FL
Florida House Bill H0899

Florida 2022 Regular Session

Florida House Bill H0899 Compare Versions

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1010 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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14+A bill to be entitled 1
1515 An act relating to mental health of students; amending 2
1616 s. 394.463, F.S.; revising data the Department of 3
1717 Children and Families is required to analyze when 4
1818 creating its annual report on the initiation of 5
1919 certain involuntary examinations; amending s. 1002.33 , 6
2020 F.S.; requiring charter schools to be in compliance 7
2121 with laws relating to reporting involuntary 8
2222 examinations; conforming cross -references; amending s. 9
2323 1006.07, F.S.; requiring district school boards to 10
2424 designate a mental health coordinator; providing 11
2525 requirements and duties for mental health 12
2626 coordinators; requiring the Department of Education, 13
2727 by a specified date, to share with the Department of 14
2828 Children and Families data received from school 15
2929 districts relating to involuntary examinations; 16
3030 amending s. 1011.62, F.S.; revising requirements for 17
3131 plans relating to mental health assistance 18
3232 allocations; providing an effective date. 19
3333 20
3434 Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida: 21
3535 22
3636 Section 1. Subsection (4) of section 394.463, Florida 23
3737 Statutes, is amended to read: 24
3838 394.463 Involuntary examination. — 25
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4747 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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5151 (4) DATA ANALYSIS.—Using data collected under paragraph 26
5252 (2)(a) and s. 1006.07(10), the department shall, at a minimum, 27
5353 analyze data on both the initiation of involuntary examinations 28
5454 of children and the initiation of involuntary examinations of 29
5555 students who are removed from a school; identify any patterns or 30
5656 trends and cases in which involuntary examinations are 31
5757 repeatedly initiated on the same child or student; study root 32
5858 causes for such patterns, tr ends, or repeated involuntary 33
5959 examinations; and make recommendations to encourage the use of 34
6060 alternatives to eliminate inappropriate initiations of such 35
6161 examinations. The department shall submit a report on its 36
6262 findings and recommendations to the Governor, the President of 37
6363 the Senate, and the Speaker of the House of Representatives by 38
6464 November 1 of each odd -numbered year. 39
6565 Section 2. Paragraph (b) of subsection (16) of section 40
6666 1002.33, Florida Statutes, is amended to read: 41
6767 1002.33 Charter schools. — 42
6868 (16) EXEMPTION FROM STATUTES. — 43
6969 (b) Additionally, a charter school shall be in compliance 44
7070 with the following statutes: 45
7171 1. Section 286.011, relating to public meetings and 46
7272 records, public inspection, and criminal and civil penalties. 47
7373 2. Chapter 119, rel ating to public records. 48
7474 3. Section 1003.03, relating to the maximum class size, 49
7575 except that the calculation for compliance pursuant to s. 50
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8484 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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8888 1003.03 shall be the average at the school level. 51
8989 4. Section 1012.22(1)(c), relating to compensation and 52
9090 salary schedules. 53
9191 5. Section 1012.33(5), relating to workforce reductions. 54
9292 6. Section 1012.335, relating to contracts with 55
9393 instructional personnel hired on or after July 1, 2011. 56
9494 7. Section 1012.34, relating to the substantive 57
9595 requirements for performance evaluations for instructional 58
9696 personnel and school administrators. 59
9797 8. Section 1006.12, relating to safe -school officers. 60
9898 9. Section 1006.07(7), relating to threat assessment 61
9999 teams. 62
100100 10. Section 1006.07(9), relating to School Environmental 63
101101 Safety Incident Reporting. 64
102102 11. Section 1006.07(10), relating to reporting of 65
103103 involuntary examinations. 66
104104 12. Section 1006.1493, relating to the Florida Safe 67
105105 Schools Assessment Tool. 68
106106 13.12. Section 1006.07(6)(d) 1006.07(6)(c), relating to 69
107107 adopting an active assaila nt response plan. 70
108108 14.13. Section 943.082(4)(b), relating to the mobile 71
109109 suspicious activity reporting tool. 72
110110 15.14. Section 1012.584, relating to youth mental health 73
111111 awareness and assistance training. 74
112112 Section 3. Subsections (6) and (10) of section 1006.07, 75
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121121 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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125125 Florida Statutes, are amended to read: 76
126126 1006.07 District school board duties relating to student 77
127127 discipline and school safety. —The district school board shall 78
128128 provide for the proper accounting for a ll students, for the 79
129129 attendance and control of students at school, and for proper 80
130130 attention to health, safety, and other matters relating to the 81
131131 welfare of students, including: 82
132132 (6) SAFETY AND SECURITY BEST PRACTICES. —Each district 83
133133 school superintendent s hall establish policies and procedures 84
134134 for the prevention of violence on school grounds, including the 85
135135 assessment of and intervention with individuals whose behavior 86
136136 poses a threat to the safety of the school community. 87
137137 (a) School safety specialist. —Each district school 88
