BILL NUMBER: SB 596 AMENDED
BILL TEXT
AMENDED IN SENATE APRIL 1, 2013
INTRODUCED BY Senator Yee
FEBRUARY 22, 2013
An act to amend Section 12803 of the Government
add Section 33319.1 to the Education Code, relating to
pupil health and human services .
LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST
SB 596, as amended, Yee. California Health and Human
Services Agency. Pupil health: school-based mental
health services.
Existing law establishes a system of public elementary and
secondary schools in this state, and provides for the establishment
of school districts and other local educational agencies to operate
these schools and provide instruction to pupils. Under existing law,
the Superintendent of Public Instruction is required, among his or
her other duties, to serve as the chief executive officer of the
State Department of Education.
This bill would require, to the extent that nonstate funds are
received, the Superintendent to establish a pilot program pursuant to
which the State Department of Education and relevant state and local
partners would assist school districts in their efforts to establish
or enhance mental health services and support for pupils at public
elementary and secondary schoolsites. The bill would specify that
these services may include, but are not necessarily limited to,
screenings, assessments, evaluations, interventions, and treatment.
The bill would specify the primary goals of the pilot program, which
would include the facilitation of the coordination of school staff,
as defined, school districts, county mental health departments, and
community-based organizations in establishing or enhancing
school-based mental health services.
Existing law creates the California Health and Human Services
Agency, which has under its jurisdiction designated departments and
offices.
This bill would make technical, nonsubstantive changes to a
provision related to the California Health and Human Services Agency.
Vote: majority. Appropriation: no. Fiscal committee: no
yes . State-mandated local program: no.
THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
SECTION 1. Section 33319.1 is added to the
Education Code , to read:
33319.1. (a) Subject to subdivision (e), the Superintendent shall
establish a pilot program pursuant to which the State Department of
Education and relevant state and local partners will assist school
districts in their efforts to establish or enhance mental health
services and support for pupils at public elementary and secondary
schoolsites. These services may include, but are not necessarily
limited to, screenings, assessments, evaluations, interventions, and
treatment.
(b) A focus of the program established by this section shall be to
establish mental health services and support at schools that already
have school-based health centers and thus have some existing health
care partnerships and infrastructure on which to build, but that lack
mental health services at those sites. In implementing the program
under this section, the Superintendent shall collaborate with other
education and mental health agencies and organizations, including
those entities that are currently working to promote school-based
mental health services.
(c) The primary goals of the pilot program established by this
section shall be as follows:
(1) To facilitate the coordination of school staff, school
districts, county mental health departments, and community-based
organizations in establishing or enhancing school-based mental health
services that effectively and efficiently provide screenings,
assessments, referrals, and treatment to support the academic
achievement and emotional health of pupils. As used in this section,
"school staff" includes, but is not necessarily limited to, a
teacher, teacher's aide or assistant, school aide, principal, vice
principal, counselor, or mental health professional.
(2) To identify the barriers to providing effective, school-based
mental health services, including services that are culturally and
linguistically appropriate.
(3) To identify and implement best practices that address the
barriers to providing school-based mental health services.
(4) To document the pilot program's outcomes, including the number
of schools that establish mental health services on the schoolsite,
the number of pupils that receive mental health services at those
schools, and the impacts on pupils related to their academic
achievement and emotional health.
(d) It is the intent of the Legislature that the Superintendent
and the State Department of Education continue to explore and
implement, as appropriate, the recommendations from the K-12 Student
Mental Health Policy Workgroup that was convened by the
Superintendent in 2012.
(e) The State Department of Education shall seek nonstate sources
of funding to support the pilot program, to the extent that funding
is necessary, and shall implement this section only to the extent
that those necessary nonstate funds are received.
SECTION 1. Section 12803 of the Government Code
is amended to read:
12803. (a) The California Health and Human Services Agency
includes the following departments: Health Care Services; Mental
Health; Developmental Services; Public Health; Social Services;
Alcohol and Drug Abuse; Aging; Rehabilitation; and Community Services
and Development.
(b) The agency also includes the Office of Statewide Health
Planning and Development and the State Council on Developmental
Disabilities.
(c) The Department of Child Support Services is hereby created
within the agency commencing January 1, 2000, and shall be the single
organizational unit designated as the state's Title IV-D agency with
the responsibility for administering the state plan and providing
services relating to the establishment of paternity or the
establishment, modification, or enforcement of child support
obligations, as required by Section 654 of Title 42 of the United
States Code. State plan functions shall be performed by other
agencies as required by law, by delegation of the department, or by
cooperative agreements.