wa-law.org > bill > 2023-24 > SB 6216 > Original Bill
The legislature recognizes that many children and students struggle with mental health, substance use, and behavioral health challenges that impact their ability to engage in learning and develop pathways to wellness and success. The mental and behavioral health crisis for children and youth in the United States has reached a critical point. The legislature also recognizes that behavioral health and wellness supports for K-12 students in Washington are fragmented, with roles and responsibilities assigned across several local and state agencies. The department of health, the Washington state health care authority, and the office of the superintendent of public instruction all play significant but distinct roles, as do regional educational service districts, local school districts, and community partners. Nonetheless, schools are a natural setting for prevention and early intervention efforts and provide aftercare and ongoing support because they are often a hub of the community where youth reside.
The legislature also recognizes the investments made to support student behavioral health and well-being and that despite those investments, school districts lack the dedicated funding and coordinated supports necessary to deploy comprehensive supports and direct services across the behavioral health continuum for their students.
Therefore, it is the intent of the legislature to create a statewide network for student mental and behavioral health to maintain, expand, and provide oversight to Washington's school-based mental and behavioral health system for children and adolescents across the state.
Subject to the availability of amounts appropriated for this specific purpose, the office of the superintendent of public instruction shall provide state-level coordination to help schools better identify and connect students to behavioral health supports in school and interconnected community settings.
At minimum, the office of the superintendent of public instruction shall, collaborate with the Washington association of educational service districts and other state agencies, including the health care authority, the department of health, and the department of children, youth, and families to:
Develop a framework for coordinated student supports related to behavioral health, including prevention and awareness, student engagement, student access to school-based behavioral health services, and strategic direction and goals for programming around the full continuum of school-based behavioral health services;
Coordinate with training and technical assistance entities that can support local education agencies in designing, funding, and implementing comprehensive student behavioral health supports based on the framework established in (a) of this subsection;
Collect and make available evidence-based practices, including practices aligned with the Washington integrated student supports protocol that support mental and behavioral health services in school districts;
Facilitate student access to mental and behavioral health supports and reduce barriers to school-based behavioral health services;
Deploy student school-based substance use and behavioral health assessment, intervention, and referral activities in alignment to promising and evidence-based practices;
Develop and maintain foundational school substance abuse prevention and intervention resources to address health and well-being impacts of drug use, including education to promote behaviors that positively influence student behavioral health;
Develop a review process for continuous improvement of services and to monitor impact and alignment of statewide efforts related to student behavioral health; and
Support the required activities of the regional school-based mental and behavioral health student assistance program established in section 3 of this act.
Subject to funds appropriated, the office of the superintendent of public instruction shall support and implement elements from the strategic plan developed by the strategic plan advisory group established by section 1, chapter 76, Laws of 2022.
Subject to the availability of amounts appropriated for this specific purpose, the regional school-based mental and behavioral health student assistance program is established. The purpose of the program is to support increased regional deployment of behavioral and mental health supports, including substance abuse prevention and intervention services in communities with limited access to behavioral and mental health services across Washington state. The Washington association of educational service districts shall provide overall coordination of the program across the regions.
At a minimum, each regional program must:
Work in conjunction with the office of the superintendent of public instruction as prescribed in section 2 of this act and permitted under RCW 28A.310.470 to form a statewide network for student mental and behavioral health;
Provide aligned student behavioral health student assistance prevention and intervention services in schools including, but not limited to:
Supporting multidisciplinary school teams for referral coordination;
Conducting screening, referral, and care coordination activities;
Providing individual and group intervention services using evidence-based practices;
Delivering mental health and substance use classroom education inclusive of prevention topics, such as opiates, vaping, and mental health promotion;
Supporting behavioral health awareness campaigns; and
Providing and/or supporting parent and community learning events.
Support school districts in providing direct student screening in both mental health and substance abuse;
Collaborate as necessary and appropriate with regional school safety centers required by RCW 28A.310.510 by sharing information and student assistance resources to ensure alignment of behavioral health supports across the region; and
Educational service districts that are licensed as behavioral health agencies may pilot the integration of telehealth services to support students in need of more focused mental health treatment support.
The Washington association of education service districts shall support the regional programs by:
Establishing consistent criteria for school participation in the program;
Establishing an overall evaluation and reporting of program outcomes from across the regions; and
Coordinating statewide data collection and reporting from the regional programs.
Subject to the availability of amounts appropriated for this specific purpose, the office of the superintendent of public instruction shall establish a grant program to support school districts in developing and implementing a plan for recognition, screening, and response to emotional or behavioral distress in students as required by RCW 28A.320.127.
Grant funds must be prioritized for local education agencies who have not been able to develop a plan for recognition, initial screening, and response to emotional or behavioral distress.
To the greatest extent possible, the office of the superintendent of public instruction shall pair grantees with the state and regional support structures established in sections 2 and 3 of this act to support local education agency planning, connect local education agency staff to effective training and technical assistance, and ensure community-center implementation.
Funds may be used to support training, develop model school safety policies and procedures, and identify and implement best practices in school-based mental and behavioral health.