Florida Senate - 2020 SB 1062
By Senator Harrell
25-01519-20 20201062__
1 A bill to be entitled
2 An act relating to involuntary examinations of minors;
3 amending s. 381.0056, F.S.; revising parent and
4 guardian notification requirements that must be met
5 before an involuntary examination of a minor; amending
6 s. 394.463, F.S.; revising data reporting requirements
7 for the Department of Children and Families; amending
8 s. 1001.212, F.S.; revising data reporting
9 requirements for the Office of Safe Schools; amending
10 s. 1002.20, F.S.; revising parent and guardian
11 notification requirements that must be met before
12 conducting an involuntary examination of a minor who
13 is removed from school, school transportation, or a
14 school-sponsored activity; providing an exception;
15 amending s. 1002.33, F.S.; revising parent and
16 guardian notification requirements that must be met
17 before an involuntary examination of a minor who is
18 removed from a charter school, charter school
19 transportation, or a charter school-sponsored
20 activity; providing an exception; amending s. 1006.07,
21 F.S.; creating reporting requirements for schools
22 relating to involuntary examinations of minors;
23 amending s. 1006.12, F.S.; revising training
24 requirements for school safety officers; amending s.
25 1011.62, F.S.; requiring that certain plans include
26 procedures to assist certain mental and behavioral
27 health providers in attempts to verbally de-escalate
28 certain crisis situations before initiating an
29 involuntary examination; requiring the procedures to
30 include certain strategies; creating requirements for
31 memoranda of understanding between schools and local
32 mobile crisis response services; providing an
33 effective date.
34
35 Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:
36
37 Section 1. Paragraph (a) of subsection (4) of section
38 381.0056, Florida Statutes, is amended to read:
39 381.0056 School health services program.—
40 (4)(a) Each county health department shall develop, jointly
41 with the district school board and the local school health
42 advisory committee, a school health services plan. The plan must
43 include, at a minimum, provisions for all of the following:
44 1. Health appraisal;
45 2. Records review;
46 3. Nurse assessment;
47 4. Nutrition assessment;
48 5. A preventive dental program;
49 6. Vision screening;
50 7. Hearing screening;
51 8. Scoliosis screening;
52 9. Growth and development screening;
53 10. Health counseling;
54 11. Referral and followup of suspected or confirmed health
55 problems by the local county health department;
56 12. Meeting emergency health needs in each school;
57 13. County health department personnel to assist school
58 personnel in health education curriculum development;
59 14. Referral of students to appropriate health treatment,
60 in cooperation with the private health community whenever
61 possible;
62 15. Consultation with a student’s parent or guardian
63 regarding the need for health attention by the family physician,
64 dentist, or other specialist when definitive diagnosis or
65 treatment is indicated;
66 16. Maintenance of records on incidents of health problems,
67 corrective measures taken, and such other information as may be
68 needed to plan and evaluate health programs; except, however,
69 that provisions in the plan for maintenance of health records of
70 individual students must be in accordance with s. 1002.22;
71 17. Health information which will be provided by the school
72 health nurses, when necessary, regarding the placement of
73 students in exceptional student programs and the reevaluation at
74 periodic intervals of students placed in such programs;
75 18. Notification to the local nonpublic schools of the
76 school health services program and the opportunity for
77 representatives of the local nonpublic schools to participate in
78 the development of the cooperative health services plan; and
79 19. Immediate Notification to a student’s parent, guardian,
80 or caregiver before if the student is removed from school,
81 school transportation, or a school-sponsored activity to be and
82 taken to a receiving facility for an involuntary examination
83 pursuant to s. 394.463, including and subject to the
84 requirements and exceptions established under ss. 1002.20(3) and
85 1002.33(9), as applicable.
86 Section 2. Subsection (4) of section 394.463, Florida
87 Statutes, is amended to read:
88 394.463 Involuntary examination.—
89 (4) DATA ANALYSIS.—Using data collected under paragraph
90 (2)(a), the department shall, at a minimum, analyze data on both
91 the initiation of involuntary examinations of children and the
92 initiation of involuntary examinations of students who are
93 removed from a school, identify any patterns or trends and cases
94 in which involuntary examinations are repeatedly initiated on
95 the same child or student, study root causes for such patterns,
96 trends, or repeated involuntary examinations, and make
97 recommendations to encourage the use of for encouraging
98 alternatives to eliminate and eliminating inappropriate
99 initiations of such examinations. The department shall submit a
100 report on its findings and recommendations to the Governor, the
101 President of the Senate, and the Speaker of the House of
102 Representatives by November 1 of each odd-numbered odd numbered
103 year.
104 Section 3. Subsection (7) of section 1001.212, Florida
105 Statutes, is amended to read:
106 1001.212 Office of Safe Schools.—There is created in the
107 Department of Education the Office of Safe Schools. The office
108 is fully accountable to the Commissioner of Education. The
109 office shall serve as a central repository for best practices,
110 training standards, and compliance oversight in all matters
111 regarding school safety and security, including prevention
112 efforts, intervention efforts, and emergency preparedness
113 planning. The office shall:
114 (7) Provide data to support the evaluation of mental health
115 services pursuant to s. 1004.44. Such data must include, for
116 each school, the number of involuntary examinations as defined
117 in s. 394.455 which are initiated at the school, on school
118 transportation, or at a school-sponsored activity and the number
119 of children for whom an examination is initiated.
