Florida plans to grant $21 million toward an initiative to reframe mental health education with a focus on resilience.
The state's Department of Education announced in October 2022 that the five hours of state required mental health education would follow "Resiliency Education Standards," which teaches skills on grit, perseverance, gratitude, personal responsibility, volunteerism, critical thinking, problem solving, empathy, citizenship and honesty, according to a March 22 press release from the office of Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis.
The funding will support the development of the curriculum and toolkits for parents and teachers.
The Department of Education will also create four roles that parents and teachers can become certified in to support the program, including resiliency coaches, school counselors and school counseling mentors, school counseling apprentices and resiliency endorsed educators.