Giving Compass' Take:

• More states are passing legislation that requires schools to implement and support mental health education to reduce stigma and offer students pathways for good mental health.

• Is mental health education required in your local school system? How can donors bolster mental health education? 

• Here are five tips to help manage student mental health. 

When three students in Virginia's Albemarle County Public Schools (ACPS) noticed how stress, anxiety, depression and other mental health issues were affecting many of their peers — and having an impact on their own lives — they didn’t just push through and wait for graduation.

The trio took their concerns to state lawmakers, who were among the first in the country to pass legislation requiring state-mandated mental health education in K-12 schools.

“At each of our high schools, we had individuals who attempted suicide either at school or outside of school,” said Lucas Johnson, a graduate of Monticello High School in Charlottesville, Virginia, who worked with colleagues Alexander Moreno, a graduate of Western Albemarle High School, and Choetsow Tenzin, a graduate of Albemarle High School, to push for the bill.

The Virginia ­­­­­­­­­­­­law requires mental health education in the 9th and 10th grades. A proposal for implementing the new law extends the mandate to include kindergarten through the 10th grade and will be presented to the Virginia Board of Education next month, followed by a period for public comment and a final vote of approval slated for January 2020.

They include age-appropriate instructional practices aimed at reducing stigma and teaching students how to obtain and maintain good mental health, understand mental health disorders, pick up on signs and symptoms of distress, and seek help.

Read the full article about mental health by Lucy Hood at Education Dive.