120 Section 4. Paragraph (l) of subsection (3) of section
121 1002.20, Florida Statutes, is amended to read:
122 1002.20 K-12 student and parent rights.—Parents of public
123 school students must receive accurate and timely information
124 regarding their child’s academic progress and must be informed
125 of ways they can help their child to succeed in school. K-12
126 students and their parents are afforded numerous statutory
127 rights including, but not limited to, the following:
128 (3) HEALTH ISSUES.—
129 (l) Notification of involuntary examinations.—
130 1. Except as provided in subparagraph 2., the public school
131 principal or the principal’s designee shall immediately notify
132 the parent of a student before the student who is removed from
133 school, school transportation, or a school-sponsored activity to
134 be and taken to a receiving facility for an involuntary
135 examination pursuant to s. 394.463.
136 2. The principal or the principal’s designee may delay the
137 required notification for no more than 24 hours after the
138 student is removed if:
139 a. The principal or designee deems the delay to be in the
140 student’s best interest and if a report has been submitted to
141 the central abuse hotline, pursuant to s. 39.201, based upon
142 knowledge or suspicion of abuse, abandonment, or neglect; or
143 b. The principal or principal’s designee reasonably
144 believes that such delay is necessary to avoid jeopardizing the
145 health and safety of the student.
146
147 Each district school board shall develop a policy and procedures
148 for notification under this paragraph.
149 Section 5. Paragraph (q) of subsection (9) of section
150 1002.33, Florida Statutes, is amended to read:
151 1002.33 Charter schools.—
152 (9) CHARTER SCHOOL REQUIREMENTS.—
153 (q) The charter school principal or the principal’s
154 designee shall immediately notify the parent of a student before
155 the student who is removed from school, school transportation,
156 or a school-sponsored activity to be and taken to a receiving
157 facility for an involuntary examination pursuant to s. 394.463.
158 The principal or the principal’s designee may delay notification
159 for no more than 24 hours after the student is removed if:
160 1. The principal or designee deems the delay to be in the
161 student’s best interest and if a report has been submitted to
162 the central abuse hotline, pursuant to s. 39.201, based upon
163 knowledge or suspicion of abuse, abandonment, or neglect; or
164 2. The principal or principal’s designee reasonably
165 believes that such delay is necessary to avoid jeopardizing the
166 health and safety of the student.
167
168 Each charter school governing board shall develop a policy and
169 procedures for notification under this paragraph.
170 Section 6. Subsection (10) is added to section 1006.07,
171 Florida Statutes, to read:
172 1006.07 District school board duties relating to student
173 discipline and school safety.—The district school board shall
174 provide for the proper accounting for all students, for the
175 attendance and control of students at school, and for proper
176 attention to health, safety, and other matters relating to the
177 welfare of students, including:
178 (10) REPORTING OF INVOLUNTARY EXAMINATIONS.—Each district
179 school board shall adopt a policy to require the district
180 superintendent to annually report to the department the number
181 of involuntary examinations, as defined in s. 394.463, which are
182 initiated at a school, on school transportation, or at a school
183 sponsored activity.
184 Section 7. Present paragraph (c) of subsection (2) of
185 section 1006.12, Florida Statutes, is redesignated as paragraph
186 (d), and a new paragraph (c) is added to that subsection, to
187 read:
188 1006.12 Safe-school officers at each public school.—For the
189 protection and safety of school personnel, property, students,
190 and visitors, each district school board and school district
191 superintendent shall partner with law enforcement agencies or
192 security agencies to establish or assign one or more safe-school
193 officers at each school facility within the district, including
194 charter schools. A district school board must collaborate with
195 charter school governing boards to facilitate charter school
196 access to all safe-school officer options available under this
197 section. The school district may implement any combination of
198 the options in subsections (1)-(4) to best meet the needs of the
199 school district and charter schools.
200 (2) SCHOOL SAFETY OFFICER.—A school district may commission
201 one or more school safety officers for the protection and safety
202 of school personnel, property, and students within the school
203 district. The district school superintendent may recommend, and
204 the district school board may appoint, one or more school safety
205 officers.
206 (c) School safety officers must complete mental health
207 crisis intervention training using a curriculum developed by a
208 national organization with expertise in mental health crisis
209 intervention. The training shall improve officers’ knowledge and
210 skills as first responders to incidents involving students with
211 emotional disturbance or mental illness, including de-escalation
212 skills to ensure student and officer safety.
213
214 If a district school board, through its adopted policies,
215 procedures, or actions, denies a charter school access to any
216 safe-school officer options pursuant to this section, the school
217 district must assign a school resource officer or school safety
218 officer to the charter school. Under such circumstances, the
219 charter school’s share of the costs of the school resource
220 officer or school safety officer may not exceed the safe school
221 allocation funds provided to the charter school pursuant to s.
