From the University of Delaware:
Elementary school students in Delaware will now have improved mental health services thanks to bipartisan collaboration that took place in drafting and passing into law House Bill 100, which creates separate and sustained funding for mental health positions, such as school counselors, social workers and psychologists.
The co-sponsors of the bill, House Majority Leader Valerie Longhurst (D-DE) and Representative Michael Smith (R-DE), were recognized by the University of Delaware on Wednesday, June 29, with the inaugural Biden School Civility in Public Service Award, supported by the Stavros Niarchos Foundation (SNF) Ithaca Initiative. Established in the fall of 2021 by the Joseph R. Biden, Jr. School of Public Policy and Administration, the SNF Ithaca Initiative seeks to increase the quality and quantity of civil discourse and civic engagement by instilling core democratic values on UD’s campus and beyond.
The award, which honors two public servants from disparate places on the political spectrum who successfully worked together for the public good, was presented by Representative Madinah Wilson-Anton (D-DE), who also serves as academic affairs and external partnerships manager for UD’s Biden Institute. Longhurst and Smith’s collaboration embodies the spirit of the award and is an example of how civil discourse can lead to positive outcomes.