The Florida Senate
BILL ANALYSIS AND FISCAL IMPACT STATEMENT
(This document is based on the provisions contained in the legislation as of the latest date listed below.)
Prepared By: The Professional Staff of the Committee on Children, Families, and Elder Affairs
BILL: SB 1310
INTRODUCER: Senator Bradley
SUBJECT: Reporting of Student Mental Health Outcomes
DATE: March 24, 2025
ANALYST STAFF DIRECTOR REFERENCE ACTION
1. Rao Tuszynski CF Pre-meeting
2. AHS
3. FP
I. Summary:
SB 1310 requires the Department of Children and Families (DCF) to evaluate the mental health
services and supports provided to students in schools.
The bill requires school district boards, threat management coordinators, and mental health
coordinators to report specified information to the DCF, rather than the Department of
Education. The DCF is required to certify receipt of and compliance with specified requirements
to the DOE.
The bill requires the DCF to create a survey tool for students that utilize mental health services in
schools. The deidentified survey results may be included in the DCF’s annual evaluation of
mental health services and supports.
The bill defines mental health service providers that may train school personnel to provide
mental health services.
Indeterminate negative fiscal impact on government sector. See Section V. Fiscal Impact
Statement.
The bill provides an effective date of July 1, 2025.
REVISED: BILL: SB 1310 Page 2
II. Present Situation:
Mental Health in Schools
Mental illnesses are conditions that affect an individual’s thinking, feeling, mood, and behavior.
1
While many children may not experience mental distress,
2
some children may experience
prolonged mental distress that may affect their ability to connect with their peers, participate in
activities, and affect their day-to-day lives.
3
It is estimated that one in six youth aged 6-17 years
of age experience a mental health disorder annually.
4
Receiving school-based early treatment
from trained mental health professionals may help students manage their mental health and have
positive school outcomes.
5
Department of Children and Families
The Department of Children and Families (DCF) is directed to work in partnership with local
communities to protect the vulnerable, promote strong and economically self-sufficient families,
and advance personal and family recovery and resiliency.
6
The DCF provides services relating to
the following
7
:
• Adult protection.
• Child care regulation.
• Child welfare.
• Domestic violence.
• Economic self-sufficiency.
• Homelessness.
• Mental health.
• Refugees.
• Substance Abuse.
The DCF is required to prepare a state master plan for the delivery and financing of a system of
publicly funded, community-based substance abuse and mental health services throughout the
state. This plan must include strategies for meeting the treatment and support needs of children
and adolescents who have, or are at risk of having, mental, emotional, or substance abuse
problems.
8
1
National Library of Medicine, Mental Disorders, available at: https://medlineplus.gov/mentaldisorders.html (last visited
3/20/25).
2
U.S. Centers for Disease Control, Data and Statistics on Children’s Mental Health, available at:
https://www.cdc.gov/children-mental-health/data-research/index.html (last visited 3/20/25).
3
National Library of Medicine, Mental Disorders, available at: https://medlineplus.gov/mentaldisorders.html (last visited
3/20/25); and National Alliance on Mental Illness, Mental Health in Schools, available at:
https://www.nami.org/Advocacy/Policy-Priorities/Improving-Health/Mental-Health-in-Schools/ (last visited 3/20/25).
4
National Alliance on Mental Illness, Mental Health in Schools, available at: https://www.nami.org/Advocacy/Policy-
Priorities/Improving-Health/Mental-Health-in-Schools/ (last visited 3/20/25).
5
National Alliance on Mental Illness, Mental Health in Schools, available at: https://www.nami.org/Advocacy/Policy-
Priorities/Improving-Health/Mental-Health-in-Schools/ (last visited 3/20/25).
6
Section 20.19, F.S.
7
Section 20.19, F.S.
8
Section 394.75, F.S. BILL: SB 1310 Page 3
State Board of Education
The State Board of Education is the chief implementing and coordinating body of public
education in Florida.
9
It consists of seven members appointed by the Governor and confirmed by
the Senate.
10
The State Board of Education appoints the Commissioner of Education and is the
Executive Director of the Department of Education (DOE).
11
The State Board of Education exercises general supervision over the divisions of the Department
of Education.
12
The divisions of the Department of Education include the following
13
:
• Division of Florida Colleges.
• Division of Public Schools.
• Division of Early Learning.
• Division of Career and Adult Education.
• Division of Vocational Rehabilitation.
• Division of Blind Services.
• Division of Accountability, Research, and Measurement.