138138 superintendent shall designate a school safety specialist for 89
139139 the district. The school safety specialist must be a school 90
140140 administrator employed by the school district or a law 91
141141 enforcement officer employed by the sheriff's office located i n 92
142142 the school district. Any school safety specialist designated 93
143143 from the sheriff's office must first be authorized and approved 94
144144 by the sheriff employing the law enforcement officer. Any school 95
145145 safety specialist designated from the sheriff's office remains 96
146146 the employee of the office for purposes of compensation, 97
147147 insurance, workers' compensation, and other benefits authorized 98
148148 by law for a law enforcement officer employed by the sheriff's 99
149149 office. The sheriff and the school superintendent may determine 100
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158158 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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162162 by agreement the reimbursement for such costs, or may share the 101
163163 costs, associated with employment of the law enforcement officer 102
164164 as a school safety specialist. The school safety specialist must 103
165165 earn a certificate of completion of the school safety specialist 104
166166 training provided by the Office of Safe Schools within 1 year 105
167167 after appointment and is responsible for the supervision and 106
168168 oversight for all school safety and security personnel, 107
169169 policies, and procedures in the school district. The school 108
170170 safety specialist shall : 109
171171 1. Review school district policies and procedures for 110
172172 compliance with state law and rules, including the district's 111
173173 timely and accurate submission of school environmental safety 112
174174 incident reports to the department pursuant to s. 1001.212(8). 113
175175 2. Provide the necessary training and resources to 114
176176 students and school district staff in matters relating to youth 115
177177 mental health awareness and assistance; emergency procedures, 116
178178 including active shooter training; and school safety and 117
179179 security. 118
180180 3. Serve as the sch ool district liaison with local public 119
181181 safety agencies and national, state, and community agencies and 120
182182 organizations in matters of school safety and security. 121
183183 4. In collaboration with the appropriate public safety 122
184184 agencies, as that term is defined in s. 365.171, by October 1 of 123
185185 each year, conduct a school security risk assessment at each 124
186186 public school using the Florida Safe Schools Assessment Tool 125
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195195 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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199199 developed by the Office of Safe Schools pursuant to s. 126
200200 1006.1493. Based on the assessment findings, the distr ict's 127
201201 school safety specialist shall provide recommendations to the 128
202202 district school superintendent and the district school board 129
203203 which identify strategies and activities that the district 130
204204 school board should implement in order to address the findings 131
205205 and improve school safety and security. Each district school 132
206206 board must receive such findings and the school safety 133
207207 specialist's recommendations at a publicly noticed district 134
208208 school board meeting to provide the public an opportunity to 135
209209 hear the district school board members discuss and take action 136
210210 on the findings and recommendations. Each school safety 137
211211 specialist shall report such findings and school board action to 138
212212 the Office of Safe Schools within 30 days after the district 139
213213 school board meeting. 140
214214 (b) Mental health coordinator.—Each district school board 141
215215 shall identify a mental health coordinator for the district. The 142
216216 mental health coordinator shall serve as the district's primary 143
217217 point of contact regarding the district's coordination, 144
218218 communication, and imple mentation of student mental health 145
219219 policies, procedures, responsibilities, and reporting, 146
220220 including: 147
221221 1. Coordinating with the Office of Safe Schools, 148
222222 established pursuant to s. 1001.212. 149
223223 2. Maintaining records and reports regarding student 150
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232232 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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236236 mental health as it relates to school safety and the mental 151
237237 health assistance allocation under s. 1011.62(14). 152
238238 3. Facilitating the implementation of school district 153
239239 policies relating to the respective duties and responsibilities 154
240240 of the school district, the superinte ndent, and district school 155
241241 principals. 156
242242 4. Coordinating with the school safety specialist on the 157
243243 staffing and training of threat assessment teams and 158
244244 facilitating referrals to mental health services, as 159
245245 appropriate, for students and their families. 160
246246 5. Coordinating with the school safety specialist on the 161
247247 training and resources for students and school district staff 162
248248 relating to youth mental health awareness and assistance. 163
249249 6. Reviewing annually the school district's policies and 164
250250 procedures related to st udent mental health for compliance with 165
251251 state law and alignment with current best practices and make 166
252252 recommendations, as needed, for amending such policies and 167
