Pupil instruction: suicide prevention: mental illness awareness.

Existing law establishes an adopted course of study for grades 7 to 12, inclusive. Existing law establishes the Curriculum Development and Supplemental Materials Commission and requires the commission to recommend to the State Board of Education the adoption of minimum standards for courses of study in preschool, kindergarten, elementary, and secondary schools. This bill would require the state board and the commission to include suicide prevention instruction and mental illness awareness instruction in the health education framework for pupils in grades 7 to 12, inclusive, during the next revision of that framework. The bill would also require the state board and the commission to include suicide prevention instruction and mental health illness awareness instruction in the health education evaluation criteria for pupils in grades 7 and 8 during that revision. The bill would authorize a school district, commencing with the 2012–13 school year, to provide suicide prevention instruction and mental illness awareness instruction to pupils in grades 7 to 12, inclusive.