• Division of Finance and Operations.
• Office of K-20 Articulation.
• The Office of Independent Education and Parental Choice.
• The Office of Safe Schools.
Office of Safe Schools
The Office of Safe Schools (Office) was codified within the Department of Education in 2018,
after the mass shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida on
February 14, 2018.
14
The mission of the Office is to support school districts in providing a safe
learning environment for students and educators through prevention, intervention, and
emergency preparedness planning.
15
In 2023, the Legislature directed the Office to develop a statewide behavioral threat management
operational process, a Florida-specific behavioral threat assessment instrument, and a threat
management portal.
16
Florida law requires the statewide behavioral threat management
operational process to guide school districts, schools, charter school governing boards, and
charter schools through the threat management process that identifies, assesses, manages, and
monitors potential and real threats to schools. This process must include, but is not limited to the
following
17
:
• The establishment and duties of threat management teams.
9
Section 1001.02, F.S.
10
Section 2, Article IX of the State Constitution.
11
Section 20.15, F.S.
12
Section 1001.02, F.S.
13
Section 20.15(3), F.S.
14
Chapter 2018-3, L.O.F. and Florida Department of Education, Office of Safe Schools: What We Do, available at:
https://www.fldoe.org/safe-schools/what-we-do.stml (last visited 3/20/25).
15
Florida Department of Education, Office of Safe Schools, available at: https://www.fldoe.org/safe-schools/ (last visited
3/20/25).
16
Chapter 2023-18, L.O.F.
17
Section 1001.212(11)(a), F.S. BILL: SB 1310 Page 4
• Defining behavioral risks and threats.
• The use of the Florida-specific behavioral threat assessment instrument developed to evaluate
the behavior of students who may pose a threat to the school, school staff, or other students
and to coordinate intervention and services for such students.
• Upon the availability of the threat management portal, the use, authorized user criteria, and
access specifications of the portal.
• Procedures for the implementation of interventions, school support, and community services.
• Guidelines for appropriate law enforcement intervention.
• Procedures for risk management.
• Procedures for disciplinary actions.
• Mechanisms for continued monitoring of potential and real threats.
• Procedures for referrals to mental health services identified by the school district or charter
school governing board pursuant to the statutory requirement for education and inservice
training for youth mental health awareness and assistance.
• Procedures and requirements necessary for the creation of a threat assessment report, all
corresponding documentation, and any other information required by the Florida-specific
behavioral threat assessment instrument.
Each school district, school, charter school governing board, and charter school are required to
use the statewide behavioral threat management operational process. The Office is required to
provide training on the operational process and coordinate the ongoing development,
implementation, and operation of the operational process.
18
Student Mental Health
Each school district is required to implement a school-based mental health assistance program
that includes training classroom teachers and other school staff in detecting and responding to
mental health issues and connecting children, youth, and families who may experience
behavioral health issues with appropriate services.
19
Generally, school-based mental health services may include mental health screenings and
assessments, and referrals to school-based or community-based providers for interventions,
services, or assistance.
20
These services must be initiated in a timely manner, according to the
following timeline
21
:
• Students referred to a school-based or community-based mental health service provider for
mental health screening for the identification of mental health concerns must be assessed
within 15 days after referral;
• School-based mental health services must be initiated within 15 days after identification and
assessment; and
• Community-based mental health services must be initiated within 30 days of the referral.
18
Section 1001.212(11)(a)2.-4., F.S.
19
Section 1006.041, F.S.
20
Section 1006.041, F.S.
21
Section 1006.041(c), F.S. BILL: SB 1310 Page 5
Mental Health Assistance Allocation
The mental health assistance allocation provides funding to assist school districts in
implementing the required school-based mental health assistance program.
22
Each school district
must receive a minimum of $100,000 annually, with additional funding based on each school
district’s proportionate share of the state’s total unweighted full-time equivalent student
enrollment.
23
To receive the funding, each school district must develop a detailed plan outlining the
components of the mental health assistance program and submit the plan to the district school
board for approval.
24
All district schools, including charter schools, must be included in the plan,
unless a charter school elects to submit a plan independently from the school district.
25
The plan must be focused on a multi-tiered system of supports to deliver evidence-based mental
health care assessment, diagnosis, intervention, treatment, and recovery services to students with
mental health and/or substance abuse diagnoses and to students at high risk of such diagnoses.
26
The provision of these services must be coordinated with a student’s primary mental health care
provider and with other mental health providers involved in the student’s care.
