Connecticut 2020 Regular Session

Connecticut Senate Bill SB00303 Compare Versions

Only one version of the bill is available at this time.

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6	6	General Assembly Raised Bill No. 303
7	7	February Session, 2020
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11	11	Referred to Committee on HIGHER EDUCATION AND
12	12	EMPLOYMENT ADVANCEMENT
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15	15	Introduced by:
16	16	(HED)
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21	21	AN ACT IMPLEMENTING THE RECOMMENDATIONS OF THE TASK
22	22	FORCE REGARDING THE PREVENTION AND TREAT MENT OF
23	23	MENTAL ILLNESS AT INSTITUTIONS OF HIGHER EDUCATION.
24	24	Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General
25	25	Assembly convened:
26	26
27	27	Section 1. (NEW) (Effective July 1, 2020) (a) As used in this section and 1
28	28	sections 2 to 5, inclusive, of this act: 2
29	29	(1) "Services" or "mental health services" means counseling, therapy, 3
30	30	rehabilitation, crisis intervention or emergency services for the 4
31	31	screening, diagnosis or treatment of mental illness; and 5
32	32	(2) "Programs" or "mental health programming" means education, 6
33	33	outreach, research or training initiatives aimed at students for the 7
34	34	prevention of mental illness, including, but not limited to, poster and 8
35	35	flyer campaigns, electronic communications, films, guest speakers, 9
36	36	conferences or other campus events. 10
37	37	(b) Not later than January 1, 2021, each institution of higher education 11
38	38	shall establish a campus mental health coalition responsible for and with 12 Raised Bill No. 303
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44	44	representatives from each of its campuses. The campus mental health 13
45	45	coalition shall consist of individuals appointed by the president of each 14
46	46	institution of higher education who are reflective of the demographics 15
47	47	of the student body at such institution, including, but not limited to, at 16
48	48	least one member from such institution's (1) administration, (2) 17
49	49	counseling services office, if any, (3) health services office, if any, (4) 18
50	50	senior and mid-level staff, (5) student body, (6) residential life office, if 19
51	51	any, (7) faculty, and (8) any other individuals designated by the 20
52	52	president. 21
53	53	(c) Each institution of higher education shall ensure that every 22
54	54	member of the campus mental health coalition is educated in (1) the 23
55	55	services and programs offered at each campus by such institution to 24
56	56	address student mental illness, (2) the role and function of the campus 25
57	57	mental health coalition at such institution, and (3) responses to student 26
58	58	mental illness that are sensitive to students of diverse race, cultural 27
59	59	backgrounds, sexual orientation or gender identity or status as a veteran 28
60	60	or service member of the armed forces of the United States. 29
61	61	(d) Each campus mental health coalition shall (1) conduct an 30
62	62	evaluation every four years of the effectiveness of the services and 31
63	63	programs offered by the institution of higher education to address 32
64	64	student mental illness in accordance with section 2 of this act, (2) review 33
65	65	the results of such evaluation and develop a plan to address any 34
66	66	weaknesses in the services and programs offered by the institution, and 35
67	67	(3) review and recommend improvements for (A) institutional polices 36
68	68	regarding student mental health, (B) the variety of mental health 37
69	69	services available to students at the institution, including on-campus 38
70	70	services, telehealth services provided in accordance with section 19a-906 39
71	71	of the general statutes or services offered through community-based 40
72	72	mental health care providers or emergency mobile psychiatric service 41
73	73	providers in accordance with any memorandum of understanding 42
74	74	entered into pursuant to section 3 of this act, (C) the quality of mental 43
75	75	health services available to students, including recommendations for 44
76	76	obtaining accreditation from the International Accreditation of 45
77	77	Counseling Services or another nationally or regionally recognized 46 Raised Bill No. 303
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83	83	accrediting body for mental health services, and (D) the crisis 47
84	84	intervention and management plan established pursuant to section 4 of 48
85	85	this act. 49
86	86	Sec. 2. (NEW) (Effective July 1, 2020) (a) Not later than January 1, 2021, 50
87	87	and every four years thereafter, the executive director of the Office of 51
88	88	Higher Education and the Commissioner of Mental Health and 52
89	89	Addiction Services, in consultation with an epidemiologist or other 53
90	90	specialist with expertise in the study of mental health, shall develop and 54
91	91	update (1) an assessment tool for use by each institution of higher 55
92	92	education in evaluating the effectiveness of the services and programs 56
93	93	offered at each of the institution's campuses to address student mental 57
94	94	illness, (2) guidelines for the implementation of the assessment tool, 58
95	95	including a timeline for completion, and (3) training workshops for the 59
96	96	campus mental health coalitions established pursuant to section 1 of this 60
97	97	act regarding best practices for the use and completion of the assessment 61
