Bill Summary – FastDemocracy

Enrolled Copy                                                                               H.B. 16
            BLOCK GRANT FUNDING FOR PREVENTION PROGRAMS
                                     IN PUBLIC EDUCATION
                                       2023 GENERAL SESSION
                                            STATE OF UTAH
                                 Chief Sponsor: Susan Pulsipher
                                    Senate Sponsor: Ann Millner
 7
 LONG TITLE
 General Description:
        This bill establishes block grant funding for the implementation of comprehensive
 prevention programs in local education agencies.
 Highlighted Provisions:
        This bill:
        < defines terms;
        < establishes block grant funding for the implementation of comprehensive prevention
 programs in local education agencies (LEAs);
        < requires the State Board of Education (State Board) to:
            C     make rules to establish and administer the grant application process; and
            C     provide LEAs with certain resources and support;
        < provides for the allowable uses of the block grant funding;
        < allows LEAs to:
            C     choose to implement a comprehensive prevention plan with block grant funding
 or implement individual prevention plans with existing funding restrictions; and
            C     submit one comprehensive report instead of individually required reports if the
 LEA implements a comprehensive prevention plan;
        < amends existing prevention programs to accommodate the opportunity for block
 grant funding;
        < authorizes the use of certain excess funds in the Underage Drinking and Substance
 Abuse Prevention Program Restricted Account for distribution through block grant
       H.B. 16                                                                     Enrolled Copy
 funding; and
        < makes technical and conforming changes.
 Money Appropriated in this Bill:
        None
 Other Special Clauses:
        This bill provides a special effective date.
        This bill provides a coordination clause.
 Utah Code Sections Affected:
 AMENDS:
        53E-3-522, as enacted by Laws of Utah 2020, Chapter 230
        53F-2-410, as repealed and reenacted by Laws of Utah 2021, Chapter 319
        53F-2-415, as last amended by Laws of Utah 2022, Chapter 409
        53F-9-304, as last amended by Laws of Utah 2022, Chapters 447, 456
        53G-9-702, as last amended by Laws of Utah 2021, Chapter 105
        53G-10-407, as enacted by Laws of Utah 2020, Chapter 161
        59-14-807, as last amended by Laws of Utah 2020, Fifth Special Session, Chapter 20
 ENACTS:
        53F-2-525, Utah Code Annotated 1953
 Utah Code Sections Affected by Coordination Clause:
        53F-2-410, as repealed and reenacted by Laws of Utah 2021, Chapter 319
        53F-2-525, Utah Code Annotated 1953
51
 Be it enacted by the Legislature of the state of Utah:
        Section 1. Section 53E-3-522 is amended to read:
        53E-3-522. Substance abuse prevention in public school programs.
        [The] Except as provided in Section 53F-2-525, the state board shall provide for:
        (1) substance abuse prevention and education;
        (2) substance abuse prevention training for teachers and administrators; and
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      Enrolled Copy                                                                           H.B. 16
        (3) district and school programs to supplement, not supplant, existing local prevention
 efforts in cooperation with local substance abuse authorities.
        Section 2. Section 53F-2-410 is amended to read:
        53F-2-410. Gang prevention and intervention program.
        Subject to legislative appropriations and except as provided in Section 53F-2-525, the
 state board shall distribute money for a gang prevention and intervention program:
        (1) that is designed to help students at risk for gang involvement stay in school; and
        (2) to school districts and charter schools through a request for proposals process.
        Section 3. Section 53F-2-415 is amended to read:
        53F-2-415. Student health and counseling support -- Qualifying personnel --
 Distribution formula -- Rulemaking.
        (1) As used in this section:
        (a) "Qualifying personnel" means a school counselor or other counselor, school
 psychologist or other psychologist, school social worker or other social worker, or school nurse
 who:
        (i) is licensed; and
        (ii) collaborates with educators and a student's parent on:
        (A) early identification and intervention of the student's academic and mental health
 needs; and
        (B) removing barriers to learning and developing skills and behaviors critical for the
 student's academic achievement.
        (b) "Telehealth services" means the same as that term is defined in Section 26-60-102.
        (2) (a) Subject to legislative appropriations, and in accordance with Subsection (2)(b),
 the state board shall distribute money appropriated under this section to LEAs to provide in a
 school targeted school-based mental health support, including clinical services and
 trauma-informed care, through:
        (i) employing qualifying personnel; or
        (ii) entering into contracts for services provided by qualifying personnel, including
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        H.B. 16                                                                       Enrolled Copy
 telehealth services.
        (b) (i) The state board shall, after consulting with LEA governing boards, develop a
 formula to distribute money appropriated under this section to LEAs.
