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HOUSE DOCKET, NO. 3057 FILED ON: 1/20/2023
HOUSE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . No. 1979
The Commonwealth of Massachusetts
_________________
PRESENTED BY:
Marjorie C. Decker
_________________
To the Honorable Senate and House of Representatives of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts in General
Court assembled:
The undersigned legislators and/or citizens respectfully petition for the adoption of the accompanying bill:
An Act establishing a child and adolescent behavioral health implementation coordinating
council.
_______________
PETITION OF:
NAME:DISTRICT/ADDRESS :DATE ADDED:Marjorie C. Decker25th Middlesex1/19/2023David Paul Linsky5th Middlesex3/13/2023Samantha Montaño15th Suffolk3/13/2023Natalie M. Higgins4th Worcester3/14/2023 1 of 5
HOUSE DOCKET, NO. 3057 FILED ON: 1/20/2023
HOUSE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . No. 1979
By Representative Decker of Cambridge, a petition (accompanied by bill, House, No. 1979) of
Marjorie C. Decker relative to establishing a child and adolescent behavioral health
implementation coordinating council. Mental Health, Substance Use and Recovery.
The Commonwealth of Massachusetts
_______________
In the One Hundred and Ninety-Third General Court
(2023-2024)
_______________
An Act establishing a child and adolescent behavioral health implementation coordinating
council.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General Court assembled, and by the authority
of the same, as follows:
1 SECTION 1. Chapter 19 of the General Laws is hereby amended by inserting after
2section 23 the following section:-
3 Section 23A
4 a) For the purposes of this section, the following terms shall have the following
5meanings:
6 “Comprehensive school based behavioral health system”, a collaboration between school
7professionals and community partners to create a positive school climate, foster social and
8emotional development, and promote mental health and wellbeing, while reducing the
9prevalence and severity of mental illness by providing a range of behavioral health promotion,
10prevention and intervention programs and interventions. 2 of 5
11 “Multi-tiered system of supports”, a framework for providing behavioral health
12promotion and prevention programs, services and support for the entire student population and
13providing more acute intervention and support for the students that need them.
14 b) The department shall, in collaboration with the department of elementary and
15secondary education and the Behavioral Health Integrated Resources for Children Project within
16the University of Massachusetts at Boston, establish a child and adolescent behavioral health
17implementation coordinating council, hereinafter referred to as the “council,” within, but not
18subject to control of, the Children’s Behavioral Health Research Center. The council shall advise
19the governor, the general court, the secretary of education and the secretary of health and human
20services, and provide guidance to districts on the implementation of a statewide comprehensive
21behavioral health system utilizing a multi-tiered system of supports framework to provide
22equitable access to behavioral health promotion, prevention, and intervention services and
23supports in each school district.
24 (i) The council shall be comprised of 10 members, who shall serve ex officio: the
25commissioner of mental health or their designee, who shall serve as co-chair; the commissioner
26of elementary and secondary education or their designee, who shall serve as co-chair; and a
27representative of the school behavioral health technical assistance center established pursuant to
28Chapter 6A, Section 16FF. In addition, 1 representative of each of the following shall be
29appointed by the co-chairs: school based behavioral health professionals; school administrators;
30teachers; school nurses; pediatricians; community-based child behavioral health providers; and
31parents and caregivers of students with behavioral health needs. 3 of 5
32 The co-chairs shall make an effort to ensure that to the extent possible the council
33members represent the diversity of children in the commonwealth including race, ethnicity,
34gender and gender identity, sexual orientation and geographic region.
35 (ii) The term for nongovernmental members shall be 3 years. Upon the expiration of a
36term, the co-chairs may appoint the member to an additional term at their discretion, provide
37further that a governmental member who resigns or is not appointed to a new term may serve
38until a successor has been appointed;
39 (iii) the co-chairs may appoint other state agency staff or community members on a
40permanent or ad hoc basis as necessary to fulfill the purpose of the council.
41 (c) Within 6 months of its first meeting, the council shall develop a 3 year statewide plan
42for rapidly implementing a comprehensive school based behavioral system through a multi-tiered
43system of supports framework. The plan should put forth goals and benchmarks for key elements
44of comprehensive school based behavioral system implementation, including workforce
45expansion and retention, access to training and professional development, use of evidence-based
46practices and evaluation, and outcome data specifications to include measures for identifying
47disparities in access for particular subgroups of students. The plan shall also include strategies
48for cross sector engagement and mechanisms for leveraging and coordinating funding and
49resources across agencies and sectors. The council shall update the plan every 3 years, or more
50frequently as needed, to ensure quality, promote use of current best practices, and address issues
51of access including persistent disparities. 4 of 5
52 (d) The council shall assist with the development of guidance documents to support
53schools in operationalizing the comprehensive school based behavioral health statewide plan and
54to broadly inform school behavioral health policy and practice.
55 (e) Annually on or before January 1, the council shall a issue a report of its activities and
56statewide progress toward implementation of comprehensive school based behavioral health
57systems and shall make recommendations for addressing barriers to implementation and for
58addressing persistent disparities in access to to behavioral health services and supports in
59schools, to the governor, the secretary of health and human services, the secretary of education
60and the general court, by filing them with the clerks of the senate and the house of
61representatives, the joint committee on mental health, substance abuse and recovery, the joint
62committee on education and the senate and the house committees on ways and means.
63 (f) Meetings of the council shall comply with chapter 30A, except that the council may
64hold executive sessions. No action of the council shall be taken in an executive session.
65 (g) The members of the council shall not receive a salary or per diem allowance for
66serving as members of the council.
67 SECTION 2: Chapter 71 of the General Laws is hereby amended by inserting after
68section 98 the following section:-
69 Section 99. On or before September 1, 2026, each school district shall implement a
70comprehensive school based behavioral health system within a multi-tiered system of supports
71framework. The department shall collaborate with the department of mental health, the school
72behavioral health technical assistance center established pursuant to Chapter 6A, Section 16FF
73and the school based behavioral health implementation coordinating council to provide guidance 5 of 5
74and technical assistance to inform and assist implementation. Districts shall report annually on
75the status of implementation in a manner and form prescribed by the department of elementary
76and secondary education.
77 SECTION 3
78 Chapter 69 of the Generals Laws is hereby amended by inserting after section 1T the
79following section:-
80 Section 1U. The department of elementary and secondary education shall provide school
81districts with a format and metrics and deadline for annually reporting progress toward
82implementing a comprehensive school based behavioral health system within a multi-tiered
83system of supports framework. Not later than September 1 of each year, the department shall
84provide submitted reports and an aggregate summary of the reports to the school based
85behavioral health implementation coordinating council established in section 23A of chapter 19.