86R2930 KJE-F
By: Price H.B. No. 1335
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
relating to the establishment of school-based behavioral health
centers by school districts and a grant program administered by the
executive commissioner of the Health and Human Services Commission
for the operation of those centers.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. Chapter 38, Education Code, is amended by adding
Subchapter B-1 to read as follows:
SUBCHAPTER B-1. SCHOOL-BASED BEHAVIORAL HEALTH CENTERS
Sec. 38.081. DEFINITIONS. In this subchapter:
(1) "Behavioral health services" includes mental
health assessments, crisis interventions, counseling, mental
health treatments and referrals to a continuum of mental health
services, including psychiatric care, community support programs,
and inpatient or outpatient care programs.
(2) "Executive commissioner" means the executive
commissioner of the Health and Human Services Commission.
Sec. 38.082. ESTABLISHMENT OF SCHOOL-BASED BEHAVIORAL
HEALTH CENTER. (a) A school district may establish a school-based
behavioral health center to:
(1) provide accessible behavioral health services to
students and their families;
(2) improve the emotional well-being and academic
performance of medically underserved students and their families;
and
(3) integrate behavioral health services in the school
environment.
(b) A school district may combine a school-based behavioral
health center with a school-based health center established under
Subchapter B or any other district program that provides primary
health care services to students.
Sec. 38.083. CENTER REQUIREMENTS. (a) A school-based
behavioral health center must:
(1) be located at or near a school district facility;
(2) be organized with assistance from the community
and relevant health care providers; and
(3) provide behavioral health services during school
hours to students in accordance with:
(A) applicable federal, state, and local laws;
(B) established behavioral health standards; and
(C) community practice.
(b) A school-based behavioral health center must be
administered by an eligible entity. An eligible entity must be a
community-based organization that is:
(1) a school district;
(2) a hospital;
(3) a local health department;
(4) a federally qualified health center, as defined by
42 U.S.C. Section 1396d(l)(2)(B);
(5) a community mental health center, as defined by 42
U.S.C. Section 1395x(ff)(3)(B);
(6) a local mental health authority;
(7) a health care provider whose sole purpose is
providing school-based behavioral health services; or
(8) any other appropriate nonprofit health care agency
or behavioral health care agency.
Sec. 38.084. GRANTS. (a) The executive commissioner shall
administer a program under which grants are awarded to assist
school districts with the costs of operating school-based
behavioral health centers.
(b) To be eligible to receive a grant under this section, a
school district must:
(1) establish or propose to establish a school-based
behavioral health center that meets the requirements under Section
38.083;
(2) provide sufficient information establishing local
need for the behavioral health services provided by or proposed to
be provided by the center;
(3) provide sufficient evidence that:
(A) the center will obtain parental consent
before providing behavioral health services to children;
(B) the district will establish and maintain
relationships with health care providers in the district;
(C) the center will offer:
(i) on-site access during each
instructional day; and
(ii) 24-hour coverage through an on-call
system to ensure year-round access to the center's services;
(D) the center will be integrated into the school
environment and will coordinate behavioral health resources with
district educators and other appropriate support personnel,
including other school-based health care providers; and
(E) the entity administering the center will
assume all responsibility for the administration, operation, and
oversight of the center; and
(4) provide any other information the executive
commissioner determines necessary.
(c) In awarding grants under this section, the executive
commissioner shall give priority to school districts that seek
funding for a school-based behavioral health center that meets at
least two of the following criteria:
(1) the center has already been established;
(2) the center will be established at a campus that
does not currently have a school-based behavioral health center;
(3) the center serves or will serve an area in which
there are barriers to students accessing behavioral health
services; or
(4) the center serves or will serve a campus at which
50 percent or more of the students in daily attendance at the campus
are:
(A) uninsured, underinsured, or enrolled in a
public health insurance program; or
(B) educationally disadvantaged.
(d) The executive commissioner shall determine the amount
of each grant awarded under this section. In determining the amount
of a grant, the executive commissioner shall consider:
(1) the financial need of the school district to
operate the school-based behavioral health center;
(2) other funding provided to the school district for
the operation of the center; and
(3) any other factor the executive commissioner
determines relevant.
(e) A grant awarded under this section may be used only for:
(1) the salaries of health care providers who provide
behavioral health services through the school-based behavioral
health center;
(2) overhead costs of the center; or
(3) costs related to managing the center's programs.
(f) The executive commissioner shall provide to a school
district that receives a grant under this section:
(1) technical assistance;
(2) fiscal and program management assistance and
training;
(3) operational and administrative support; and
(4) information on best practices in offering
behavioral health services through a school-based behavioral
health center.
(g) The executive commissioner shall adopt rules as
necessary to implement this section, including rules regarding the
evaluation and monitoring of school-based behavioral health
centers operated by school districts that receive a grant under
this section.
SECTION 2. This Act applies beginning with the 2019-2020
school year.
SECTION 3. This Act takes effect immediately if it receives
a vote of two-thirds of all the members elected to each house, as
provided by Section 39, Article III, Texas Constitution. If this
Act does not receive the vote necessary for immediate effect, this
Act takes effect September 1, 2019.