Students receiving new school identification cards this school year may notice an added resource alongside their photo.
A new California law requires public middle schools, high schools and colleges to print The Trevor Project's LGBTQ+ crisis hotline and text line on student identification cards. Supporters say the change is designed to make mental health resources more accessible to LGBTQ+ students experiencing a crisis.
Lawmakers say school IDs are something students typically carry every day, making them an effective way to ensure crisis resources are readily available when needed. The law is part of a broader effort to expand access to suicide prevention and mental health support.
Santa Barbara City College student Riley Wilson said the new requirement highlights the importance of making mental health resources easy to find.
"It really emphasized mental health and assistance with that in our day-to-day, especially where we're at with social media and the rigor of academics," Wilson said, adding that the most important aspect of the law is that it makes support available to all students.
"What I care most is that it's available to everyone, that not just some communities have access to resources," Wilson said. Some students at Santa Barbara City College also said they would like to see crisis hotline information posted in additional locations on campus, such as school bathrooms, to make the resources even more visible.
The requirement takes effect for the 2026-27 school year. Students are expected to begin receiving the updated identification cards as schools issue new IDs throughout the year.