222 1011.62(15) and shall be retained by the school district.
223 Section 8. Paragraph (b) of subsection (16) of section
224 1011.62, Florida Statutes, is amended to read:
225 1011.62 Funds for operation of schools.—If the annual
226 allocation from the Florida Education Finance Program to each
227 district for operation of schools is not determined in the
228 annual appropriations act or the substantive bill implementing
229 the annual appropriations act, it shall be determined as
230 follows:
231 (16) MENTAL HEALTH ASSISTANCE ALLOCATION.—The mental health
232 assistance allocation is created to provide funding to assist
233 school districts in establishing or expanding school-based
234 mental health care; train educators and other school staff in
235 detecting and responding to mental health issues; and connect
236 children, youth, and families who may experience behavioral
237 health issues with appropriate services. These funds shall be
238 allocated annually in the General Appropriations Act or other
239 law to each eligible school district. Each school district shall
240 receive a minimum of $100,000, with the remaining balance
241 allocated based on each school district’s proportionate share of
242 the state’s total unweighted full-time equivalent student
243 enrollment. Charter schools that submit a plan separate from the
244 school district are entitled to a proportionate share of
245 district funding. The allocated funds may not supplant funds
246 that are provided for this purpose from other operating funds
247 and may not be used to increase salaries or provide bonuses.
248 School districts are encouraged to maximize third-party health
249 insurance benefits and Medicaid claiming for services, where
250 appropriate.
251 (b) The plans required under paragraph (a) must be focused
252 on a multitiered system of supports to deliver evidence-based
253 mental health care assessment, diagnosis, intervention,
254 treatment, and recovery services to students with one or more
255 mental health or co-occurring substance abuse diagnoses and to
256 students at high risk of such diagnoses. The provision of these
257 services must be coordinated with a student’s primary mental
258 health care provider and with other mental health providers
259 involved in the student’s care. At a minimum, the plans must
260 include the following elements:
261 1. Direct employment of school-based mental health services
262 providers to expand and enhance school-based student services
263 and to reduce the ratio of students to staff in order to better
264 align with nationally recommended ratio models. These providers
265 include, but are not limited to, certified school counselors,
266 school psychologists, school social workers, and other licensed
267 mental health professionals. The plan also must identify
268 strategies to increase the amount of time that school-based
269 student services personnel spend providing direct services to
270 students, which may include the review and revision of district
271 staffing resource allocations based on school or student mental
272 health assistance needs.
273 2. Contracts or interagency agreements with one or more
274 local community behavioral health providers or providers of
275 Community Action Team services to provide a behavioral health
276 staff presence and services at district schools. Services may
277 include, but are not limited to, mental health screenings and
278 assessments, individual counseling, family counseling, group
279 counseling, psychiatric or psychological services, trauma
280 informed care, mobile crisis services, and behavior
281 modification. These behavioral health services may be provided
282 on or off the school campus and may be supplemented by
283 telehealth.
284 3. Policies and procedures, including contracts with
285 service providers, which will ensure that students who are
286 referred to a school-based or community-based mental health
287 service provider for mental health screening for the
288 identification of mental health concerns and ensure that the
289 assessment of students at risk for mental health disorders
290 occurs within 15 days of referral. School-based mental health
291 services must be initiated within 15 days after identification
292 and assessment, and support by community-based mental health
293 service providers for students who are referred for community
294 based mental health services must be initiated within 30 days
295 after the school or district makes a referral.
296 4. Strategies or programs to reduce the likelihood of at
297 risk students developing social, emotional, or behavioral health
298 problems, depression, anxiety disorders, suicidal tendencies, or
299 substance use disorders.
300 5. Strategies to improve the early identification of
301 social, emotional, or behavioral problems or substance use
302 disorders, to improve the provision of early intervention
303 services, and to assist students in dealing with trauma and
304 violence.
305 6. Procedures to assist a mental health services provider
306 or a behavioral health provider as described in subparagraph 1.
307 or subparagraph 2., respectively, or a school resource officer
308 or school safety officer who has completed mental health crisis
309 intervention training in attempting to verbally de-escalate a
310 student’s crisis situation before initiating an involuntary
311 examination pursuant to s. 394.463. Such procedures must include
312 strategies to de-escalate a crisis situation for a student with
313 a developmental disability as that term is defined in s.
314 393.063.
315 7. A memorandum of understanding with a local mobile crisis
316 response service. Policies of the school district and the terms
317 of the memorandum of understanding must require that, in a
318 student crisis situation, school or law enforcement personnel
319 must contact the local mobile crisis response service before
320 initiating an involuntary examination pursuant to s. 394.463.
321 Such contact may be in person or by using telehealth as defined
322 in s. 456.47. School districts shall provide all school resource
323 officers and school safety officers with training on protocols
324 established under the memorandum of understanding developed
325 pursuant to this subparagraph.
326 Section 9. This act shall take effect July 1, 2020.