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F L O R I D A H O U S E O F R E P R E S E N T A T I V E S
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An act relating to mental health of students; amending 2
s. 394.463, F.S.; revising data the Department of 3
Children and Families is required to analyze when 4
creating its annual report on the initiation of 5
certain involuntary examinations; amending s. 1002.33, 6
F.S.; requiring charter schools to be in compliance 7
with laws relating to reporting involuntary 8
examinations; conforming cross -references; amending s. 9
1006.07, F.S.; requiring district school boards to 10
designate a mental health coordinator; providing 11
requirements and duties for mental health 12
coordinators; requiring the Department of Education, 13
by a specified date, to share with the Department of 14
Children and Families data received from school 15
districts relating to involuntary examinations; 16
amending s. 1011.62, F.S.; revising requirements for 17
plans relating to mental health assistance 18
allocations; providing an effective date. 19
20
Be It Enacted by the Legisl ature of the State of Florida: 21
22
Section 1. Subsection (4) of section 394.463, Florida 23
Statutes, is amended to read: 24
394.463 Involuntary examination. — 25
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(4) DATA ANALYSIS.—Using data collected under paragraph 26
(2)(a) and s. 1006.07(10), the department shall, at a minimum, 27
analyze data on both the initiation of involuntary examinations 28
of children and the initiation of involuntary examinations of 29
students who are removed from a school; identify any patterns or 30
trends and cases in which involuntary examin ations are 31
repeatedly initiated on the same child or student; study root 32
causes for such patterns, trends, or repeated involuntary 33
examinations; and make recommendations to encourage the use of 34
alternatives to eliminate inappropriate initiations of such 35
examinations. The department shall submit a report on its 36
findings and recommendations to the Governor, the President of 37
the Senate, and the Speaker of the House of Representatives by 38
November 1 of each odd -numbered year. 39
Section 2. Paragraph (b) of subs ection (16) of section 40
1002.33, Florida Statutes, is amended to read: 41
1002.33 Charter schools. — 42
(16) EXEMPTION FROM STATUTES. — 43
(b) Additionally, a charter school shall be in compliance 44
with the following statutes: 45
1. Section 286.011, relating to pu blic meetings and 46
records, public inspection, and criminal and civil penalties. 47
2. Chapter 119, relating to public records. 48
3. Section 1003.03, relating to the maximum class size, 49
except that the calculation for compliance pursuant to s. 50
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1003.03 shall be the average at the school level. 51
4. Section 1012.22(1)(c), relating to compensation and 52
salary schedules. 53
5. Section 1012.33(5), relating to workforce reductions. 54
6. Section 1012.335, relating to contracts with 55
instructional personnel hired on or after July 1, 2011. 56
7. Section 1012.34, relating to the substantive 57
requirements for performance evaluations for instructional 58
personnel and school administrators. 59
8. Section 1006.12, relating to safe -school officers. 60
9. Section 1006.07(7), relating to threat assessment 61
teams. 62
10. Section 1006.07(9), relating to School Environmental 63
Safety Incident Reporting. 64
11. Section 1006.07(10), relating to reporting of 65
involuntary examinations. 66
12. Section 1006.1493, relating to the Florida Safe 67
Schools Assessment Tool. 68
13.12. Section 1006.07(6)(d) 1006.07(6)(c), relating to 69
adopting an active assailant response plan. 70
14.13. Section 943.082(4)(b), relating to the mobile 71
suspicious activity reporting tool. 72
15.14. Section 1012.584, relating to youth men tal health 73
awareness and assistance training. 74
Section 3. Subsections (6) and (10) of section 1006.07, 75
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Florida Statutes, are amended to read: 76
1006.07 District school board duties relating to student 77
discipline and school safety. —The district school board shall 78
provide for the proper accounting for all students, for the 79
attendance and control of students at school, and for proper 80
attention to health, safety, and other matters relating to the 81
welfare of students, including: 82
(6) SAFETY AND SECURITY BEST PRACTICES. —Each district 83
school superintendent shall establish policies and procedures 84
for the prevention of violence on school grounds, including the 85
assessment of and intervention with individuals whos e behavior 86
poses a threat to the safety of the school community. 87
(a) School safety specialist. —Each district school 88
superintendent shall designate a school safety specialist for 89
the district. The school safety specialist must be a school 90
administrator employed by the school district or a law 91
enforcement officer employed by the sheriff's office located in 92
the school district. Any school safety specialist designated 93
from the sheriff's office must first be authorized and approved 94
by the sheriff employing the law enforcement officer. Any school 95
safety specialist designated from the sheriff's office remains 96
the employee of the office for purposes of compensation, 97
insurance, workers' compensation, and other benefits authorized 98
by law for a law enforcement office r employed by the sheriff's 99
office. The sheriff and the school superintendent may determine 100
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by agreement the reimbursement for such costs, or may share the 101
costs, associated with employment of the law enforcement officer 102
as a school safety specialist. The school safety specialist must 103
earn a certificate of completion of the school safety specialist 104
training provided by the Office of Safe Schools within 1 year 105
after appointment and is responsible for the supervision and 106
oversight for all school safety and se curity personnel, 107
policies, and procedures in the school district. The school 108
safety specialist shall: 109
1. Review school district policies and procedures for 110
compliance with state law and rules, including the district's 111
timely and accurate submission of s chool environmental safety 112
incident reports to the department pursuant to s. 1001.212(8). 113
2. Provide the necessary training and resources to 114