At a minimum, the plan must include the following components
27
:
• Direct employment of school-based mental health services providers to expand and enhance
school-based student services and to reduce the ratio of students to staff. The plan must
identify strategies to increase the amount of time that school-based student services personnel
spend providing direct services to students.
• Contracts or interagency agreements with local community health providers or providers of
Community Action Team services to provide a behavioral health staff presence and services
at district schools.
28
• Policies and procedures, including contracts with service providers, which will ensure that
students who are referred to a school-based or community-based mental health service
provider are timely assessed following referral, and that parents and other members of the
student’s household are provided with information about available community mental health
resources.
• Strategies or programs to reduce the likelihood of at-risk students developing social,
emotional, or behavioral health problems; depression; anxiety disorders; suicidal tendencies;
or substance use disorders.
• Strategies to improve the early identification of social, emotional, or behavioral problems or
substance use disorders; to improve the provision of early intervention services; and to assist
students in dealing with trauma and violence.
22
Section 1011.62, F.S.
23
Section 1011.62(13), F.S.
24
Section 1006.041, F.S.
25
Section 1006.041, F.S.
26
Section 1006.041(2), F.S.
27
Id.
28
Services may include, but are not limited to, mental health screenings and assessments, individual counseling, family
counseling, group counseling, psychiatric or psychological services, trauma-informed care, mobile crisis services, and
behavior modification. These behavioral health services may be provided on or off the school campus and may be
supplemented by telehealth. BILL: SB 1310 Page 6
• Procedures to assist a mental health services provider, a behavioral health provider, or a
school resource officer of school safety officer who has completed mental health crisis
intervention training in attempting to verbally de-escalate a student’s crisis situation before
initiating an involuntary examination.
• School district policies which require that school or law enforcement personnel make a
reasonable attempt to contact a mental health professional who may initiate an involuntary
examination, unless the child poses an imminent danger to themselves or others, before
initiating an involuntary examination.
Each school district is required to submit its approved plans, including approved plans of each
charter school in the district, to the Department of Education by August 1 of each fiscal year.
29
The following chart displays the funding for the Mental Health Assistance Allocation since it
was established in 2018:
Mental Health Assistance Allocation FY 2018-2025
Fiscal Year Funding Amount
2018-2019
30
$69,237,286
2019-2020
31
$75,000,000
2020-2021
32
$100,000,000
2021-2022
33
$120,000,000
2022-2023
34
$140,000,000
2023-2024
35
$160,000,000
2024-2025
36
$180,000,000
Total $844,237,286
District School Boards
Each district school board is responsible for attending to the health, safety, and other matters
relating to the welfare of students in the district’s geographic area.
37
Each district school
superintendent is required to establish policies and procedures for the prevention of violence on
school grounds, including the assessment of and intervention with individuals whose behavior
poses a threat to the safety of the school community.
38
Mental Health Coordinator
29
Section 1006.041(3), F.S.
30
Section 36, ch. 2018-3, L.O.F.
31
Specific Appropriations 6 and 93, s. 2, ch. 2019-115, L.O.F.
32
Specific Appropriations 8 and 92, s. 2, ch. 2020-111, L.O.F.
33
Specific Appropriations 7 and 90, s. 2, ch. 2021-36, L.O.F.
34
Specific Appropriations 5 and 86, s. 2, ch. 2022-156, L.O.F.
35
Specific Appropriations 5 and 80, s. 2, ch. 2023-239, L.O.F.
36
Specific Appropriations 5 and 84, s. 2, ch. 2024-231, L.O.F.
37
Section 1001.42(8), F.S.
38
Section 1006.07(6), F.S. BILL: SB 1310 Page 7
Each school district board is required to identify a mental health coordinator for the district that
shall serve as the district’s primary point of contact regarding the district’s coordination,
communication, and implementation of student mental health policies, procedures,
responsibilities, and reporting, including the following
39
:
• Coordinating with the Office of Safe Schools.
• Maintaining records and reports regarding student mental health as it relates to the mental
health assistance program and school safety.
• Facilitating the implementation of school district policies relating to the respective duties and
responsibilities of the school district, the superintendent, and district school principals.
• Coordinating with the school safety specialist on the staffing and training of threat
management teams and facilitating referrals to mental health services, as appropriate, for
students and their families.
• Coordinating with the school safety specialist on the training and resources for students and
school district staff relating to youth mental health awareness and assistance.