        (ii) The state board shall ensure that the formula described in Subsection (2)(b)(i)
 incentivizes an LEA to provide school-based mental health support in collaboration with the
 local mental health authority of the county in which the LEA is located.
        (3) To qualify for money under this section, an LEA shall submit to the state board a
 plan that includes:
        (a) measurable goals approved by the LEA governing board on improving student
 safety, student engagement, school culture, or academic achievement;
        (b) how the LEA intends to meet the goals described in Subsection (3)(a) through the
 use of the money;
        (c) how the LEA is meeting the requirements related to parent education described in
 Section 53G-9-703; and
        (d) whether the LEA intends to provide school-based mental health support in
 collaboration with the local mental health authority of the county in which the LEA is located.
        (4) The state board shall distribute money appropriated under this section to an LEA
 that qualifies under Subsection (3):
        (a) based on the formula described in Subsection (2)(b); and
        (b) if the state board approves the LEA's plan before April 1, 2020, in an amount of
 money that the LEA equally matches using local money, unrestricted state money, or money
 distributed to the LEA under Section 53G-7-1303.
        (5) An LEA may not use money distributed by the state board under this section to
 supplant federal, state, or local money previously allocated to:
        (a) employ qualifying personnel; or
        (b) enter into contracts for services provided by qualified personnel, including
 telehealth services.
        (6) In accordance with Title 63G, Chapter 3, Utah Administrative Rulemaking Act, the
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        Enrolled Copy                                                                          H.B. 16
 state board shall make rules that establish:
        (a) procedures for submitting a plan for and distributing money under this section;
        (b) the formula the state board will use to distribute money to LEAs described in
 Subsection (2)(b); and
        (c) in accordance with Subsection (7), annual reporting requirements for an LEA that
 receives money under this section.
        (7) An LEA that receives money under this section shall submit an annual report to the
 state board, including:
        (a) progress toward achieving the goals submitted under Subsection (3)(a);
        (b) if the LEA discontinues a qualifying personnel position, the LEA's reason for
 discontinuing the position; and
        (c) how the LEA, in providing school-based mental health support, complies with the
 provisions of Section 53E-9-203.
        (8) Beginning on or before July 1, 2019, the state board shall provide training that
 instructs school personnel on the impact of childhood trauma on student learning, including
 information advising educators against practicing medicine, giving a diagnosis, or providing
 treatment.
        (9) The state board may use up to:
        (a) 2% of an appropriation under this section for costs related to the administration of
 the provisions of this section; and
        (b) $1,500,000 in nonlapsing balances from fiscal year 2022 for the purposes described
 in this section to provide scholarships for up to four years to certain LEA employees, as defined
 by the state board, for education and training to become a school social worker, a school
 psychologist, or other school-based mental health worker.
        (10) Notwithstanding the provisions of this section, money appropriated under this
 section may be used, as determined by the state board, for:
        (a) the SafeUT Crisis Line described in Section 53B-17-1202; or
        (b) (i) youth suicide prevention programs described in Section 53G-9-702[.]; or
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        H.B. 16                                                                        Enrolled Copy
        (ii) a comprehensive prevention plan, as that term is defined in Section 53F-2-525.
        Section 4. Section 53F-2-525 is enacted to read:
        53F-2-525. Block grant funding for prevention programs in public education.
        (1) As used in this section, "comprehensive prevention plan" means an LEA's plan:
        (a) to implement evidence-based early-intervention and prevention practices tailored to
 achieve outcomes and mitigate risk factors in a manner consistent with the following programs:
        (i) substance abuse prevention programs described in Section 53E-3-522;
        (ii) gang prevention and intervention programs described in Section 53F-2-410;
        (iii) youth suicide prevention programs described in Section 53G-9-702; and
        (iv) positive behavior plans described in Section 53G-10-407;
        (b) that includes:
        (i) information on the impact of childhood trauma on student learning, including
 information advising educators against practicing medicine, giving a diagnosis, or providing
 treatment; and
        (ii) resiliency building skills; and
        (c) that an LEA designs in collaboration with the state board, as described in
 Subsection (4)(a)(i), and with input from parents, students, educators, and student support staff
 within the LEA.
        (2) Subject to legislative appropriations, the state board shall distribute block grant
 funding to LEAs for use in accordance with Subsection (5)(b)(iii) to implement a
 comprehensive prevention plan that the state board approves in accordance with Subsection
 (3).