students and school district staff in matters relating to youth 115
mental health awareness and assistance; emergency procedures, 116
including active shooter training; and school safety and 117
security. 118
3. Serve as the school district liaison with local public 119
safety agencies and national, state, and community agencies and 120
organizations in matters of school safety and securi ty. 121
4. In collaboration with the appropriate public safety 122
agencies, as that term is defined in s. 365.171, by October 1 of 123
each year, conduct a school security risk assessment at each 124
public school using the Florida Safe Schools Assessment Tool 125
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developed by the Office of Safe Schools pursuant to s. 126
1006.1493. Based on the assessment findings, the district's 127
school safety specialist shall provide recommendations to the 128
district school superintendent and the district school board 129
which identify strategies and activities that the district 130
school board should implement in order to address the findings 131
and improve school safety and security. Each district school 132
board must receive such findings and the school safety 133
specialist's recommendations at a publicly n oticed district 134
school board meeting to provide the public an opportunity to 135
hear the district school board members discuss and take action 136
on the findings and recommendations. Each school safety 137
specialist shall report such findings and school board actio n to 138
the Office of Safe Schools within 30 days after the district 139
school board meeting. 140
(b) Mental health coordinator. —Each district school board 141
shall identify a mental health coordinator for the district. The 142
mental health coordinator shall serve as th e district's primary 143
point of contact regarding the district's coordination, 144
communication, and implementation of student mental health 145
policies, procedures, responsibilities, and reporting, 146
including: 147
1. Coordinating with the Office of Safe Schools, 148
established pursuant to s. 1001.212. 149
2. Maintaining records and reports regarding student 150
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mental health as it relates to school safety and the mental 151
health assistance allocation under s. 1011.62(14). 152
3. Facilitating the implementation of school district 153
policies relating to the respective duties and responsibilities 154
of the school district, the superintendent, and district school 155
principals. 156
4. Coordinating with the school safety specialist on the 157
staffing and training of threat assessment teams and 158
facilitating referrals to mental health services, as 159
appropriate, for students and their families. 160
5. Coordinating with the school safety specialist on the 161
training and resources for students and school district staff 162
relating to youth mental health awarenes s and assistance. 163
6. Reviewing annually the school district's policies and 164
procedures related to student mental health for compliance with 165
state law and alignment with current best practices and make 166
recommendations, as needed, for amending such policies and 167
procedures to the superintendent and the district school board. 168
(c)(b) School campus tours. —Each school safety specialist 169
shall coordinate with the appropriate public safety agencies, as 170
defined in s. 365.171, that are designated as first responders 171
to a school's campus to conduct a tour of such campus once every 172
3 years and provide recommendations related to school safety. 173
The recommendations by the public safety agencies must be 174
considered as part of the recommendations by the school safety 175
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specialist pursuant to paragraph (a). 176
(d)(c) Active assailant response plans. —Each district 177
school board and charter school governing board must adopt an 178
active assailant response plan. By October 1 of each year, 2019, 179
and annually thereafter, each district school superintendent and 180
charter school principal shall certify that all school personnel 181
have received annual training on the procedures contained in the 182
active assailant response plan for the applicable school 183
district or charter school. 184
(10) REPORTING OF INVOLUNTARY EXAMINATIONS. —Each district 185
school board shall adopt a policy to require the district 186
superintendent to annually report to the department the number 187
of involuntary examinations, as defined in s. 394.455, which are 188
initiated at a school, on school transportation, or at a school -189
sponsored activity. By July 1 of each year, the department shall 190
share such data received from school districts during the 191
previous year with the Department of Children and Families. 192
Section 4. Paragraph (b) of subsection (14) of section 193
1011.62, Florida Statutes, is amended to read: 194
1011.62 Funds for operation of schools. —If the annual 195
allocation from the Florida Education Finance Program to each 196
district for operation of schools is not determined in the 197
annual appropriations act or the substantive bill implementing 198
the annual appropriations act, it shall be determined as 199
follows: 200
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(14) MENTAL HEALTH ASSISTANCE ALLOCATION. —The mental 201
health assistance allocation is created to provide funding to 202
assist school districts in establishing or expanding school -203
based mental health care; train educators and other school staff 204
in detecting and responding to mental health issues; and connect 205
children, youth, and families who may experience behavioral 206
health issues with appropriate services. These funds shall be 207
allocated annually in the General Appropriations Act or other 208
law to each eligible school district. Each school district shall 209
receive a minimum of $100,000, with the remaining balance 210
allocated based on each school district's proportionate share of 211
the state's total unweighted full -time equivalent student 212
enrollment. Charter schools that submit a plan separate from the 213
school district are entitled to a proportionate share of 214
district funding. The allocat ed funds may not supplant funds 215
that are provided for this purpose from other operating funds 216
and may not be used to increase salaries or provide bonuses. 217
School districts are encouraged to maximize third -party health 218
