Requires institutions of higher education make available their policy on notifying the parent, guardian…

• Democratic3
• Republican1

◆ The sponsor's argument

Why Andrew Gounardes says this is needed

On average, in the United States, 60% of full-time college students consume alcohol, 39% of whom partake in binge drinking. Twenty percent of full-time students use cannabis, and the use of other illicit drugs has been on the rise in recent years. When it comes to substance consumption for those under the age of twenty-one, the problem only worsens. In 2022, Beau Miller, an 18-year-old college student, died from an accidental overdose. Suffering from an addiction problem, he had not been attending classes and when dismissed, poor attendance was the only reason listed. Prior to his death, he had to be resuscitated on multiple occasions. At no point did the school inform his parents that anything was wrong, and it was only when it was too late that they were made aware of pre-existing issues from his friends. This bill, named Beau's Law' in his honor, sets out guidelines to improve transparency as to what each higher education institution's policy is on whether a parent or guardian will be notified of an alcohol or drug violation by an underage student. By requiring colleges to make their guidelines publicly accessible, this enables underage students to be fully informed as to what the steps are after a rule violation of this nature and to give parents full transparency over what their expec- tations should be. Each college has autonomy over what rules to set in place regarding parental notification, but this bill works towards increased accountability and better communication.

This is the sponsor's own case for the bill, quoted from their memorandum. It is not Agora's description of what the bill does.