENATE BILL 5369

State of Washington

69th Legislature

2025 Regular Session

By Senate Early Learning & K-12 Education (originally sponsored by Senators Orwall, Hasegawa, Krishnadasan, Liias, Nobles, Valdez, and C. Wilson)

READ FIRST TIME 02/14/25.

AN ACT Relating to enhancing youth mental health and well-being through advanced training and expansion of the workforce in schools; amending RCW 28A.410.044 , 28A.320.280 , and 28A.310.235 ; and adding new sections to chapter 28A.310 RCW.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF WASHINGTON:

NEW SECTION. Sec. 1. A new section is added to chapter 28A.310 RCW to read as follows:

The legislature finds that Washington youth require additional support in order to thrive. Washington has the ninth highest school refusal rate in the country, with 30 percent of K-12 students missing more than 10 percent of the school year. A significant number of Washington's youth experience high rates of emotional, developmental, or behavioral distress, or thoughts of suicide.