CS for SB 590                                    First Engrossed
       
       
       
       
       
       
       
       
       2021590e1
       
    1                        A bill to be entitled                      
    2         An act relating to school safety; amending s.
    3         381.0056, F.S.; revising parent, guardian, or
    4         caregiver notification requirements that must be met
    5         before an involuntary examination of a minor; defining
    6         the term “a reasonable attempt to notify”; requiring a
    7         principal or his or her designee who successfully
    8         notifies any known emergency contact to share only the
    9         information necessary to alert such contact that the
   10         parent or caregiver must be contacted; requiring all
   11         such information to be in compliance with federal and
   12         state law; amending s. 394.463, F.S.; revising data
   13         reporting requirements for the Department of Children
   14         and Families; amending s. 1001.212, F.S.; revising
   15         data reporting requirements for the Office of Safe
   16         Schools; amending s. 1002.20, F.S.; revising parent
   17         notification requirements; providing an exception;
   18         defining the term “a reasonable attempt to notify”;
   19         requiring a principal or his or her designee who
   20         successfully notifies any known emergency contact to
   21         share only the information necessary to alert such
   22         contact that the parent or caregiver must be
   23         contacted; requiring all such information to be in
   24         compliance with federal and state law; providing that
   25         parents of public school students have a right to
   26         access school safety and discipline incidents as
   27         reported; amending s. 1002.33, F.S.; revising parent
   28         notification requirements; defining the term “a
   29         reasonable attempt to notify”; requiring a principal
   30         or his or her designee who successfully notifies any
   31         known emergency contact to share only the information
   32         necessary to alert such contact that the parent or
   33         caregiver must be contacted; requiring all such
   34         information to be in compliance with federal and state
   35         law; providing an exception; providing that parents of
   36         charter school students have a right to access school
   37         safety and discipline incidents as reported; amending
   38         s. 1006.07, F.S.; requiring codes of student conduct
   39         to include provisions relating to civil citation or
   40         similar prearrest diversion programs for specified
   41         purposes; requiring codes of student conduct to
   42         include provisions relating to the assignment of
   43         students to school-based intervention programs;
   44         prohibiting participation in such programs from being
   45         entered into a specified system under certain
   46         circumstances; authorizing certain procedures to
   47         include accommodations for specified drills; requiring
   48         district school boards to establish certain emergency
   49         response and emergency preparedness policies and
   50         procedures and provide timely notification to parents
   51         following certain unlawful acts or significant
   52         emergencies; creating reporting requirements for
   53         schools relating to involuntary examinations of
   54         minors; amending s. 1006.12, F.S.; revising training
   55         requirements for school safety officers; amending s.
   56         1008.386, F.S.; requiring that student identification
   57         cards issued to certain students by public schools
   58         include specified telephone numbers; amending s.
   59         1011.62, F.S.; requiring that certain plans include
   60         procedures to assist certain mental and behavioral
   61         health providers in attempts to verbally de-escalate
   62         certain crisis situations before initiating an
   63         involuntary examination; requiring the procedures to
   64         include certain strategies; creating requirements for
   65         memoranda of understanding between schools and local
   66         mobile crisis response services; providing an
   67         effective date.
   68          
   69  Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:
   70  
   71         Section 1. Paragraph (a) of subsection (4) of section
   72  381.0056, Florida Statutes, is amended to read:
   73         381.0056 School health services program.—
   74         (4)(a) Each county health department shall develop, jointly
   75  with the district school board and the local school health
   76  advisory committee, a school health services plan. The plan must
   77  include, at a minimum, provisions for all of the following:
   78         1. Health appraisal;
   79         2. Records review;
   80         3. Nurse assessment;
   81         4. Nutrition assessment;
   82         5. A preventive dental program;
   83         6. Vision screening;
   84         7. Hearing screening;
   85         8. Scoliosis screening;
   86         9. Growth and development screening;
   87         10. Health counseling;
   88         11. Referral and followup of suspected or confirmed health
   89  problems by the local county health department;
   90         12. Meeting emergency health needs in each school;
   91         13. County health department personnel to assist school
   92  personnel in health education curriculum development;
   93         14. Referral of students to appropriate health treatment,
   94  in cooperation with the private health community whenever
   95  possible;
   96         15. Consultation with a student’s parent or guardian
   97  regarding the need for health attention by the family physician,
   98  dentist, or other specialist when definitive diagnosis or
   99  treatment is indicated;
  100         16. Maintenance of records on incidents of health problems,
  101  corrective measures taken, and such other information as may be
  102  needed to plan and evaluate health programs; except, however,
  103  that provisions in the plan for maintenance of health records of
  104  individual students must be in accordance with s. 1002.22;
  105         17. Health information which will be provided by the school
  106  health nurses, when necessary, regarding the placement of
  107  students in exceptional student programs and the reevaluation at
  108  periodic intervals of students placed in such programs;
  109         18. Notification to the local nonpublic schools of the
  110  school health services program and the opportunity for
  111  representatives of the local nonpublic schools to participate in
  112  the development of the cooperative health services plan; and
  113         19. A reasonable attempt to notify Immediate notification
  114  to a student’s parent, guardian, or caregiver before if the
  115  student is removed from school, school transportation, or a
  116  school-sponsored activity to be and taken to a receiving
  117  facility for an involuntary examination pursuant to s. 394.463,
  118  including and subject to the requirements and exceptions
  119  established under ss. 1002.20(3) and 1002.33(9), as applicable.
