For the third year in a row, state lawmakers will consider a bill that requires public colleges and universities to reimburse tuition for students who withdraw during mental health crises.

Delegate Shaneka Henson has sponsored the Cameron Carden Act since 2022. With a senate co-sponsor and increased understanding of mental health issues, Henson thinks this will be the year it passes.

The bill is named after a former student at Salisbury University who took a leave in 2019 after facing racial discrimination on campus.

Cameron Carden remembers seeing racist graffiti on the walls of campus buildings on his way to classes.

“I was just scared on campus, living by myself, looking over my shoulder everywhere I went,” Carden said. “I tried to reach out and seek help, but there wasn't very much. It just didn't really help me with my fear.”

Carden’s mother, Gay Green-Carden, said the mental health challenges had a physical effect on her son, which she noticed during parents weekend in fall 2019.

“I saw this athletic and sociable and well-known young kid, and then I saw that dissolve right in front of my eyes,” she said.

Green-Carden said she went to the university’s administration to seek help.

“We got nothing,” she said. “The goal for us was just to get a refund. My son was suffering mentally, and we just wanted a refund. And that was something that was not in the policy. It was outside of the walls of the opportunity to withdraw.”

Henson said when she first heard the Cardens’ story at an outreach event in Anne Arundel County, she immediately knew she had to do something.

“Initially, we connected on trying to work with the university to seek reimbursement. And then after that was unsuccessful, then we said, ‘Okay, let's address the broader issue,’” Henson said. “And that needs a policy change.”

The bill has passed unanimously in the house for the past two years. But garnering senator support has been more difficult, Henson said.

“We drew a lot of questions that were really just increasing the understanding for the seriousness of mental health,” she said. “I think physical injuries are much easier for people to digest and understand. But I think a lot of our senators wanted to better understand what is a mental injury? What does that look like? And I think we have a clear plan for it now.”

Senator Anthony Muse is also co-sponsoring the bill on the senate side for the first time, which Henson says will give the Cameron Carden Act a much-needed boost.

“Depression in college is real. Peer pressure is real. Bullying is real. There are a multitude of issues that would cause someone to experience a mental health crisis,” Muse said. “It cannot be ignored as it has been in the past. And because we have so many bills that are dealing with reprioritizing mental health issues, I believe that's a reason that we can get it passed.”

Henson said support from public higher education institutions has been “lukewarm.” But the bill builds on withdrawal and reimbursement policies most already have for physical injuries and illnesses.

“All the bill does is says that you have to include a mental injury in that same process,” she said. “We just want to elevate the conversation on mental health to be on par with the seriousness of a physical injury.”

Muse said he’s heard concerns about the bill’s financial burden.

“And I think they'll want to know how we define mental health and what comes under it, what’s excluded,” he said. “But I don't believe that there will be an onslaught of students saying, ‘Gee, let's take advantage of this,’ to the point that it would be a real financial burden. And I think it's a very minimal, minimal financial effect on any college or university.”

Henson said families need that reimbursement to invest in mental health care.

“One of the biggest challenges with mental health is resources,” she said. “If you can take that money, and you can reinvest it into your child, you really can help the journey of restoring and getting back to a place of wholeness.”

State lawmakers will host hearings for the Cameron Carden Act next week.

“We are fired up. We feel like this is our year,” Green-Carden said. “And this is just the beginning of the journey to help students in the state’s schools and universities. We want to be that voice.”