Lt. Gov. Tahesha Way signed a bill Thursday that will require colleges to train faculty, staff and resident assistants to recognize signs of depression in students and take other steps to prevent student suicides.
The new law will require annual training for faculty, college staff and resident assistants, expanding a state law that requires colleges to have mental health professionals available to students.
“We all know how demanding college is these days. The stress many students experience can exacerbate any mental health issues they may already be facing. So this legislation will really go a long way. It will help save lives, secure futures and spare more families from unimaginable tragedy,” Way said at a bill signing ceremony at Kean University.
Way is acting governor while Governor Phil Murphy is overseas.
Suicide is a leading cause of death among college-age Americans, and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention found in 2020 that a quarter of adults between the ages of 18 and 24 had seriously considered killing themselves in the past month.
Youth suicide rates increased during the pandemic, the National Institute of Mental Health found in May.
“While the pandemic certainly exacerbated these problems, particularly among the most marginalised student groups, it did not create the mental health challenges facing higher education,” said Higher Education Minister Brian Bridges. “These are long-standing issues that we’re now more prepared to confront, and that’s why we need to act.”
The bill signed on Thursday will also require schools to take steps to limit students’ access to places and things that could facilitate suicide, including unsafe building roofs and dangerous chemicals used in some laboratories.
It will also require colleges and universities to hold annual mental health awareness campaigns to educate students about depression, suicide and the mental health services available on campus.
Thursday’s signing was a victory for advocates in the field, including Sean and Pauline Quinn, who pushed for reforms after their daughter died by suicide while attending Stevens Institute of Technology.
“Maybe we’ll make a difference, and maybe the next Aileen who thinks about it will be the Nobel Prize winner who cures cancer and frankly just makes the next person’s life better,” said Sen. Joe Cryan (D-Union), the bill’s prime sponsor in the Senate. “And that’s what today is about: Today is about a bill that will hopefully make the next person’s life better.”
The bill’s provisions will take effect in the autumn of 2024.