  120  For purposes of this subparagraph, “a reasonable attempt to
  121  notify” means the exercise of reasonable diligence and care by
  122  the principal or the principal’s designee to make contact with
  123  the student’s parent, guardian, or other known emergency contact
  124  whom the student’s parent or guardian has authorized to receive
  125  notification of an involuntary examination. At a minimum, the
  126  principal or the principal’s designee must take the following
  127  actions:
  128         a. Use available methods of communication to contact the
  129  student’s parent, guardian, or other known emergency contact,
  130  including but not limited to, telephone calls, text messages, e
  131  mails, and voice mail messages following the decision to
  132  initiate an involuntary examination of the student.
  133         b. Document the method and number of attempts made to
  134  contact the student’s parent, guardian, or other known emergency
  135  contact, and the outcome of each attempt.
  136  
  137  A principal or his or her designee who successfully notifies any
  138  other known emergency contact may share only the information
  139  necessary to alert such contact that the parent or caregiver
  140  must be contacted. All such information must be in compliance
  141  with federal and state law.
  142         Section 2. Subsection (4) of section 394.463, Florida
  143  Statutes, is amended to read:
  144         394.463 Involuntary examination.—
  145         (4) DATA ANALYSIS.—Using data collected under paragraph
  146  (2)(a), the department shall, at a minimum, analyze data on both
  147  the initiation of involuntary examinations of children and the
  148  initiation of involuntary examinations of students who are
  149  removed from a school, identify any patterns or trends and cases
  150  in which involuntary examinations are repeatedly initiated on
  151  the same child or student, study root causes for such patterns,
  152  trends, or repeated involuntary examinations, and make
  153  recommendations to encourage the use of for encouraging
  154  alternatives to eliminate and eliminating inappropriate
  155  initiations of such examinations. The department shall submit a
  156  report on its findings and recommendations to the Governor, the
  157  President of the Senate, and the Speaker of the House of
  158  Representatives by November 1 of each odd-numbered odd numbered
  159  year.
  160         Section 3. Subsection (7) of section 1001.212, Florida
  161  Statutes, is amended to read:
  162         1001.212 Office of Safe Schools.—There is created in the
  163  Department of Education the Office of Safe Schools. The office
  164  is fully accountable to the Commissioner of Education. The
  165  office shall serve as a central repository for best practices,
  166  training standards, and compliance oversight in all matters
  167  regarding school safety and security, including prevention
  168  efforts, intervention efforts, and emergency preparedness
  169  planning. The office shall:
  170         (7) Provide data to support the evaluation of mental health
  171  services pursuant to s. 1004.44. Such data must include, for
  172  each school, the number of involuntary examinations as defined
  173  in s. 394.455 which are initiated at the school, on school
  174  transportation, or at a school-sponsored activity and the number
  175  of children for whom an examination is initiated.
  176         Section 4. Paragraph (l) of subsection (3) of section
  177  1002.20, Florida Statutes, is amended, and subsection (25) is
  178  added to that section, to read:
  179         1002.20 K-12 student and parent rights.—Parents of public
  180  school students must receive accurate and timely information
  181  regarding their child’s academic progress and must be informed
  182  of ways they can help their child to succeed in school. K-12
  183  students and their parents are afforded numerous statutory
  184  rights including, but not limited to, the following:
  185         (3) HEALTH ISSUES.—
  186         (l) Notification of involuntary examinations.—
  187         1. Except as provided in subparagraph 2., the public school
  188  principal or the principal’s designee shall make a reasonable
  189  attempt to immediately notify the parent of a student before the
  190  student who is removed from school, school transportation, or a
  191  school-sponsored activity to be and taken to a receiving
  192  facility for an involuntary examination pursuant to s. 394.463.
  193  For purposes of this subparagraph, “a reasonable attempt to
  194  notify” means the exercise of reasonable diligence and care by
  195  the principal or the principal’s designee to make contact with
  196  the student’s parent, guardian, or other known emergency contact
  197  whom the student’s parent or guardian has authorized to receive
  198  notification of an involuntary examination. At a minimum, the
  199  principal or the principal’s designee must take the following
  200  actions:
  201         a. Use available methods of communication to contact the
  202  student’s parent, guardian, or other known emergency contact,
  203  including but not limited to, telephone calls, text messages, e
  204  mails, and voice mail messages following the decision to
  205  initiate an involuntary examination of the student.