insurance benefits and Medicaid claimi ng for services, where 219
appropriate. 220
(b) The plans required under paragraph (a) must be focused 221
on a multitiered system of supports to deliver evidence -based 222
mental health care assessment, diagnosis, intervention, 223
treatment, and recovery services to stude nts with one or more 224
mental health or co-occurring substance abuse diagnoses and to 225
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students at high risk of such diagnoses. The provision of these 226
services must be coordinated with a student's primary mental 227
health care provider and with other mental heal th providers 228
involved in the student's care. At a minimum, the plans must 229
include the following elements: 230
1. Direct employment of school -based mental health 231
services providers to expand and enhance school -based student 232
services and to reduce the ratio of students to staff in order 233
to better align with nationally recommended ratio models. These 234
providers include, but are not limited to, certified school 235
counselors, school psychologists, school social workers, and 236
other licensed mental health professionals. The plan also must 237
identify strategies to increase the amount of time that school -238
based student services personnel spend providing direct services 239
to students, which may include the review and revision of 240
district staffing resource allocations based on sc hool or 241
student mental health assistance needs. 242
2. Contracts or interagency agreements with one or more 243
local community behavioral health providers or providers of 244
Community Action Team services to provide a behavioral health 245
staff presence and services at district schools. Services may 246
include, but are not limited to, mental health screenings and 247
assessments, individual counseling, family counseling, group 248
counseling, psychiatric or psychological services, trauma -249
informed care, mobile crisis services, an d behavior 250
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modification. These behavioral health services may be provided 251
on or off the school campus and may be supplemented by 252
telehealth. 253
3. Policies and procedures, including contracts with 254
service providers, which will ensure that : 255
a. Students referred to a school-based or community-based 256
mental health service provider for mental health screening for 257
the identification of mental health concerns and students at 258
risk for mental health disorders are assessed within 15 days of 259
referral. School-based mental health services must be initiated 260
within 15 days after identification and assessment, and support 261
by community-based mental health service providers for students 262
who are referred for community -based mental health services must 263
be initiated within 30 d ays after the school or district makes a 264
referral. 265
b. Parents of a student receiving services under this 266
subsection are provided information about other behavioral 267
health services available through the student's school or local 268
community-based behavioral health services providers. A school 269
may meet this requirement by providing information about and 270
Internet addresses for web -based directories or guides for local 271
behavioral health services. 272
c. Individuals living in a household with a student 273
receiving services under this subsection are provided 274
information about behavioral health services available through 275
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other delivery systems or payors for which such individuals may 276
qualify, if such services appear to be needed or enhancements in 277
those individuals' be havioral health would contribute to the 278
improved well-being of the student students who are referred to 279
a school-based or community-based mental health service provider 280
for mental health screening for the identification of mental 281
health concerns and ensure that the assessment of students at 282
risk for mental health disorders occurs within 15 days of 283
referral. School-based mental health services must be initiated 284
within 15 days after identification and assessment, and support 285
by community-based mental health s ervice providers for students 286
who are referred for community -based mental health services must 287
be initiated within 30 days after the school or district makes a 288
referral. 289
4. Strategies or programs to reduce the likelihood of at -290
risk students developing so cial, emotional, or behavioral health 291
problems, depression, anxiety disorders, suicidal tendencies, or 292
substance use disorders. 293
5. Strategies to improve the early identification of 294
social, emotional, or behavioral problems or substance use 295
disorders, to improve the provision of early intervention 296
services, and to assist students in dealing with trauma and 297
violence. 298
6. Procedures to assist a mental health services provider 299
or a behavioral health provider as described in subparagraph 1. 300
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or subparagraph 2., respectively, or a school resource officer 301
or school safety officer who has completed mental health crisis 302
intervention training in attempting to verbally de -escalate a 303
student's crisis situation before initiating an involuntary 304
examination pursuant to s . 394.463. Such procedures must include 305
strategies to de-escalate a crisis situation for a student with 306
a developmental disability as that term is defined in s. 307
393.063. 308
7. Policies of the school district must require that in a 309
student crisis situation, school or law enforcement personnel 310
must make a reasonable attempt to contact a mental health 311
professional who may initiate an involuntary examination 312
pursuant to s. 394.463, unless the child poses an imminent 313
danger to themselves or others, before initiat ing an involuntary 314
examination pursuant to s. 394.463. Such contact may be in 315
person or using telehealth as defined in s. 456.47. The mental 316
health professional may be available to the school district 317
either by contracts or interagency agreements with the managing 318
entity, one or more local community behavioral health providers, 319
or the local mobile response team or be a direct or contracted 320
school district employee. 321
Section 5. This act shall take effect July 1, 2022. 322