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H7026ASchool Safety

Education - The Nathan Bruno and Jason Flatt Act

This bill requires middle and high schools to print suicide and crisis hotline numbers on student and staff IDs.

In committee64 Yea0 Nay11 Not voting
Population
Affected
35
Email Legislator
Introduced Jan 9, 2026Committee House Education

Plain-English Summary

This bill requires all middle and high schools in Rhode Island that issue student identification cards to include the phone numbers for a suicide prevention hotline and a substance abuse crisis center on the back of the cards. This requirement can be met by using a combined helpline number, such as the 988 suicide and crisis lifeline. The bill also mandates that the same information be printed on or added as a sticker to the identification cards issued to school staff, including teachers, administrators, and custodial workers. Schools must comply by September 8, 2026.

For younger readers

This bill says that middle schools and high schools must put special phone numbers on the back of school ID cards. An ID card is a small plastic card with your picture and name on it that shows you go to that school. The phone numbers are for people to call if they are feeling very sad, having a really hard time, or need help with a drug or alcohol problem. The schools have to put these numbers on the cards for students, teachers, and other school workers by September 2026.

Who & Where It Applies

Impacted groups
Middle school studentsHigh school studentsTeachers and school administratorsSchool custodial staffPublic schools
Impacted communities
All

Constitutional & Fiscal Check

None Likely. This bill merely regulates the content of identification cards issued by public schools, which are government entities. It does not infringe upon free speech, due process, or privacy rights, nor does it involve unreasonable searches and seizures.

Estimated cost
Amount unknown
Estimated revenue
None

Bill Analysis

Both viewpoints
For Progressives
  • Increases accessibility to critical mental health and substance abuse resources for vulnerable youth by placing lifeline numbers directly in their hands.
  • Broadens the community safety net by including staff IDs, ensuring that adults in the school environment also have immediate access to crisis resources for themselves or to assist students.
  • Helps to reduce the social stigma surrounding mental health and substance use disorders by normalizing the presence of crisis lifeline numbers in everyday school life.
  • Does not provide additional funding or resources for public schools to implement the mandate or to handle a potential increase in students reporting mental health crises.
  • Fails to mandate the creation or issuance of ID cards across all schools, meaning students in underfunded schools that do not currently issue IDs may not benefit from this resource.
  • Focuses on emergency crisis intervention rather than funding systemic reforms, such as hiring more in-school mental health counselors or addressing the root causes of youth trauma.
For Conservatives
  • Provides a practical, low-cost solution to address youth mental health without creating new, expensive government programs or expanding state bureaucracy.
  • Allows schools flexibility in how they comply with the mandate, such as using inexpensive stickers or a single combined phone number, minimizing the regulatory burden.
  • Encourages individual responsibility and private action by directing individuals to existing hotlines rather than mandating direct intervention protocols by school personnel.
  • Imposes an unfunded mandate on local school districts to update, reprint, or purchase stickers for all student and staff ID cards.
  • Represents state-level overreach into local school district administrative matters by dictating exactly what must be printed on school-issued identification.
  • May be seen as promoting government-sponsored crisis hotlines instead of encouraging students to seek help from their parents, families, or religious institutions first.

Votes

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Full Bill Text

2 versions
Changes to existing Rhode Island law · 15 additions

SECTION 1. Chapter 16-21.7 of the General Laws entitled "The Nathan Bruno and Jason Flatt Act" is hereby amended by adding thereto the following section: 16-21.7-5. Student identification cards.

(a) On or before September 8, 2026, all middle and high schools within and subject to the jurisdiction of the department of elementary and secondary education (“RIDE”), which issue student identification cards (“ID cards”), shall include on the back of each ID card the following:

(1) The telephone number for a state or national suicide prevention hotline; and

(2) The telephone number for a state or national substance abuse crisis center. Provided, this requirement may be met through one telephone number to a state or national organization which provides both suicide and substance abuse assistance and services, such as the 988 suicide and crisis lifeline.

(b) All middle and high schools within and subject to the jurisdiction of RIDE which issue staff ID cards to teachers, administrators, professional staff, and custodial staff working within the school or school district shall also include or affix the information required under this section to those ID cards.

(c) The information required under this section may be printed on the ID cards or contained on a sticker affixed to the ID cards.

SECTION 2. This act shall take effect upon passage.