Texas 2021 - 87th Regular

Texas House Bill HB1713 Compare Versions

Only one version of the bill is available at this time.

Old	New	Differences
1	1	87R6915 TSS-D
2	2	By: Dominguez H.B. No. 1713
3	3
4	4
5	5	A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
6	6	AN ACT
7	7	relating to the employment of certain mental health professionals
8	8	at a public school campus.
9	9	BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
10	10	SECTION 1. Section 21.003(b), Education Code, is amended to
11	11	read as follows:
12	12	(b) Except as otherwise provided by this subsection, a
13	13	person may not be employed by a school district as an audiologist,
14	14	occupational therapist, physical therapist, physician, nurse,
15	15	school psychologist, associate school psychologist, licensed
16	16	professional counselor, marriage and family therapist, social
17	17	worker, psychiatric or mental health advanced practice nurse,
18	18	chemical dependency counselor, or speech language pathologist
19	19	unless the person is licensed by the state agency that licenses that
20	20	profession and may perform specific services within those
21	21	professions for a school district only if the person holds the
22	22	appropriate credential from the appropriate state agency. As long
23	23	as a person employed by a district before September 1, 2011, to
24	24	perform marriage and family therapy, as defined by Section 502.002,
25	25	Occupations Code, is employed by the same district, the person is
26	26	not required to hold a license as a marriage and family therapist to
27	27	perform marriage and family therapy with that district.
28	28	SECTION 2. Subchapter Z, Chapter 33, Education Code, is
29	29	amended by adding Section 33.911 to read as follows:
30	30	Sec. 33.911. LICENSED MENTAL HEALTH PROFESSIONAL. (a) In
31	31	this section, "mental health professional" has the meaning assigned
32	32	by Section 61.601.
33	33	(b) A school district with 500 or more students in average
34	34	daily attendance shall employ a mental health professional for
35	35	every 500 students in the district.
36	36	(c) A school district with fewer than 500 students in
37	37	average daily attendance shall provide mental health services to
38	38	students by:
39	39	(1) employing a part-time mental health professional;
40	40	(2) employing a part-time teacher licensed as a mental
41	41	health professional; or
42	42	(3) entering into a shared services arrangement
43	43	agreement with one or more school districts to share the services of
44	44	a mental health professional.
45	45	(d) A mental health professional employed by a school
46	46	district is subject to the professional standard of care applicable
47	47	to the mental health professional's licensure.
48	48	(e) A mental health professional may provide services to a
49	49	student only if the school district obtains the written consent of
50	50	the student's parent or guardian or another person having legal
51	51	control of the student on a consent form developed by the district.
52	52	The student's parent or guardian or another person having legal
53	53	control of the student may give consent for a student to receive
54	54	ongoing services or may limit consent to one or more services
55	55	provided on a single occasion.
56	56	(f) The consent form must be in a format that complies with
57	57	all applicable state and federal laws and allows a person to consent
58	58	to one or more categories of services.
59	59	SECTION 3. A school district shall employ or obtain the
60	60	services of a mental health professional, as required by Section
61	61	33.911, Education Code, as added by this Act, as soon as practicable
62	62	after the effective date of this Act.
63	63	SECTION 4. This Act takes effect immediately if it receives
64	64	a vote of two-thirds of all the members elected to each house, as
65	65	provided by Section 39, Article III, Texas Constitution. If this
66	66	Act does not receive the vote necessary for immediate effect, this
67	67	Act takes effect September 1, 2021.