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AN ACT relating to prevention-oriented child abuse awareness. 1
Be it enacted by the General Assembly of the Commonwealth of Kentucky: 2
Section 1. KRS 158.4416 is amended to read as follows: 3
(1) For purposes of this section: 4
(a) "School counselor" means an individual who holds a valid school counselor 5
certificate issued in accordance with the administrative regulations of the 6
Education Professional Standards Board; 7
(b) "School-based mental health services provider" means a licensed or certified 8
school counselor, school psychologist, school social worker, or other qualified 9
mental health professional as defined in KRS 202A.011; and 10
(c) "Trauma-informed approach" means incorporating principles of trauma 11
awareness and trauma-informed practices, as recommended by the federal 12
Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, in a school in 13
order to foster a safe, stable, and understanding learning environment for all 14
students and staff and ensuring that all students are known well by at least one 15
(1) adult in the school setting. 16
(2) The General Assembly recognizes that all schools must provide a place for students 17
to feel safe and supported to learn throughout the school day, and that any trauma a 18
student may have experienced can have a significant impact on the ability of a 19
student to learn. The General Assembly directs all public schools to adopt a trauma-20
informed approach to education in order to better recognize, understand, and 21
address the learning needs of students impacted by trauma and to foster a learning 22
environment where all students, including those who have been traumatized, can be 23
safe, successful, and known well by at least one (1) adult in the school setting. 24
(3) (a) [Beginning July 1, 2021, or ]As funds and qualified personnel become 25
available: 26
1. Each school district and each public charter school shall employ at least 27 UNOFFICIAL COPY 24 RS BR 1578
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one (1) school counselor in each school with the goal of the school 1
counselor spending sixty percent (60%) or more of his or her time 2
providing counseling and related services directly to students; and 3
2. It shall be the goal that each school district and each public charter 4
school shall provide at least one (1) school counselor or school-based 5
mental health services provider who is employed by the school district 6
for every two hundred fifty (250) students, including but not limited to 7
the school counselor required in subparagraph 1. of this paragraph. 8
(b) A school counselor or school-based mental health services provider at each 9
school shall facilitate the creation of a trauma-informed team to identify and 10
assist students whose learning, behavior, and relationships have been 11
impacted by trauma. The trauma-informed team may consist of school 12
administrators, school counselors, school-based mental health services 13
providers, family resource and youth services coordinators, school nurses, and 14
any other school or district personnel. 15
(c) Each school counselor or school-based mental health services provider 16
providing services pursuant to this section, and the trauma-informed team 17
members described in paragraph (b) of this subsection, shall provide training, 18
guidance, and assistance to other administrators, teachers, and staff on: 19
1. Recognizing symptoms of trauma in students; 20
2. Utilizing interventions and strategies to support the learning needs of 21
those students;[ and] 22
3. Incorporating age-appropriate and evidence-based interventions and 23
strategies for child physical, sexual, and emotional abuse and neglect 24
awareness and prevention; and 25
4. Implementing a plan for a trauma-informed approach as described in 26
subsection (5) of this section. 27 UNOFFICIAL COPY 24 RS BR 1578
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(d) 1. School districts may employ or contract for the services of school-based 1
mental health services providers to assist with the development and 2
implementation of a trauma-informed approach and the development of 3
a trauma-informed team pursuant to this subsection and to enhance or 4
expand student mental health support services as funds and qualified 5
personnel become available. 6
2. School-based mental health services providers may provide services 7
through a collaboration between two (2) or more school districts or 8
between school districts and educational cooperatives or any other 9
public or private entities, including but not limited to local or regional 10
mental health day treatment programs. 11
(e) No later than November 1 of[, 2022, and] each [subsequent ]year, the local 12
school district superintendent shall report to the department the number of 13
school-based mental health service providers, the position held, placement in 14
the district, certification or licensure held, the source of funding for each 15
position, a summary of the job duties and work undertaken by each school-16
based mental health service provider, and the approximate percent of time 17
devoted to each duty over the course of the year. 18
(f) The department shall annually compile and maintain a list of school-based 19
mental health service providers by district which shall include the information 20
required in paragraph (e) of this subsection. 21
(g) No later than June 1 of[, 2023, and] each [subsequent ]year, the department 22
shall provide the Interim Joint Committee on Education with the information 23
reported by local school district superintendents and compiled in accordance 24
with paragraph (f) of this subsection. 25
(4) [On or before July 1, 2020, ]The Department of Education shall make available a 26
toolkit that includes guidance, strategies, behavioral interventions, practices, and 27 UNOFFICIAL COPY 24 RS BR 1578
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techniques to assist school districts and public charter schools in developing a 1
trauma-informed approach in schools that includes recommendations regarding 2
age-appropriate and evidence-based standards on child physical, sexual, and 3
emotional abuse and neglect awareness and prevention. 4
(5) [On or before July 1, 2021, ]Each local board of education and board of a public 5
charter school shall develop a plan for implementing a trauma-informed approach 6
in its schools. The plan shall include but not be limited to strategies for: 7
(a) Enhancing trauma awareness throughout the school community; 8
(b) Conducting an assessment of the school climate, including but not limited to 9
inclusiveness and respect for diversity; 10
(c) Enhancing age-appropriate child abuse and neglect awareness throughout 11
the school community and developing evidence-based child abuse and 12
neglect prevention services and programs; 13
(d) Developing trauma-informed discipline policies; 14
(e)[(d)] Collaborating with the Department of Kentucky State Police, the local 15
sheriff, and the local chief of police to create procedures for notification of 16
trauma-exposed students; and 17
(f)[(e)] Providing services and programs designed to reduce the negative impact 18
of trauma, support critical learning, and foster a positive and safe school 19
environment for every student. 20
(6) Beginning in the 2024-2025 school year, the Kentucky Department of Education 21
shall send an annual, electronic notification to each superintendent detailing 22
where the age-appropriate and evidence-based standards on child physical, 23
sexual, and emotional abuse and neglect awareness and prevention can be found 24
within the broader academic standards for health. 25
Section 2. This Act may be cited as Erin's Law. 26