253253 procedures to the superintendent and the district school board. 168
254254 (c)(b) School campus tours. —Each school safety specialist 169
255255 shall coordinate with the appropriate public safety agencies, as 170
256256 defined in s. 365.171, that are designated as first responders 171
257257 to a school's campus to conduct a tour of such campus once every 172
258258 3 years and provide recommendations related to school safety. 173
259259 The recommendations by the public safety agencies must be 174
260260 considered as part of the recommendations by the school safety 175
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269269 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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273273 specialist pursuant to paragraph (a). 176
274274 (d)(c) Active assailant response plans. —Each district 177
275275 school board and charter school governing board must adopt an 178
276276 active assailant response plan. By October 1 of each year, 2019, 179
277277 and annually thereafter, each district school superintendent and 180
278278 charter school principal shall certify that all school personnel 181
279279 have received annual training on the procedures contained in the 182
280280 active assailant response plan for the applicable school 183
281281 district or charter school. 184
282282 (10) REPORTING OF INVOLUNTARY EXAMINATIONS. —Each district 185
283283 school board shall adopt a policy to require the district 186
284284 superintendent to annually report to the department the number 187
285285 of involuntary examinations, as defined in s. 394.455, which are 188
286286 initiated at a school, on school transportation, or at a school -189
287287 sponsored activity. By July 1 of each year, the department shall 190
288288 share such data received from school districts during the 191
289289 previous year with the Department of Children and Families. 192
290290 Section 4. Paragraph (b) of subsection (14) of section 193
291291 1011.62, Florida Statutes, is amended to read: 194
292292 1011.62 Funds for operation of schools. —If the annual 195
293293 allocation from the Florida Education Finance Program to each 196
294294 district for operation of schools is not determined in the 197
295295 annual appropriations act or the substantive bill implementing 198
296296 the annual appropriations act, it shall be determined as 199
297297 follows: 200
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306306 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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310310 (14) MENTAL HEALTH ASSISTANCE ALLOCATION. —The mental 201
311311 health assistance allocation is created to provide funding to 202
312312 assist school districts in establishing or expanding school -203
313313 based mental health care; train educators and other school staff 204
314314 in detecting and responding to mental health issues; and connect 205
315315 children, youth, and families who may experience behavioral 206
316316 health issues with appropriate services. These funds shall be 207
317317 allocated annually in the General Appropriations Act or other 208
318318 law to each eligible school district. Each school district shall 209
319319 receive a minimum of $100,000, with the remaining balance 210
320320 allocated based on each school district's proportionate share of 211
321321 the state's total unweighted full -time equivalent student 212
322322 enrollment. Charter schools that submit a plan separate from the 213
323323 school district are entitled to a proportionate share of 214
324324 district funding. The allocat ed funds may not supplant funds 215
325325 that are provided for this purpose from other operating funds 216
326326 and may not be used to increase salaries or provide bonuses. 217
327327 School districts are encouraged to maximize third -party health 218
328328 insurance benefits and Medicaid claimi ng for services, where 219
329329 appropriate. 220
330330 (b) The plans required under paragraph (a) must be focused 221
331331 on a multitiered system of supports to deliver evidence -based 222
332332 mental health care assessment, diagnosis, intervention, 223
333333 treatment, and recovery services to stude nts with one or more 224
334334 mental health or co-occurring substance abuse diagnoses and to 225
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343343 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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347347 students at high risk of such diagnoses. The provision of these 226
348348 services must be coordinated with a student's primary mental 227
349349 health care provider and with other mental heal th providers 228
350350 involved in the student's care. At a minimum, the plans must 229
351351 include the following elements: 230
352352 1. Direct employment of school -based mental health 231
353353 services providers to expand and enhance school -based student 232
354354 services and to reduce the ratio of students to staff in order 233
355355 to better align with nationally recommended ratio models. These 234
356356 providers include, but are not limited to, certified school 235
357357 counselors, school psychologists, school social workers, and 236
358358 other licensed mental health professionals. The plan also must 237
359359 identify strategies to increase the amount of time that school -238
360360 based student services personnel spend providing direct services 239
361361 to students, which may include the review and revision of 240
362362 district staffing resource allocations based on sc hool or 241
363363 student mental health assistance needs. 242
364364 2. Contracts or interagency agreements with one or more 243
