Virginia Code 23.1-802: Student mental health; policies; website resource; training.
A. The governing board of each public institution of higher education shall develop and implement policies that (i) advise students, faculty, and staff, including residence hall staff, of the proper procedures for identifying and addressing the needs of students exhibiting suicidal tendencies or behavior and (ii) provide for training where appropriate. Such policies shall require procedures for notifying the institution’s student health or counseling center for the purposes set forth in subdivision B 5 of § 23.1-1303 when a student exhibits suicidal tendencies or behavior.
Terms Used In Virginia Code 23.1-802
- Baccalaureate: means that bachelor's degrees or more advanced degrees, or both, are granted. See Virginia Code 23.1-100
- Baccalaureate public institution of higher education: includes Christopher Newport University, George Mason University, James Madison University, Longwood University, the University of Mary Washington, Norfolk State University, Old Dominion University, Radford University, the University of Virginia, the University of Virginia's College at Wise as a division of the University of Virginia, Virginia Commonwealth University, Virginia Military Institute, Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, Virginia State University, and The College of William and Mary in Virginia. See Virginia Code 23.1-100
- Governing board: includes the State Board and the board of visitors of each baccalaureate public institution of higher education. See Virginia Code 23.1-100
- Person: includes any individual, corporation, partnership, association, cooperative, limited liability company, trust, joint venture, government, political subdivision, or any other legal or commercial entity and any successor, representative, agent, agency, or instrumentality thereof. See Virginia Code 1-230
- Process: includes subpoenas, the summons and complaint in a civil action, and process in statutory actions. See Virginia Code 1-237
- Public institution of higher education: includes the System as a whole and each associate-degree-granting and baccalaureate public institution of higher education in the Commonwealth. See Virginia Code 23.1-100
- State: when applied to a part of the United States, includes any of the 50 states, the District of Columbia, the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, Guam, the Northern Mariana Islands, and the United States Virgin Islands. See Virginia Code 1-245
B. The board of visitors of each baccalaureate public institution of higher education shall develop and implement policies that ensure that after a student suicide, affected students have access to reasonable medical and behavioral health services, including postvention services. For the purposes of this subsection, “postvention services” means services designed to facilitate the grieving or adjustment process, stabilize the environment, reduce the risk of negative behaviors, and prevent suicide contagion.
C. The board of visitors of each baccalaureate public institution of higher education shall establish a written memorandum of understanding with its local community services board or behavioral health authority and with local hospitals and other local mental health facilities in order to expand the scope of services available to students seeking treatment. The memorandum shall designate a contact person to be notified, to the extent allowable under state and federal privacy laws, when a student is involuntarily committed, or when a student is discharged from a facility. The memorandum shall provide for the inclusion of the institution in the post-discharge planning of a student who has been committed and intends to return to campus, to the extent allowable under state and federal privacy laws.
D. Each baccalaureate public institution of higher education shall create and feature on its website a page with information dedicated solely to the mental health resources available to students at the institution.
E. Each resident assistant in a student housing facility at a public institution of higher education shall participate in Mental Health First Aid training or a similar program prior to the commencement of his duties.
2007, c. 705, § 23-9.2:8; 2012, cc. 697, 721; 2013, cc. 714, 735; 2014, c. 558, § 23-9.2:14; 2015, cc. 663, 716; 2016, cc. 573, 588, 684; 2017, cc. 296, 691; 2021, Sp. Sess. I, c. 447.