Bill Summary – FastDemocracy

Enrolled Copy                                                                       H.B. 411
          STUDENT BEHAVIORAL HEALTH SERVICES AMENDMENTS
                                      2023 GENERAL SESSION
                                           STATE OF UTAH
                              Chief Sponsor: Karen M. Peterson
                                   Senate Sponsor: Ann Millner
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 LONG TITLE
 General Description:
        This bill amends provisions for supporting student mental health in schools.
 Highlighted Provisions:
        This bill:
        < defines terms;
        < allows behavioral health support personnel to support school mental health
 professionals;
        < requires the State Board of Education to provide guidance to local education
 agencies for staffing structure and support; and
        < makes technical and conforming changes.
 Money Appropriated in this Bill:
        None
 Other Special Clauses:
        None
 Utah Code Sections Affected:
 AMENDS:
        53F-2-415, as last amended by Laws of Utah 2022, Chapter 409
        53F-5-218, as last amended by Laws of Utah 2022, Chapter 476
26
 Be it enacted by the Legislature of the state of Utah:
        Section 1. Section 53F-2-415 is amended to read:
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        53F-2-415. Student health and counseling support -- Qualifying personnel --
 Distribution formula -- Rulemaking.
        (1) As used in this section:
        (a) "Behavioral health support personnel" means an individual who:
        (i) works under the direct supervision of qualifying personnel to:
        (A) support and track a student's progress and access to and completion of school
 curriculum; and
        (B) support students by prompting, redirecting, encouraging, and reinforcing positive
 behaviors;
        (ii) is not certified or licensed in mental health; and
        (iii) meets the professional qualifications as defined by state board rule;
        [(a)] (b) "Qualifying personnel" means a school counselor or other counselor, a school
 psychologist or other psychologist, a school social worker or other social worker, or a 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)] (c) "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]
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        (ii) employing behavioral health support personnel; or
        [(ii)] (iii) entering into contracts for services provided by qualifying personnel,
 including 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.
        (iii) The state board shall provide guidance for LEAs regarding the training,
 qualifications, roles, and scopes of practice for qualifying personnel and behavioral health
 support personnel that incorporates parent consent and partnership as key components in
 addressing the mental health and behavioral health needs of students.
        (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] climate, 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
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 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;
        (b) employ behavioral health support personnel; or
        [(b)] (c) 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
 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 or a behavioral health
 support personnel position, the LEA's reason for discontinuing the [position] positions; 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
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        Enrolled Copy                                                                          H.B. 411
 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) youth suicide prevention programs described in Section 53G-9-702.
        Section 2. Section 53F-5-218 is amended to read:
        53F-5-218. Grow Your Own Teacher and School Counselor Pipeline Program.
        (1) As used in this section:
        (a) "Paraprofessional" means an individual who:
        (i) works with students in an LEA as a paraprofessional or in a similar teaching
 assistant position; and
        (ii) is not licensed to teach.
        (b) "Program" means the Grow Your Own Teacher and School Counselor Pipeline
 Program that this section creates.
        (c) "School counselor" means an educator who is:
        (i) licensed as a school counselor in accordance with state board rule; and
        (ii) assigned to provide direct and indirect services to students in accordance with a
 school counseling program model that the state board provides.
        (d) "School counselor assistant" means a student who is:
        (i) enrolled in an accredited bachelor's degree program in a related field; and
        (ii) completing the student's practicum experience in a school counseling department
 under the supervision of a licensed school counselor.
        (e) "School counselor intern" means a student who is:
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         (i) enrolled in an accredited school counselor master's degree program; and
         (ii) completing the student's hours of a supervised counseling internship by applying
 appropriate school counseling techniques under the supervision of a licensed school counselor.
         (f) "Teacher" means an educator who has an assignment to teach in a classroom.
         (2) The Grow Your Own Teacher and School Counselor Pipeline Program is a
 competitive grant program created to provide funding to LEAs to award scholarships to
 paraprofessionals, teachers, school counselor assistants, and school counselor interns within the
 LEA for education and training to become licensed teachers or licensed school counselors.
         (3) (a) The state board shall use money appropriated for the program to provide
 funding to LEAs that are awarded grants under the program to award scholarships to eligible
 candidates [whom principals within the LEA nominate, in an amount that the state board
 determines.].
         (b) The state board shall:
         (i) determine the amount of an award an LEA receives under the program; and
         (ii) prioritize the amount of an award an LEA receives based upon an LEA's identified
 need.
         (c) The principal within the participating LEA shall nominate a candidate for the
 scholarship awarded under this section.
         (4) An LEA that participates in the program may select a candidate for a scholarship
 award if:
         (a) the candidate is a resident of the state; and
         (b) (i) for a paraprofessional:
         (A) a school district or a charter school has employed the candidate as a
 paraprofessional for at least one year before entering the program; or
         (B) subject to Subsection (5), the candidate has experience outside of the school
 district, the charter school, or the state that is equivalent to the experience described in
 Subsection [(4)(b) (i)(A);] (4)(b)(i)(A);
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        Enrolled Copy                                                                          H.B. 411
        (ii) for a teacher, the candidate:
        (A) was a paraprofessional who was awarded a scholarship;
        (B) was offered employment as a teacher before the teacher completed the training to
 become a professionally licensed teacher; and
        (C) is working as a teacher for the same LEA where the teacher previously worked as a
 paraprofessional and was awarded the scholarship.
        (iii) for a school counselor assistant, the candidate:
        (A) is enrolled in a bachelor's degree program in a related field; and
        (B) demonstrates a commitment to continue the school counselor assistant's education
 after graduation in school counseling; or
        (iv) for a school counselor intern, the candidate is enrolled in [an accredited] a school
 counselor master's degree program accredited by:
        (A) the Council for Accreditation of Counseling and Related Educational Programs; or
        (B) another regionally recognized accrediting body that meets the state board's
 standards for school counselor education programs.
        (5) The percentage of an LEA's paraprofessional scholarship recipients who are eligible
 for a scholarship using equivalent experience under Subsection (4)(b)(i)(B) may not exceed
 20%.
        (6) A scholarship award under the program may only be used for:
        (a) tuition, books, fees, and certification tests for required coursework and licensure;
        (b) stipends for mentors or school counselor assistants; and
        (c) if the LEA pays 0.15 of a full-time equivalent and all employee benefits, payment
 of a 0.35 full-time equivalent for:
        (i) a paraprofessional, up to one semester of student teaching; or
        (ii) a school counselor assistant or school counselor intern, up to two semesters of
 practicum or internship hours.
        (7) A paraprofessional scholarship recipient must be continuously employed as a
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 paraprofessional by the paraprofessional's LEA while pursuing a degree using scholarship
 money under the program.
        (8) The state board shall make rules in accordance with this section and Title 63G,
 Chapter 3, Utah Administrative Rulemaking Act, to administer the program, including rules
 regarding:
        (a) grant and scholarship application procedures;
        (b) procedures for distributing scholarship money;
        (c) assignment and eligibility of qualified mentors;
        (d) stipends for mentors or school counselor assistants;
        (e) administrative costs for regional education service agencies, as that term is defined
 in Section 53G-4-410; and
        (f) eligibility requirements for potential candidates for scholarships regarding the
 completion of the Free Application for Federal Student Aid and the acceptance of other grants,
 tuition or fee waivers, and scholarships offered to the candidate.
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Statutes affected: 
H.B. 411 2nd Substitute (Not Adopted) Text: 53F-2-415, 53F-5-218
Enrolled: 53F-2-415, 53F-5-218
Introduced: 53F-2-415, 53F-5-218