        (3) In accordance with Title 63G, Chapter 3, Utah Administrative Rulemaking Act, the
 state board shall make rules to:
        (a) establish an application process that allows an LEA to:
        (i) articulate the approach and rationale underlying the LEA's comprehensive
 prevention plan;
        (ii) demonstrate the LEA's specific prevention needs;
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        Enrolled Copy                                                                           H.B. 16
         (iii) provide data that supports the substance and cost of the LEA's comprehensive
 prevention plan;
         (iv) outline the ways in which the LEA will use the block grant funding in a united
 prevention effort to achieve the outcomes that the individual programs described in Subsection
 (1) target; and
         (v) identify the specific outcomes described in Subsection (3)(a)(iv) by which the LEA
 will measure the success of the comprehensive prevention plan; and
         (b) establish additional grant application conditions.
         (4) The state board shall:
         (a) (i) provide guidance to each LEA that is preparing a prevention block grant funding
 application on the design and implementation of the LEA's comprehensive prevention program;
         (ii) review each prevention block grant funding application for compliance and
 eligibility; and
         (iii) provide to each LEA that receives block grant funding:
         (A) technical assistance that is tailored to the LEA's specified prevention needs; and
         (B) targeted professional learning opportunities in evidence-based prevention practices;
         (b) evaluate and prioritize block grant funding applications under this section and
 individual funding needs for LEAs that choose to seek out funding for individual prevention
 programs, as described in Subsection (5)(a), as the state board deems necessary to ensure the
 effectiveness of statewide prevention efforts.
         (5) (a) An LEA may seek block grant funding under this section or segregated funding
 for the individual programs described in Subsection (1), based on the LEA governing board's
 determination of specific prevention needs within the LEA.
         (b) Notwithstanding any other provision of law or state board rule, an LEA that
 receives block grant funding under this section:
         (i) shall submit to the state board a report that:
         (A) accounts for the LEA's use of the block grant funding; and
         (B) provides data points, including the measurement of the specified outcomes
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       H.B. 16                                                                         Enrolled Copy
 described in Subsection (3)(a)(v), that demonstrate the effectiveness of the LEA's
 comprehensive prevention plan;
        (ii) is not required to submit to the state board an individual report for each program
 described in Subsection (1); and
        (iii) may use block grant funding to:
        (A) implement the state board-approved comprehensive prevention plan;
        (B) carry out the prevention-focused parent seminars described in Subsection
 53G-9-703(2); and
        (C) other evidence-based prevention practices that the state board authorizes.
        Section 5. Section 53F-9-304 is amended to read:
        53F-9-304. Underage Drinking and Substance Abuse Prevention Program
 Restricted Account.
        (1) As used in this section, "account" means the Underage Drinking and Substance
 Abuse Prevention Program Restricted Account created in this section.
        (2) There is created within the Income Tax Fund a restricted account known as the
 "Underage Drinking and Substance Abuse Prevention Program Restricted Account."
        (3) (a) Before the Department of Alcoholic Beverage Services deposits any portion of
 the markup collected under Section 32B-2-304 into the Liquor Control Fund in accordance
 with Section 32B-2-301, the Department of Alcoholic Beverage Services shall deposit into the
 account:
        (i) for the fiscal year that begins July 1, 2017, $1,750,000; or
        (ii) for each fiscal year that begins on or after July 1, 2018, an amount equal to the
 amount that the Department of Alcoholic Beverage Services deposited into the account during
 the preceding fiscal year increased or decreased by a percentage equal to the percentage
 difference between the Consumer Price Index for the second preceding calendar year and the
 Consumer Price Index for the preceding calendar year.
        (b) For purposes of this Subsection (3), the Department of Alcoholic Beverage
 Services shall calculate the Consumer Price Index in accordance with 26 U.S.C. Secs. 1(f)(4)
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        Enrolled Copy                                                                           H.B. 16
 and 1(f)(5).
        (4) The account shall be funded:
        (a) in accordance with Subsection (3);
        (b) by appropriations made to the account by the Legislature; and
        (c) by interest earned on money in the account.
        (5) (a) [The] Except as provided in Subsection (5)(b), the state board shall use money
 in the account for the Underage Drinking and Substance Abuse Prevention Program described
 in Section 53G-10-406.
        (b) If excess funds remain in the restricted account at the end of a given fiscal year
 after the use described in Subsection (5)(a), the state board may distribute the excess funds in
 the subsequent fiscal year through the block grant funding for public education prevention
 programs described in Section 53F-2-525.
        Section 6. Section 53G-9-702 is amended to read:
        53G-9-702. Youth suicide prevention programs -- State board to develop model
 programs.
        (1) As used in the section:
        (a) "Elementary grades" means:
        (i) kindergarten thr