S-B.114.04.21.26-2 Funding Bill - To Fund the Active Minds JHU Survey and Incentives

SECTION 1. TITLE.

This Bill may be referred to as the “Active Minds Mental Health Survey Incentive Funding Bill”

SECTION 2. DEFINITIONS.

1. SGA — The term “SGA” shall refer to the Student Government Association of The Johns Hopkins University.
2. JHU, Hopkins - The terms “JHU” and “Hopkins” shall refer to the Johns Hopkins University.
3. Active Minds - The term “Active Minds” refers to the undergraduate student organization dedicated to mental health awareness, education, and advocacy.
4. Survey – The term “Survey” in this context specifically refers to the university-wide mental health awareness and resource availability survey designed and administered by Active Minds

SECTION 3. FINDINGS AND PURPOSES.

1. Findings
   1. Many JHU students experience stress, burnout, and mental health challenges throughout the academic year.
   2. Despite more than half of undergraduates reporting feelings of overwhelm or anxiety, only approximately 30% of JHU students currently utilize university mental health services.
   3. Students often report barriers to accessing care, including difficult navigating resources, uncertainty about available services, and challenges scheduling appointments.
   4. ActiveMinds has developed a concise, university-wide survey to assess:
      1. Student awareness of existing mental health resources
      2. Barriers to accessing care
      3. Communication gaps between students and service providers
      4. Student support for including mental health resource information in course syllabi
   5. Incentivizing survey participation will increase response rates and ensure a more representative sample of the undergraduate population.
2. Purposes
   1. The primary purpose of this Bill is to provide funding for incentives that will support the distribution and completion of the Active Minds mental health survey. The results will inform a forthcoming proposal to include mental health resource information in course syllabi and other student-facing materials across the university.
   2. An additional purpose of this Bill is to recognize the survey as approved and supported by the JHU SGA

SECTION 4. FUNDING OF ITEMS

1. The total amount funded by SGA would be $439.00

SECTION 5. SEVERABILITY.

Should any provision of this Act, an amendment made by this Act, or the application of such provision or amendment to any person or circumstance be held to be unconstitutional or, the remainder of this Act, the amendments made by this Act, and the application of such provision or amendment to any person or circumstances shall not be affected thereby.

SECTION 6. ACTION ITEMS.

1. To be done by Active Minds before Reading Week of Spring 2026:
   1. Purchase the incentives listed in Section 4 following the release of SGA funds and pursuant to financial guidelines
2. To be done by SGA and Active Minds before Reading Week of Spring 2026:
   1. Promote the survey and incentives on social media to solicit as many responses as possible from the undergraduate student body.
3. To be done by the SGA Student Body Secretary during Reading Week of Spring 2026:
   1. Send out the survey to the student body via HopkinsGroups to solicit responses.
4. To be done by Active Minds during Reading Week of Spring 2026:
   1. Administer the survey and collect responses
5. To be done by Active Minds at the beginning of Fall 2026:
   1. Provide the SGA with a brief report summarizing survey findings and recommendations for next steps regarding mental health resource visibility in syllabi.

The Bill is hereby ADOPTED/LOST by a vote of X to X with X abstentions.

Upon passage, we have hereunto set our hands and caused the seal of the Senate to be affixed to this bill indicating the Senate’s assent and thus officially designated the bill’s adoption as law.