Substitute House Bill No. 5168 establishes a secure process for health care providers to transmit safety plans for minor patients to schools, effective April 1, 2027. The bill defines key terms such as "designated employee," "health care provider," and "safety plan," and mandates that health care providers must review these plans with minors who have undergone at least 12 consecutive days of inpatient behavioral health treatment. Consent from the minor or their legally authorized representative is required before sharing the safety plan, which must be transmitted through a secure messaging system compliant with federal health information regulations. The bill clarifies that it does not impose a standard of care on health providers nor requires them to disclose information that a minor may legally withhold.

Additionally, the bill requires local and regional boards of education to sign up for a secure messaging system account by January 1, 2027, ensuring that designated employees, such as school nurse supervisors, have access to these plans while maintaining confidentiality. The State-wide Health Information Exchange is tasked with providing these accounts at no cost to schools, and the Commissioner of Education must maintain a list of secure messaging addresses for health care providers. The bill also includes provisions for training materials for school employees and mandates that school boards report their secure messaging system addresses to the State Department of Education by April 1, 2027. Notably, the bill repeals certain existing provisions and introduces new requirements to facilitate the secure transmission of safety plans without imposing additional costs on schools.