98	98	tool. 62
99	99	(b) Not later than October 1, 2021, and every four years thereafter, 63
100	100	each campus mental health coalition established at each institution of 64
101	101	higher education pursuant to section 1 of this act shall (1) conduct an 65
102	102	evaluation of the effectiveness of the services and programs offered at 66
103	103	each campus by such institution to address student mental illness using 67
104	104	the assessment tool developed pursuant to subsection (a) of this section 68
105	105	in accordance with the guidelines and training provided by the 69
106	106	executive director of the Office of Higher Education and the 70
107	107	Commissioner of Mental Health and Addiction Services, and (2) submit 71
108	108	the result of the assessment tool to the Office of Higher Education. 72
109	109	(c) Not later than thirty days after the receipt of the results of the 73
110	110	assessment tool from each campus mental health coalition, the executive 74
111	111	director of the Office of Higher Education shall post such results on the 75
112	112	Internet web site of said office and submit a report, in accordance with 76
113	113	the provisions of section 11-4a of the general statutes, to the joint 77
114	114	standing committee of the General Assembly having cognizance of 78
115	115	matters relating to higher education on such results from each 79 Raised Bill No. 303
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121	121	institution of higher education. 80
122	122	Sec. 3. (NEW) (Effective July 1, 2020) Not later than January 1, 2021, 81
123	123	each institution of higher education, in consultation with the 82
124	124	Department of Mental Health and Addiction Services, shall enter into 83
125	125	and maintain a memorandum of understanding with at least one 84
126	126	community-based mental health care provider or emergency mobile 85
127	127	psychiatric service provider for the purpose of providing students 86
128	128	access to mental health services on or off campus and assistance to 87
129	129	institutions in developing mental health programming. 88
130	130	Sec. 4. (NEW) (Effective July 1, 2020) (a) Not later than January 1, 2021, 89
131	131	and annually thereafter, each institution of higher education shall 90
132	132	establish and update a crisis intervention and management plan for each 91
133	133	campus of such institution. Such plan shall include, but not be limited 92
134	134	to, (1) a detailed description of the campus-wide response to a mental 93
135	135	health crisis, (2) a review of each campus to identify any areas of danger 94
136	136	to a person experiencing a mental health crisis, including buildings with 95
137	137	roof access or areas used for storing chemicals, medicines or weapons, 96
138	138	and (3) protocols to ensure campus safety and maintain restricted access 97
139	139	to areas of danger identified on campus. 98
140	140	(b) Not later than January 1, 2021, and as necessary thereafter, the 99
141	141	governing board of each institution of higher education shall adopt and 100
142	142	update a policy regarding student mental health. Such policy shall 101
143	143	include, but not be limited to, (1) the types of mental health services and 102
144	144	programs provided to students each academic year, and (2) the 103
145	145	availability of and eligibility requirements for mental health leave 104
146	146	available to students. 105
147	147	(c) Not later than February 1, 2021, and not more than thirty days 106
148	148	after the adoption of an updated policy, the governing board of each 107
149	149	institution of higher education shall submit, in accordance with the 108
150	150	provisions of section 11-4a of the general statutes, to the joint standing 109
151	151	committee of the General Assembly having cognizance of matters 110
152	152	relating to higher education the policy adopted pursuant to subsection 111 Raised Bill No. 303
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158	158	(b) of this section. 112
159	159	Sec. 5. (Effective July 1, 2020) Not later than January 1, 2021, the Board 113
160	160	of Regents for Higher Education shall employ a grant writer to identify 114
161	161	and apply for available grant funding to implement or improve services 115
162	162	and programs offered by the regional community-technical colleges to 116
163	163	address student mental illness. 117
164	164	Sec. 6. Section 1 of special act 19-14 is repealed and the following is 118
165	165	substituted in lieu thereof (Effective from passage): 119
166	166	(a) There is established a task force to study the policies and 120
167	167	procedures adopted by each institution of higher education regarding 121
168	168	the prevention and treatment of mental illness in students and to 122
169	169	recommend a state-wide policy regarding mental health services 123
170	170	available to students at institutions of higher education. For each 124
171	171	institution of higher education in the state, such study shall include, but 125
172	172	need not be limited to, an examination of (1) the manner in which the 126
173	173	institution informs students of the availability of mental health services, 127
174	174	(2) the manner in which the mental health services are delivered to 128
175	175	students, including whether mental health services are available online, 129
176	176	through individual counseling sessions or group discussions and a 130
