                                 CODE OF VIRGINIA

STUDENT MENTAL HEALTH; POLICIES; WEBSITE RESOURCE; TRAINING (§ 23.1-802)

A. The governing board of each public institution of higher education shall
develop and implement policies that (i) advise students, faculty, and staff,
including residence hall staff, of the proper procedures for identifying and
addressing the needs of students exhibiting suicidal tendencies or behavior and
(ii) provide for training where appropriate. Such policies shall require
procedures for notifying the institution&#8217;s student health or counseling
center for the purposes set forth in subdivision B 5 of &#xA7; 23.1-1303 when a
student exhibits suicidal tendencies or behavior.

B. The board of visitors of each baccalaureate public institution of higher
education shall develop and implement policies that ensure that after a student
suicide, affected students have access to reasonable medical and behavioral
health services, including postvention services. For the purposes of this
subsection, &#8220;postvention services&#8221; means services designed to
facilitate the grieving or adjustment process, stabilize the environment, reduce
the risk of negative behaviors, and prevent suicide contagion.

C. The board of visitors of each baccalaureate public institution of higher
education shall establish a written memorandum of understanding with its local
community services board or behavioral health authority and with local hospitals
and other local mental health facilities in order to expand the scope of
services available to students seeking treatment. The memorandum shall designate
a contact person to be notified, to the extent allowable under state and federal
privacy laws, when a student is involuntarily committed, or when a student is
discharged from a facility. The memorandum shall provide for the inclusion of
the institution in the post-discharge planning of a student who has been
committed and intends to return to campus, to the extent allowable under state
and federal privacy laws.

D. Each baccalaureate public institution of higher education shall create and
feature on its website a page with information dedicated solely to the mental
health resources available to students at the institution.

E. Each resident assistant in a student housing facility at a public institution
of higher education shall participate in Mental Health First Aid training or a
similar program prior to the commencement of his duties.

F. Each coach of an intercollegiate athletics program at a public institution of
higher education shall participate in Mental Health First Aid training or a
similar program within one year of the commencement of his duties.

HISTORY: 2007, c. 705, § 23-9.2:8; 2012, cc. 697, 721; 2013, cc. 714, 735;
2014, c. 558, § 23-9.2:14; 2015, cc. 663, 716; 2016, cc. 573, 588, 684; 2017,
cc. 296, 691; 2021, Sp. Sess. I, c. 447; 2025, c. 272.