  206         b. Document the method and number of attempts made to
  207  contact the student’s parent, guardian, or other known emergency
  208  contact, and the outcome of each attempt.
  209  
  210  A principal or his or her designee who successfully notifies any
  211  other known emergency contact may share only the information
  212  necessary to alert such contact that the parent or caregiver
  213  must be contacted. All such information must be in compliance
  214  with federal and state law.
  215         2. The principal or the principal’s designee may delay the
  216  required notification for no more than 24 hours after the
  217  student is removed if:
  218         a. The principal or the principal’s designee deems the
  219  delay to be in the student’s best interest and if a report has
  220  been submitted to the central abuse hotline, pursuant to s.
  221  39.201, based upon knowledge or suspicion of abuse, abandonment,
  222  or neglect; or
  223         b. The principal or principal’s designee reasonably
  224  believes that such delay is necessary to avoid jeopardizing the
  225  health and safety of the student.
  226         3. Before a principal or his or her designee contacts a law
  227  enforcement officer, he or she must verify that de-escalation
  228  strategies have been utilized and outreach to a mobile response
  229  team has been initiated unless the principal or the principal’s
  230  designee reasonably believes that any delay in removing the
  231  student will increase the likelihood of harm to the student or
  232  others. This requirement does not supersede the authority of a
  233  law enforcement officer to act under s. 394.463.
  234  
  235  Each district school board shall develop a policy and procedures
  236  for notification under this paragraph.
  237         (25) SAFE SCHOOLS.—
  238         (a) School safety and emergency incidents.—Parents of
  239  public school students have a right to timely notification of
  240  threats, unlawful acts, and significant emergencies pursuant to
  241  s. 1006.07(4) and (7).
  242         (b) School environmental safety incident reporting.—Parents
  243  of public school students have a right to access school safety
  244  and discipline incidents as reported pursuant to s. 1006.07(9).
  245         Section 5. Paragraph (q) of subsection (9) of section
  246  1002.33, Florida Statutes, is amended, and paragraph (r) is
  247  added to that subsection, to read:
  248         1002.33 Charter schools.—
  249         (9) CHARTER SCHOOL REQUIREMENTS.—
  250         (q)1. The charter school principal or the principal’s
  251  designee shall make a reasonable attempt to immediately notify
  252  the parent of a student before the student who is removed from
  253  school, school transportation, or a school-sponsored activity to
  254  be and taken to a receiving facility for an involuntary
  255  examination pursuant to s. 394.463. For purposes of this
  256  subparagraph, “a reasonable attempt to notify” means the
  257  exercise of reasonable diligence and care by the principal or
  258  the principal’s designee to make contact with the student’s
  259  parent, guardian, or other known emergency contact whom the
  260  student’s parent or guardian has authorized to receive
  261  notification of an involuntary examination. At a minimum, the
  262  principal or the principal’s designee must take the following
  263  actions:
  264         a. Use available methods of communication to contact the
  265  student’s parent, guardian, or other known emergency contact,
  266  including but not limited to, telephone calls, text messages, e
  267  mails, and voice mail messages following the decision to
  268  initiate an involuntary examination of the student.
  269         b. Document the method and number of attempts made to
  270  contact the student’s parent, guardian, or other known emergency
  271  contact, and the outcome of each attempt.
  272  
  273  A principal or his or her designee who successfully notifies any
  274  other known emergency contact may share only the information
  275  necessary to alert such contact that the parent or caregiver
  276  must be contacted. All such information must be in compliance
  277  with federal and state law.
  278         2. The principal or the principal’s designee may delay
  279  notification for no more than 24 hours after the student is
  280  removed if:
  281         a. The principal or the principal’s designee deems the
  282  delay to be in the student’s best interest and if a report has
  283  been submitted to the central abuse hotline, pursuant to s.
  284  39.201, based upon knowledge or suspicion of abuse, abandonment,
  285  or neglect; or
  286         b. The principal or the principal’s designee reasonably
  287  believes that such delay is necessary to avoid jeopardizing the
  288  health and safety of the student.
  289         3. Before a principal or his or her designee contacts a law
  290  enforcement officer, he or she must verify that de-escalation
  291  strategies have been utilized and outreach to a mobile response
  292  team has been initiated unless the principal or the principal’s
  293  designee reasonably believes that any delay in removing the
  294  student will increase the likelihood of harm to the student or
  295  others. This requirement does not supersede the authority of a
  296  law enforcement officer to act under s. 394.463.
