Requires the department of education to develop and make available for use in all schools a mental health curriculum. School districts would be required to provide four (4) hours of mental health instruction to seventh grade students.

## Summary of Rhode Island Mental Health Curriculum Bill

This bill would require Rhode Island's Department of Education to create a mental health curriculum and make it available to all schools in the state. In addition, every school district would be required to provide at least four hours of mental health instruction specifically to seventh grade students. The goal is to ensure that young adolescents receive a baseline level of education about mental health topics as part of their schooling.

The bill primarily affects seventh graders across Rhode Island, who would receive this mandatory mental health instruction, as well as school districts and educators who would be responsible for delivering the curriculum. The Department of Education would take on the task of developing the curriculum content and distributing it to schools statewide. While the bill specifies that the curriculum should be made available for use in all schools, the four-hour instruction requirement is targeted specifically at the seventh grade level.

As of its most recent legislative activity, the bill has been introduced in the Rhode Island House of Representatives and referred to the House Education Committee. The committee has recommended that the measure be held for further study, with a hearing and/or consideration scheduled for January 27, 2026. This means the bill is still in the early stages of the legislative process and has not yet been voted on by the full legislature.