2024 24LSO-0501
STATE OF WYOMING
HOUSE BILL NO. HB0119
School finance-mental health service grants.
Sponsored by: Representative(s) Sommers, Allred, Banks,
Berger, Brown, Clouston, Crago, Larson, JT,
Lawley and Newsome and Senator(s) Baldwin and Barlow
A BILL
for
1 AN ACT relating to school finance; creating a program for
2 school districts to assist in providing additional school
3 counselors, school nurses and other mental health service
4 assistance as specified; providing an appropriation;
5 requiring reporting; requiring rulemaking; and providing
6 for an effective date.
7
8 Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Wyoming:
9
10 Section 1.
11
12 (a) For school year 2024-2025 and school year 2025-
13 2026, to augment amounts within the education resource
14 block grant model available to districts to address the
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1 mental health needs of the K-12 student population, a
2 school district may apply to the state department of
3 education for a grant under this section. Grants awarded to
4 school districts under this section shall be used to
5 address the mental health needs of students, including but
6 not limited to hiring or contracting with additional school
7 counselors, school nurses and community or private mental
8 health providers to serve students within school districts
9 that are awarded the grants. Amounts awarded under this
10 section shall be in addition to and shall not be considered
11 in determining the school foundation program amount under
12 the education resource block grant model pursuant to W.S.
13 21-13-309.
14
15 (b) Grants shall be based upon a school district's
16 average daily membership (ADM) at a rate of two hundred six
17 dollars ($206.00) per student and based on the previous
18 school year's ADM. Application for a grant under this
19 section shall be on a form and in a manner specified by
20 rule of the department, shall be filed with the department
21 on or before June 30, 2024 and June 30, 2025 to secure a
22 grant for the immediately succeeding school year, and shall
23 at a minimum include:
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1
2 (i) A proposal documenting the need for
3 additional funds for mental health services and how those
4 funds are to be expended;
5
6 (ii) Other necessary information required by the
7 department.
8
9 (c) Not later than August 1 of each applicable school
10 year and following review of applications submitted under
11 this section, the department shall notify applicant
12 districts of its decision to award or deny a grant
13 application and shall provide each applicant district a
14 written statement of the reasons for approving or denying
15 the application. If an application is approved, the
16 department shall award the grant from amounts made
17 available by legislative appropriation from the public
18 school foundation program account for purposes of this
19 section. For each school year, the department shall
20 distribute awards to those school districts awarded grants
21 under this section in the same proportion and schedule as
22 distributions under W.S. 21-13-313(c).
23
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1 (d) Each district receiving a grant under this
2 section shall report to the department the expenditure of
3 amounts awarded under this section, the number of students
4 that received services as a result of the grant and the
5 impact of the services offered. Each district shall provide
6 other information as required by rule of the department.
7
8 (e) The department of education shall promulgate
9 rules necessary to carry out this section.
10
11 Section 2. Not later than August 1, 2025, and again
12 on August 1, 2026, the department of education shall
13 provide to the joint education interim committee findings
14 and recommendations on the number of students served as a
15 result of the grant program created by section 1 of this
16 act and shall include any recommendations for refinement of
17 components within the education resource block grant model
18 resourcing services.
19
20 Section 3. There is appropriated thirty-seven million
21 dollars ($37,000,000.00) from the public school foundation
22 program account to the department of education for the
23 grant program established by section 1 of this act. This
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1 appropriation shall be for the period beginning July 1,
2 2024 and ending June 30, 2026. To the extent these
3 appropriated funds are insufficient to fund all grant
4 payments awarded under section 1 of this act, the
5 department shall make a pro rata reduction in district
6 grant payments. This appropriation shall not be transferred
7 or expended for any other purpose and any unexpended,
8 unobligated funds remaining from this appropriation shall
9 revert as provided by law on June 30, 2026. It is the
10 intent of the legislature that this appropriation not be
11 included in the standard budget for the department of
12 education for the immediately succeeding fiscal biennium.
13
14 Section 4. This act is effective immediately upon
15 completion of all acts necessary for a bill to become law
16 as provided by Article 4, Section 8 of the Wyoming
17 Constitution.
18
19 (END)
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