BILL NUMBER: SB 596 AMENDED
BILL TEXT
AMENDED IN SENATE JANUARY 6, 2014
AMENDED IN SENATE APRIL 1, 2013
INTRODUCED BY Senator Yee
FEBRUARY 22, 2013
An act to add Section 33319.1 to the Education Code
124174.7 to the Health and Safety Code ,
relating to pupil health.
LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST
SB 596, as amended, Yee. Pupil health: school-based
mental health services. Multitiered interventions
pilot program.
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.
This bill would require the State Department of Education to
establish a 3-year pilot program to provide multitiered interventions
in 4 schools, as specified. The bill would require the department to
select schools that propose a model approach that provides
preventive, targeted, and intensive interventions that target the
behavioral, emotional, and academic needs of students. The bill would
require the department to provide start-up and evaluation funding to
each school participating in the pilot program and would require the
schools to provide certain information to the department on an
annual basis. The bill would require the department to submit a
report to the Legislature evaluating the success of the pilot program
at the end of the 3-year period.
Vote: majority. Appropriation: no. Fiscal committee: yes.
State-mandated local program: no.
THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
SECTION 1. Section 124174.7 is added to the
Health and Safety Code , to read:
124174.7. (a) The State Department of Education shall establish a
three-year pilot program in accordance with this section to
encourage inclusive practices that leverage cross-system resources
and offer comprehensive, multitiered interventions.
(b) The department shall establish the pilot program in four
schools that volunteer to participate, two in northern California and
two in southern California. The department shall select schools that
propose a model approach that provides preventive, targeted, and
intensive interventions that target the behavioral, emotional, and
academic needs of students. In addition to reflecting the school's
specific culture and needs, a school's model shall include all of the
following:
(1) Formalized collaboration with local mental health agencies to
provide school-based mental health services that are integrated
within a multitiered system of support.
(2) Utilization of a designated percentage of a school district's
existing special education expenditures to provide services within
the school setting.
(3) An initial school climate assessment that includes information
from multiple stakeholders, including school staff, students, and
families that is used to inform the selection of strategies and
interventions that reflect the culture and goals of the school.
(4) A coordination of services team that considers referrals for
services, oversees school-wide efforts, and utilizes data-informed
processes to identify struggling students who require early
interventions.
(5) Whole school strategies that address school climate and
universal student well-being, such as positive behavioral
interventions and supports or the Olweus Bullying Prevention Program,
as well as comprehensive professional development opportunities that
build the capacity of the entire school community to recognize and
respond to the unique social-emotional, behavioral, and academic
needs of students.
(6) Targeted interventions for students with identified
social-emotional, behavioral, and academic needs, such as therapeutic
group interventions, functional behavioral analysis and plan
development, and targeted reading skill groups.
(7) Intensive services, such as wraparound, behavioral
intervention, or one-on-one support, that can serve as school-based
alternatives to a youth's placement in a nonpublic school setting.
(c) The department shall provide start-up and evaluation funding
to each school participating in the pilot program in the following
amounts:
(1) Two hundred fifty thousand dollars ($250,000) in year one.
(2) Two hundred thousand dollars ($200,000) in year two.
(3) One hundred fifty thousand dollars ($150,000) in year three.
(d) (1) Each school participating in the pilot program shall
annually report to the department the following information:
(A) Number of youth referred to the coordination of service team.
(B) Number of youth referred for assessment for diagnosis of
disability.
(C) Number of youth diagnosed with disabilities.
(D) Number of training hours and topics provided for teachers.
(E) Number and type of parent engagement activities.
(F) Number of youth served with targeted intervention.
(G) Number of youth served with intensive interventions.
(H) Annual teacher and school staff surveys assessing the impact
and satisfaction of services.
(I) Annual parent surveys assessing the impact and satisfaction
with services.
(J) Annual student surveys, completed by those participating in
intensive and targeted services, assessing the impact and
satisfaction with services.
(K) Annual school climate assessments, including multiple
stakeholder feedback.
(L) Number of youth referred to alternative school placements,
such as special day classes or nonpublic, nonsectarian schools.
(M) Number of school discipline referrals for the student body as
well as for those with disabilities.
(N) Attendance.
(O) Pre- and post- intervention assessments for students served in
targeted and intensive services using standardized tools appropriate
to targeted needs such as the Child and Adolescent Needs and
Strengths Assessment for social emotional-targeted interventions and
the Developmental Reading Assessment for reading-targeted
interventions.
(P) Progress made through annual Common Core standardized testing.
(Q) Progress made among the student body and specified populations
in the Academic Performance Index, including students with
disabilities, foster youth, low-income students, and students of
ethnicities that experience disproportionate challenges to academic
achievement.
(2) (A) The department shall, in compliance with Section 9795 of
the Government Code, submit a report to the Legislature at the end of
the three-year period evaluating the success of the program and
further recommendations. The department shall make the report
available to the public and shall post it on the department's
Internet Web site.
(B) The requirement to submit a report to the Legislature imposed
under subparagraph (A) is inoperative four years after the report is
due, pursuant to Section 10231.5 of the Government Code.
(e) The Legislature finds and declares that students from all
backgrounds and circumstances in California deserve adequate
behavioral and academic support to achieve their full potential. The
Legislature further finds and declares all of the following:
(1) Students in California face relational and environmental
stressors that diminish their ability to achieve their full
potential. Among these complex challenges may be poverty, frequent
exposure to violence, placement in the foster care system, and other
negative experiences that result in chronic stress and trauma. Nearly
700,000 students in California receive special education services
and nearly one-in-four youth are living in poverty. Nearly 60,000
youth are currently placed in foster care and as many as 20 percent
of youth are in need of mental health interventions.
(2) Students with these stressors are frequently failed by the
current policies and systems in place, as measured by indicators for
academic outcomes, social inclusion, emotional development, mental
health support, and general student well-being.
(A) In California, more than 20 percent of special education
students spend less than 40 percent of their day within their regular
classroom, an indicator of inclusion, compared to 14 percent of
special education students nationally and a federal target of less
than 9 percent.
(B) Only 59 percent of special education students graduated high
school within four years in the 2010-11 fiscal year compared to 76
percent of all students.
(C) Statewide, a recent study found only 58 percent of foster
youth in grade 12 graduated compared to 85 percent of all youth, with
nearly 14 percent of foster youth in grade 12 dropping out of
school.
(D) Far too often, youth with mental health challenges do not
receive the services they need. For instance, one study found that
nearly two-thirds of adolescents who experienced a major depressive
disorder in the last year did not receive treatment.
(E) Even by third grade, low-income students perform substantially
below their higher income peers in areas of social and emotional
skill, social and emotional development, engagement in school, and
physical well-being.
(3) Current funding practices place the financial responsibility
for special education on school districts, failing to adequately
incentivize schools to invest in front-end, preventative measures
that would reduce overall cost of special education.
(4) Delivery of comprehensive, community-based support and
resources requires a high level of collaboration between schools,
school districts, and county mental health agencies.
(5) Inclusive, multitiered systems of behavioral and academic
supports are essential to providing high-quality, cost-effective
special education programs that benefit all students.
(f) It is the intent of the Legislature that upon demonstrated
success of the pilot program, the evaluated models can be adopted by
a large number of schools to increase the efficient and effective
utilization of available community resources in order to promote the
success of all students.
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.