Middle and high school students facing crisis situations may soon have an easier time finding help. Starting next school year, public schools in Indiana will be required to print help lines and text information on student IDs.
Lake Central School Superintendent Dr. Larry Veracco says it's part of a bill passed by the general assembly during last year's session that largely went unnoticed until now. "It didn't catch our attention because it's not effective until this year, which is not usually the way the legislation is passed, right? I mean, normally, they say it's effective July 1 on the upcoming calendar," Veracco told the school board Monday.
Student IDs will have to include hotlines for suicide prevention, human trafficking, teen dating violence, sexual assault and other crises. The information will be required for ID cards issued to students in grades six through 12.
But since Lake Central's middle schools include fifth graders, Veracco says their IDs will have the hotlines, as well.
