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A bill to be entitled 1
An act relating to telehealth practice standards; 2
amending s. 456.47, F.S.; revising the definition of 3
the term "telehealth"; reenacting ss. 394.455(47) and 4
1011.62(13)(b), F.S., relating to definitions and 5
funds for operation of schools, to incorporate the 6
amendment made to s. 456.47, F.S., in references 7
thereto; providing an effective date. 8
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Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida: 10
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Section 1. Paragraph (a) of subsection (1) of section 12
456.47, Florida Statutes, is amended to read: 13
456.47 Use of telehealth to provide services. — 14
(1) DEFINITIONS.—As used in this section, the term: 15
(a) "Telehealth" means the use of synchronous or 16
asynchronous telecommunications technology by a telehealth 17
provider to provide health care services, including, but not 18
limited to, assessment, diagnosis, consultation, treatment, and 19
monitoring of a patient; transfer of medical data; patient and 20
professional health-related education; public health services; 21
and health administration. The term does not include audio-only 22
telephone calls, e-mail messages, or facsimile transmissions. 23
Section 2. For the purpose of incorporating the amendment 24
made by this act to section 456.47, Florida Statutes, in a 25
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reference thereto, subsection (47) of section 394.455, Florida 26
Statutes, is reenacted to read: 27
394.455 Definitions. —As used in this part, the term: 28
(47) "Telehealth" has the same meaning as provided in s. 29
456.47. 30
Section 3. For the purpose of incorporating the amendment 31
made by this act to section 456.47, Florida Statutes, in a 32
reference thereto, paragraph (b) of subsection (13) of section 33
1011.62, Florida Statutes, is reenacted to read: 34
1011.62 Funds for operation of schools. —If the annual 35
allocation from the Florida Education Finance Program to each 36
district for operation of schools is not determined in the 37
annual appropriations act or the substantive bill implementing 38
the annual appropriations act, it s hall be determined as 39
follows: 40
(13) MENTAL HEALTH ASSISTANCE ALLOCATION. —The mental 41
health assistance allocation is created to provide funding to 42
assist school districts in establishing or expanding school -43
based mental health care; train educators and ot her school staff 44
in detecting and responding to mental health issues; and connect 45
children, youth, and families who may experience behavioral 46
health issues with appropriate services. These funds shall be 47
allocated annually in the General Appropriations Act or other 48
law to each eligible school district. Each school district shall 49
receive a minimum of $100,000, with the remaining balance 50
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allocated based on each school district's proportionate share of 51
the state's total unweighted full -time equivalent student 52
enrollment. Charter schools that submit a plan separate from the 53
school district are entitled to a proportionate share of 54
district funding. The allocated funds may not supplant funds 55
that are provided for this purpose from other operating funds 56
and may not be used to increase salaries or provide bonuses. 57
School districts are encouraged to maximize third -party health 58
insurance benefits and Medicaid claiming for services, where 59
appropriate. 60
(b) The plans required under paragraph (a) must be focused 61
on a multitiered system of supports to deliver evidence -based 62
mental health care assessment, diagnosis, intervention, 63
treatment, and recovery services to students with one or more 64
mental health or co-occurring substance abuse diagnoses and to 65
students at high risk of such diagnoses. The provision of these 66
services must be coordinated with a student's primary mental 67
health care provider and with other mental health providers 68
involved in the student's care. At a minimum, the plans must 69
include the following elements: 70
1. Direct employment of school -based mental health 71
services providers to expand and enhance school -based student 72
services and to reduce the ratio of students to staff in order 73
to better align with nationally recommended ratio models. These 74
providers include, but are not limited to, certified school 75
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counselors, school psychologists, school social workers, and 76
other licensed mental health professionals. The plan also must 77
identify strategies to increase the amount of time that school -78
based student services personnel spend providing direct services 79
to students, which may include the review and revision of 80
district staffing resource allocations based on school or 81
student mental health assistance needs. 82
2. Contracts or interagency agreements with one or more 83
local community behavioral health providers or providers of 84
Community Action Team services to provide a behavioral health 85
staff presence and services at district schools. Services may 86
include, but are not limited to, mental health screenings and 87
assessments, individual counseling, family counseling, group 88
counseling, psychiatric or psychological services, trauma -89
informed care, mobile crisis services, and behavior 90
modification. These behavioral health services may be provided 91
on or off the school campus and may be supplemented by 92
telehealth. 93
3. Policies and procedures, including contracts with 94
service providers, which will ensure that: 95
a. Students referred to a school -based or community-based 96
mental health service provider for mental health screening for 97
the identification of mental health concerns and students at 98
risk for mental health disorders are assessed within 15 days of 99
referral. School-based mental health services must be initiated 100
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within 15 days after identification and assessment, and support 101
by community-based mental health service providers for students 102
who are referred for community -based mental health services must 103
be initiated within 30 days after the school or district makes a 104
referral. 105
b. Parents of a student receiving services under thi s 106
subsection are provided information about other behavioral 107
health services available through the student's school or local 108
community-based behavioral health services providers. A school 109
may meet this requirement by providing information about and 110
Internet addresses for web-based directories or guides for local 111
behavioral health services. 112
c. Individuals living in a household with a student 113
receiving services under this subsection are provided 114
information about behavioral health services available through 115
other delivery systems or payors for which such individuals may 116
qualify, if such services appear to be needed or enhancements in 117
those individuals' behavioral health would contribute to the 118
improved well-being of the student. 119
4. Strategies or programs t o reduce the likelihood of at -120
risk students developing social, emotional, or behavioral health 121
problems, depression, anxiety disorders, suicidal tendencies, or 122
substance use disorders. 123
5. Strategies to improve the early identification of 124
social, emotional, or behavioral problems or substance use 125
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disorders, to improve the provision of early intervention 126
services, and to assist students in dealing with trauma and 127
violence. 128
6. Procedures to assist a mental health services provider 129
or a behavioral health pr ovider as described in subparagraph 1. 130
or subparagraph 2., respectively, or a school resource officer 131
or school safety officer who has completed mental health crisis 132
intervention training in attempting to verbally de -escalate a 133
student's crisis situation b efore initiating an involuntary 134
examination pursuant to s. 394.463. Such procedures must include 135
strategies to de-escalate a crisis situation for a student with 136
a developmental disability as that term is defined in s. 137
393.063. 138
7. Policies of the school d istrict which must require that 139
in a student crisis situation, school or law enforcement 140
personnel must make a reasonable attempt to contact a mental 141
health professional who may initiate an involuntary examination 142
pursuant to s. 394.463, unless the child p oses an imminent 143
danger to themselves or others, before initiating an involuntary 144
examination pursuant to s. 394.463. Such contact may be in 145
person or using telehealth as defined in s. 456.47. The mental 146
health professional may be available to the school d istrict 147
either by contracts or interagency agreements with the managing 148
entity, one or more local community behavioral health providers, 149
or the local mobile response team or be a direct or contracted 150
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school district employee. 151
Section 4. This act shall take effect July 1, 2023. 152