• Reviewing annually the school district’s policies and procedures related to student mental
health for compliance with state law and alignment with current best practices and making
recommendations, as needed, for amending such policies and procedures to the
superintendent and the district school board.
Threat Management Coordinator
Each district school board and charter school governing board is required to establish a threat
management team at each school. Threat management teams are tasked with utilizing resources,
assessment, and intervention services with students whose behavior may pose a threat to the
safety of the school, school staff, or students.
40
The teams are required to inform students,
faculty, and staff how to recognize threatening or aberrant behavior that may represent a threat to
the community, school, or self. Further, threat management teams are required to inform
students, faculty, and staff which members of the school community to whom they can report
threatening behavior.
41
Individuals on the threat management team have expertise in counseling, instruction, school
administration, and law enforcement. Upon a suspected immediate mental health or substance
abuse crisis, threat management teams direct school personnel to engage behavioral health crisis
resources.
42
These behavioral health crisis resources provide emergency intervention and
assessments, make recommendations, and refer the student for appropriate services.
43
Each district school board is required to establish a threat management coordinator who serves as
the primary point of contact regarding the district’s coordination, communication, and
implementation of the threat management program. The threat management coordinator must
report quantitative data from the program to the Office of Safe Schools.
44
39
Section 1006.07(6)(b), F.S.
40
Section 1006.07(7), F.S.
41
Section 1006.07(7)(c), F.S.
42
Section 1006.07(7)(h), F.S.
43
Id.
44
Section 1006.07(7)(j), F.S. BILL: SB 1310 Page 8
Evidence-Based Mental Health Awareness and Assistance Program
In 2018 the Legislature required the Department of Education to establish an evidence-based
youth mental health awareness training program to help school personnel identify and understand
the signs of emotional disturbance, mental illness, and substance use disorders.
45
The DOE was
tasked with providing school personnel with the skills necessary to help a person who is
developing or experiencing an emotional disturbance, mental health, or substance use problem.
46
Every school district has at least one certified youth mental health awareness and assistance
trainer that can train all school personnel within the school district.
47
The training program must include, but is not limited to, the following
48
:
• An overview of mental illnesses and substance use disorders and the need to reduce the
stigma of mental illness.
• Information on the potential risk factors and warning signs of emotional disturbance, mental
illness, or substance use disorders, including, but not limited to, depression, anxiety,
psychosis, eating disorders, and self-injury, as well as common treatments for those
conditions and how to assess those risks.
• Information on how to engage at-risk students with the skills, resources, and knowledge
required to assess the situation, and how to identify and encourage the student to use
appropriate professional help and other support strategies, including, but not limited to, peer,
social, or self-help care.
Each school district is required to notify all school personnel who have received this youth
mental health awareness and assistance training, and the individual to contact if a student needs
services. The term “mental health services” includes, but is not limited to, community mental
health services, health care providers, and services provided by multiple agencies for students
with severe emotional disturbance, and services provided from the mental health assistance
program.
49
Charter Schools
Charter schools are public schools that operate under a performance contract, or a “charter”
between the charter school governing board and the charter school’s sponsor.
50
They are held to
the same evaluation and “grading” standards as traditional public schools and may be closed if
they fail to meet these standards.
51
Further, they are funded through the same funding sources as
traditional public schools. During the 2023-2024 school year, there were over 730 charter
schools in Florida, serving 397,656 students.
52
45
2018-3, L.O.F.
46
Id.
47
Id.
48
Section 1012.584(3), F.S.
49
Section 1012.584(4), F.S.
50
Florida Department of Education, Charter Schools, available at: https://www.fldoe.org/schools/school-choice/charter-
schools/charter-school-faqs.stml (last visited 3/21/25).
51
Id.
52
Florida Department of Education, School Choice, available at: https://www.fldoe.org/schools/school-choice/charter-
schools/ (last visited 3/21/25). BILL: SB 1310 Page 9
III. Effect of Proposed Changes:
Section 1 of the bill creates s. 394.4575, F.S. to require the DCF to evaluate mental health
services and supports provided to students by the statewide behavioral threat management
operational process, the mental health assistance program, and continuing education and
inservice training for youth mental health awareness and assistance. The bill requires the DCF to
provide an evaluation of expenditure plans, program outcome reports and assess the treatment
outcomes and effectiveness of services provided through the mental health assistance program
pursuant to s. 1006.041, F.S.
The bill requires the DCF to evaluate treatment outcomes, system capacity, and performance
utilizing other relevant information currently collected by the DCF. The bill requires school
district threat management coordinators and mental health coordinators to provide information
and reports to the DCF for evaluation and inclusion in the report.
