Amended in Senate January 6, 2014

Amended in Senate April 1, 2013

Senate Bill No. 596

Introduced by Senator Yee

February 22, 2013

An act to add Section begin delete 33319.1 to the Education Code end delete begin insert 124174.7 to the Health and Safety Code end insert , relating to pupil health.

LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL’S DIGEST

SB 596, as amended, Yee. begin delete Pupil health: school-based mental health services. end delete begin insert Multitiered interventions pilot program. end insert

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.

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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.

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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.

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Vote: majority. Appropriation: no. Fiscal committee: yes. State-mandated local program: no.

The people of the State of California do enact as follows:

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begin insert SECTION 1. end insert   

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begin insert Section 124174.7 is added to the end insert begin insert Health and
Safety Code end insert begin insert , to read: end insert

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begin insert 124174.7. end insert   

(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.

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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.

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