Telehealth mental health bill moves through Virginia House
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A bill that would provide school counselors with the means to counsel students through telehealth mental health services advanced in the House of Delegates Tuesday.
The K-12 subcommittee voted 8-0 for HB2543 to be reported back to the floor.
The bill comes after a recommendation from the Joint Subcommittee to Study Pandemic Response and Preparedness in the Commonwealth and will apply to public school students enrolled in their local school division.
According to the bill, the Department of Behavioral Health, Developmental Services and the Department of Medical Assistance Services, “shall develop, adopt and distribute to each school board a model memorandum of understanding between a school board and a public or private community mental health services provider or a nationally recognized school-based telehealth provider.”
Del. Amy Laufer, D-Charlottesville, is the chief patron of HB 2543.
“We know that the pandemic had a profound impact on [the] mental health of our students,” Laufer told the subcommittee. ”Expanding the availability of our own school counselors to provide these services could benefit our children.”
According to Mental Health America, Virginia was ranked 12th out of the 50 states, “in the comprehensive range of well-being metrics.”
Organizations such as Virginia Counselors Association, Voices for Virginia’s Children and New Virginia Majority testified in support of the bill.
Voices for Virginia’s Children, an independent organization dedicated to multi-issue child policy and advocacy, advocated for the use of telehealth services in its 2025 policy agenda.
“Through establishing national partnerships, leveraging state infrastructural funding, and improving in-school Medicaid programming, Virginia can increase student access to mental health services,” the agenda states.
The organization also specifically called for schools to have appropriate access to technology, expertise and the ability to bill for Medicaid.
HB 2543 will be referred back to the Committee on Education to report a vote by the full committee.
“We know providing telehealth services during the pandemic can be a lifeline to our students,” Laufer said. “We certainly saw that. . . mental health services are crucial during times of crisis.”