365365 local community behavioral health providers or providers of 244
366366 Community Action Team services to provide a behavioral health 245
367367 staff presence and services at district schools. Services may 246
368368 include, but are not limited to, mental health screenings and 247
369369 assessments, individual counseling, family counseling, group 248
370370 counseling, psychiatric or psychological services, trauma -249
371371 informed care, mobile crisis services, an d behavior 250
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380380 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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384384 modification. These behavioral health services may be provided 251
385385 on or off the school campus and may be supplemented by 252
386386 telehealth. 253
387387 3. Policies and procedures, including contracts with 254
388388 service providers, which will ensure that : 255
389389 a. Students referred to a school-based or community-based 256
390390 mental health service provider for mental health screening for 257
391391 the identification of mental health concerns and students at 258
392392 risk for mental health disorders are assessed within 15 days of 259
393393 referral. School-based mental health services must be initiated 260
394394 within 15 days after identification and assessment, and support 261
395395 by community-based mental health service providers for students 262
396396 who are referred for community -based mental health services must 263
397397 be initiated within 30 d ays after the school or district makes a 264
398398 referral. 265
399399 b. Parents of a student receiving services under this 266
400400 subsection are provided information about other behavioral 267
401401 health services available through the student's school or local 268
402402 community-based behavioral health services providers. A school 269
403403 may meet this requirement by providing information about and 270
404404 Internet addresses for web -based directories or guides for local 271
405405 behavioral health services. 272
406406 c. Individuals living in a household with a student 273
407407 receiving services under this subsection are provided 274
408408 information about behavioral health services available through 275
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417417 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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421421 other delivery systems or payors for which such individuals may 276
422422 qualify, if such services appear to be needed or enhancements in 277
423423 those individuals' be havioral health would contribute to the 278
424424 improved well-being of the student students who are referred to 279
425425 a school-based or community-based mental health service provider 280
426426 for mental health screening for the identification of mental 281
427427 health concerns and ensure that the assessment of students at 282
428428 risk for mental health disorders occurs within 15 days of 283
429429 referral. School-based mental health services must be initiated 284
430430 within 15 days after identification and assessment, and support 285
431431 by community-based mental health s ervice providers for students 286
432432 who are referred for community -based mental health services must 287
433433 be initiated within 30 days after the school or district makes a 288
434434 referral. 289
435435 4. Strategies or programs to reduce the likelihood of at -290
436436 risk students developing so cial, emotional, or behavioral health 291
437437 problems, depression, anxiety disorders, suicidal tendencies, or 292
438438 substance use disorders. 293
439439 5. Strategies to improve the early identification of 294
440440 social, emotional, or behavioral problems or substance use 295
441441 disorders, to improve the provision of early intervention 296
442442 services, and to assist students in dealing with trauma and 297
443443 violence. 298
444444 6. Procedures to assist a mental health services provider 299
445445 or a behavioral health provider as described in subparagraph 1. 300
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454454 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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458458 or subparagraph 2., respectively, or a school resource officer 301
459459 or school safety officer who has completed mental health crisis 302
460460 intervention training in attempting to verbally de -escalate a 303
461461 student's crisis situation before initiating an involuntary 304
462462 examination pursuant to s . 394.463. Such procedures must include 305
463463 strategies to de-escalate a crisis situation for a student with 306
464464 a developmental disability as that term is defined in s. 307
465465 393.063. 308
466466 7. Policies of the school district must require that in a 309
467467 student crisis situation, school or law enforcement personnel 310
468468 must make a reasonable attempt to contact a mental health 311
469469 professional who may initiate an involuntary examination 312
470470 pursuant to s. 394.463, unless the child poses an imminent 313
471471 danger to themselves or others, before initiat ing an involuntary 314
472472 examination pursuant to s. 394.463. Such contact may be in 315
473473 person or using telehealth as defined in s. 456.47. The mental 316
474474 health professional may be available to the school district 317
475475 either by contracts or interagency agreements with the managing 318
476476 entity, one or more local community behavioral health providers, 319
477477 or the local mobile response team or be a direct or contracted 320
478478 school district employee. 321
479479 Section 5. This act shall take effect July 1, 2022. 322