Des Moines, Iowa — Printing the state’s 211 suicide crisis line on student ID cards would be required under a bill getting bipartisan backing in the Iowa legislature, but two area legislators split on the bill.
Senator Jeff Taylor, a Republican from Sioux Center, says the bill, HF 602, applies to student IDs issued by public schools in Iowa, but he’s hoping private schools offer the same information if they provide ID cards to students.
Senator Bill Dotzler, a Democrat from Waterloo, grew emotional as he thanked his colleagues for supporting the bill.
The bill passed the Senate unanimously Thursday. It passed the House on a 91-4 vote on March 22nd. According to the Journal of the House, one of the nay votes for HF602 was another area legislator, Representative Zach Dieken of Granville.
Republican Representative Ray Sorenson of Greenfield says the Your Life Iowa program has an app for smart phones, and kids can text or call 211 to reach the program’s counselors.
Representative Timi Brown-Powers, a Democrat from Waterloo, says for the past three years a group of Waterloo students has been lobbying for the bill.
Representative Jeff Shipley, a Republican from Fairfield, says recent surveys show a troubling and dramatic increase in kids saying they feel persistently feel sad and hopeless.
The House must approve very minor changes the Senate made in the bill before it goes to the governor. The changes were made due to an amendment from Taylor, to include internet address rather than just phone number, and inserting language to allow the bill to apply should there be a successor program to the current 211 program.