The bill requires this evaluation to be published on the DCF’s website and submitted to the
Governor, the President of the Senate, and the Speaker of the House of Representatives on or
before December 1 each year.
The bill requires the DCF to create a survey tool for students using mental health services and
supports for the purpose of assessing the patient’s experience and self-reported treatment
outcomes. The bill allows students, parents, or legal guardians to complete the survey, and
requires the results of the survey to be deidentified before transmission to the DCF. The bill
allows the DCF to include the survey results in its annual evaluation of mental health services
and supports.
Section 2 of the bill amends s. 1001.212, F.S. to remove the December 1, 2023 date requirement
for the Office of Safe Schools within the Department of Education to develop a statewide
behavioral threat management operational process.
The bill requires the threat management coordinator in the Office to report, in the aggregate,
referrals to mental health services originating from the behavioral threat process or assessment
instrument to the DCF for reporting and evaluation purposes.
Section 3 of the bill amends s. 1006.041, F.S. to require each school district to provide
information relating to student mental health programs, services, and treatments to the DCF for
reporting and evaluation purposes.
The bill makes several changes to the requirements of the plan the school district is required to
develop and submit to the district school board that outlines the district’s mental health services
provided to students. Specifically, the bill:
• Integrates mobile response teams into the plan.
• Clarifies school districts may contract for a behavioral health staff presence and services for
students.
The bill requires each school district to submit its approved plan, including the approved plans of
each charter school in the district to the DCF, rather than the DOE. The bill requires the DCF to BILL: SB 1310 Page 10
certify receipt of and compliance with the required provisions of the plan to the DOE by
September 1 of each fiscal year.
The bill requires each school district to submit to the DCF, rather than the DOE, a report on its
program outcomes and expenditures for the previous fiscal year annually by September 30. The
bill requires the DCF to certify receipt of and compliance with the report to the DOE by October
1 of each fiscal year.
Section 4 of the bill amends s. 1006.07, F.S. to require the mental health coordinator of each
district school board to serve as the district’s and the DCF’s primary point of contact regarding
the district’s coordination, communication, and implementation of student mental health policies,
procedures, responsibilities, and reporting. The bill includes coordination with the DCF in the
requirements of the mental health coordinator. The bill requires this coordination to include the
preparation of evaluation on student mental health programs, services, and treatments and for the
coordinator to assist the DCF in the evaluation of treatment outcomes and the development of a
survey tool.
The bill requires the mental health coordinator to provide the school district’s policies and
procedures related to student mental health service compliance with state law and best practices
to the DCF annually.
The bill requires threat management teams to include persons certified by the evidence-based
youth mental health awareness and assistance training program.
The bill requires the threat management team to provide information relating to treatment
referrals and mental health assessments to the DCF for reporting and evaluation purposes.
The bill includes the DCF as a recipient of quantitative data provided by threat management
coordinators.
Section 5 of the bill amends s. 1012.584, F.S. to define mental health service providers that may
train school personnel in providing mental health services. These service providers shall include,
but are not limited to, certified school counselors, school psychologists, school social workers,
and other licensed mental health professionals.
Section 6 of the bill provides an effective date of July 1, 2025.
IV. Constitutional Issues:
A. Municipality/County Mandates Restrictions:
None.
B. Public Records/Open Meetings Issues:
None. BILL: SB 1310 Page 11
C. Trust Funds Restrictions:
None.
D. State Tax or Fee Increases:
None.
E. Other Constitutional Issues:
None identified.
V. Fiscal Impact Statement:
A. Tax/Fee Issues:
None.
B. Private Sector Impact:
None.
C. Government Sector Impact:
Indeterminate negative fiscal on the Department of Children and Families for workload.
The bill requires the development of a survey and annual evaluation and reporting duties
by the DCF, in collaboration with all school districts in the state.
VI. Technical Deficiencies:
None.
VII. Related Issues:
None.
VIII. Statutes Affected:
This bill amends ss. 1001.212, 1006.041, 1006.07, and 1012.584 of the Florida Statutes.
This bill creates s. 394.4575, Florida Statutes.
IX. Additional Information:
A. Committee Substitute – Statement of Changes:
(Summarizing differences between the Committee Substitute and the prior version of the bill.)
None. BILL: SB 1310 Page 12
B. Amendments:
None.
This Senate Bill Analysis does not reflect the intent or official position of the bill’s introducer or the Florida Senate.