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SPRINGFIELD, Ill. (AP) — A new law inspired by an Illinois student's suicide will allow universities to share information about a student's mental health with his or her parents.
Gov. Bruce Rauner signed the measure into law on Wednesday.
Currently college officials can't talk to a student's parents about his or her mental health issues. Under the law that will take effect next year, students can give their university the authority to share the information.
Democratic Sen. Dave Koehler of Peoria says the bill came about after a student from Bartonville killed himself last year. University officials couldn't discuss his struggles with his parents.
Koehler says students are adults who deserve privacy rights. But he says many are living on their own for the first time and still rely on parents for support.
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