177	177	listing of the types of mental health care providers available to students, 131
178	178	(3) the rate at which the mental health services are utilized in 132
179	179	comparison to the total student body, (4) the level of engagement the 133
180	180	institution has with community or nonprofit organizations that provide 134
181	181	mental health treatment and services, (5) the solicitation and review of 135
182	182	voluntary recommendations of students and alumni that received 136
183	183	mental health services while enrolled at the institution, (6) the manner 137
184	184	in which the institution facilitates the return of students that take a leave 138
185	185	of absence due to mental illness, (7) the training provided to faculty and 139
186	186	staff to identify students experiencing mental illness, [and] (8) [an 140
187	187	analysis of] the rate at which different types of mental health services 141
188	188	are sought by students, including, but not limited to, the rate at which 142
189	189	services for substance use disorder, depression or anxiety are sought, (9) 143
190	190	the policies adopted or updated by the governing board of each 144 Raised Bill No. 303
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196	196	institution pursuant to section 4 of this act, and (10) feedback from the 145
197	197	executive director of the Office of Higher Education and each campus 146
198	198	mental health coalition established pursuant to section 1 of this act on 147
199	199	the assessment tool and results received from its implementation 148
200	200	pursuant to section 2 of this act. No personally identifying information 149
201	201	shall be included on any information the task force requests or analyzes 150
202	202	for the purposes of the study. 151
203	203	(b) The task force shall consist of the following members: 152
204	204	(1) Two appointed by the speaker of the House of Representatives, 153
205	205	one of whom shall be a representative of a community or nonprofit 154
206	206	provider of mental health treatment or services; 155
207	207	(2) Two appointed by the president pro tempore of the Senate, one of 156
208	208	whom shall be a mental health care provider; 157
209	209	(3) One appointed by the majority leader of the House of 158
210	210	Representatives; 159
211	211	(4) One appointed by the majority leader of the Senate; 160
212	212	(5) One appointed by the minority leader of the House of 161
213	213	Representatives; 162
214	214	(6) One appointed by the minority leader of the Senate; 163
215	215	(7) The president of the Board of Regents for Higher Education, or the 164
216	216	president's designee; and 165
217	217	(8) The Commissioner of Mental Health and Addiction Services, or 166
218	218	the commissioner's designee. 167
219	219	(c) Any member of the task force appointed under subdivision (1), 168
220	220	(2), (3), (4), (5) or (6) of subsection (b) of this section may be a member 169
221	221	of the General Assembly. 170
222	222	(d) All appointments to the task force shall be made not later than 171
223	223	thirty days after the effective date of this section. Any vacancy shall be 172 Raised Bill No. 303
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229	229	filled by the appointing authority. 173
230	230	(e) The speaker of the House of Representatives and the president pro 174
231	231	tempore of the Senate shall select the chairpersons of the task force from 175
232	232	among the members of the task force. Such chairpersons shall schedule 176
233	233	the first meeting of the task force, which shall be held not later than sixty 177
234	234	days after the effective date of this section. 178
235	235	(f) The administrative staff of the joint standing committees of the 179
236	236	General Assembly having cognizance of matters relating to higher 180
237	237	education and employment advancement and public health shall serve 181
238	238	as administrative staff of the task force. 182
239	239	(g) Not later than January 1, 2020, and annually thereafter until 183
240	240	January 1, 2022, the task force shall submit a report on its findings and 184
241	241	recommendations to the joint standing committees of the General 185
242	242	Assembly having cognizance of matters relating to higher education 186
243	243	and employment advancement and public health, in accordance with 187
244	244	the provisions of section 11-4a of the general statutes. The task force 188
245	245	shall terminate on the date that it submits [such] its last report or 189
246	246	January 1, [2020] 2022, whichever is later. 190
247	247	This act shall take effect as follows and shall amend the following
248	248	sections:
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250	250	Section 1 July 1, 2020 New section
251	251	Sec. 2 July 1, 2020 New section
252	252	Sec. 3 July 1, 2020 New section
253	253	Sec. 4 July 1, 2020 New section
254	254	Sec. 5 July 1, 2020 New section
255	255	Sec. 6 from passage SA 19-14, Sec. 1
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257	257	Statement of Purpose:
258	258	To implement the recommendations of the task force regarding the
259	259	prevention and treatment of mental illness at institutions of higher
260	260	education.
261	261	[Proposed deletions are enclosed in brackets. Proposed additions are indicated by underline, except
262	262	that when the entire text of a bill or resolution or a section of a bill or resolution is new, it is not
263	263	underlined.] Raised Bill No. 303
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