Hailey Hardcastle 
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About this Act
Hailey Hardcastle, 19
(she/her)
As someone living with trauma-induced anxiety and clinical depression, Hailey Hardcastle understood the importance of mental health rest days in managing her wellbeing. While her mother supported her taking time from school to take care of her mental health, Hailey also recognized that not every student had the same privilege. Through Students for a Healthy Oregon, she set out to prioritize student mental health in a state where suicide is the leading cause of death for people ages 10-24. She campaigned for a bill that would allow students to take mental health days in the same way they’re allowed to for physical health issues. It was signed into law in June 2019.
Student Who Suffered Panic Attacks Helped Pass a Law to Get Kids Mental Health Days
While in high school, Hailey Hardcastle helped create a law that allows students to take days off from school for emotional first aid. 'All of us,' she says, 'have a brain that needs to be cared for'
By the time she was in high school, that conviction drove Hailey and a group of fellow students to push their home state of Oregon to create and pass a law in 2019 giving students the right to take days off for their mental health in the same way they might take a sick day.
"We wanted mental health and physical health to be on the same playing field," says Hailey, whose 2020 TedEx talk on why students need mental health days has over 3.2 million views.
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Since the Oregon legislation passed, another 11 states have passed similar laws since, with bills pending in at least four more.
The laws can't come soon enough, says Dr. Robin Henderson, chief clinical officer for Work2BeWell, an educational and wellness program in Oregon, who also advised Hailey and her student group on the legislation.
"We are failing students right and left," says Henderson. "So many are struggling with mental health issues."
A recent CDC survey of teens found that more than 40% reported feeling persistently sad or hopeless in the past year, and last year the American Academy of Pediatrics declared a national state of emergency in children's mental health.
For more on Hailey Hardcastle and her campaign to get students mental health days, pick up a copy of PEOPLE, on newsstands Friday
https://people.com/health/student-who-suffered-panic-attacks-helps-kids-get-mental-health-days-physical-and-mental-health-should-be-equal/
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