New Ohio Bill Would Allow Schools to Excuse Mental Health Days

Ohio Statehouse

COLUMBUS, Ohio (WCMH) — A new Ohio bill would allow school districts to accept mental health days as excused absences.

Dubbed the Student Wellness Act, Senate Bill 330 was introduced in late November to codify mental health days for students. State Sen. Willis E. Blackshear, Jr. (D-Dayton) introduced the bill, which would allow — but not require — school districts to permit absences for mental health.

The Student Wellness Act would permit districts to enact a policy to count mental health days as excused absences. The bill says policies should include a definition of mental health days, a limit on how many mental health days a student may receive, and a method to determine whether the student would be referred to or receive school health or support services.

Blackshear introduced the bill to help K–12 students with mental health pressures. According to a state survey, one-fifth of Ohio middle schoolers and one-third of high schoolers reported that their mental health was “not good most or all of the time” in 2023. Nearly half of all Ohio high school girls reported poor mental health in 2023, at 46%.

Under current law, school districts can only excuse absences for emergencies, illness, appointments, religious holidays, college or military visits, absences due to major familial changes like foster care, or some work such as farm work for students over 14. School districts are permitted to make their own policies for excused absences, but S.B. 330 would offer structure for specific mental health day policies.

This is the third time the Student Wellness Act has been introduced. Blackshear served in the Ohio House until this year and co-sponsored similar legislation when he was a state representative. His previous bills would have permitted students to take up to three excused mental health days each year.