  297  
  298  Each charter school governing board shall develop a policy and
  299  procedures for notification under this paragraph.
  300         (r)1.Parents of charter school students have a right to
  301  timely notification of threats, unlawful acts, and significant
  302  emergencies pursuant to s. 1006.07(4) and (7).
  303         2.Parents of charter school students have a right to
  304  access school safety and discipline incidents as reported
  305  pursuant to s. 1006.07(9).
  306         Section 6. Paragraphs (a) and (b) of subsection (4) of
  307  section 1006.07, Florida Statutes, are amended, and paragraphs
  308  (n) and (o) of subsection (2) and subsection (10) are added to
  309  that section, to read:
  310         1006.07 District school board duties relating to student
  311  discipline and school safety.—The district school board shall
  312  provide for the proper accounting for all students, for the
  313  attendance and control of students at school, and for proper
  314  attention to health, safety, and other matters relating to the
  315  welfare of students, including:
  316         (2) CODE OF STUDENT CONDUCT.—Adopt a code of student
  317  conduct for elementary schools and a code of student conduct for
  318  middle and high schools and distribute the appropriate code to
  319  all teachers, school personnel, students, and parents, at the
  320  beginning of every school year. Each code shall be organized and
  321  written in language that is understandable to students and
  322  parents and shall be discussed at the beginning of every school
  323  year in student classes, school advisory council meetings, and
  324  parent and teacher association or organization meetings. Each
  325  code shall be based on the rules governing student conduct and
  326  discipline adopted by the district school board and shall be
  327  made available in the student handbook or similar publication.
  328  Each code shall include, but is not limited to:
  329         (n)Criteria for recommending to law enforcement that a
  330  student who commits a criminal offense be allowed to participate
  331  in a civil citation or similar prearrest diversion program as an
  332  alternative to expulsion or arrest. All civil citation or
  333  similar prearrest diversion programs must comply with s. 985.12.
  334         (o)Criteria for assigning a student who commits a petty
  335  act of misconduct, as defined by the district school board
  336  pursuant to s. 1006.13(2)(c), to a school-based intervention
  337  program. If a student’s assignment is based on a noncriminal
  338  offense, the student’s participation in a school-based
  339  intervention program may not be entered into the Juvenile
  340  Justice Information System Prevention Web.
  341         (4) EMERGENCY DRILLS; EMERGENCY PROCEDURES.—
  342         (a) Formulate and prescribe policies and procedures, in
  343  consultation with the appropriate public safety agencies, for
  344  emergency drills and for actual emergencies, including, but not
  345  limited to, fires, natural disasters, active assailant shooter
  346  and hostage situations, and bomb threats, for all students and
  347  faculty at all public schools of the district comprised of
  348  grades K-12. Drills for active assailant shooter and hostage
  349  situations shall be conducted in accordance with developmentally
  350  appropriate and age-appropriate procedures at least as often as
  351  other emergency drills. District school board policies shall
  352  include commonly used alarm system responses for specific types
  353  of emergencies and verification by each school that drills have
  354  been provided as required by law and fire protection codes and
  355  may provide accommodations for drills conducted by exceptional
  356  student education centers. District school boards shall
  357  establish The emergency response and emergency preparedness
  358  policies and procedures that include, but are not limited to,
  359  identifying policy shall identify the individuals responsible
  360  for contacting the primary emergency response agency and the
  361  emergency response agency that is responsible for notifying the
  362  school district for each type of emergency.
  363         (b) Provide timely Establish model emergency management and
  364  emergency preparedness procedures, including emergency
  365  notification to parents of threats pursuant to policies adopted
  366  under subsection (7) and procedures pursuant to paragraph (a),
  367  for the following unlawful acts or significant emergencies that
  368  occur on school grounds, during school transportation, or during
  369  school-sponsored activities life-threatening emergencies:
  370         1. Weapons possession or use when there is intended harm
  371  toward another person Weapon-use, hostage, and active assailant
  372  shooter situations. The active assailant shooter situation
  373  training for each school must engage the participation of the
  374  district school safety specialist, threat assessment team
  375  members, faculty, staff, and students and must be conducted by
  376  the law enforcement agency or agencies that are designated as
  377  first responders to the school’s campus.
  378         2.Murder, homicide, or manslaughter.
  379         3.Sex offenses, including rape, sexual assault, or sexual
  380  misconduct with a student by school personnel.
  381         2.Hazardous materials or toxic chemical spills.
  382         4.3.Natural Weather emergencies, including hurricanes,
  383  tornadoes, and severe storms.
  384         5.4. Exposure as a result of a manmade emergency.
  385         (10) REPORTING OF INVOLUNTARY EXAMINATIONS.—Each district
  386  school board shall adopt a policy to require the district
  387  superintendent to annually report to the department the number
  388  of involuntary examinations, as defined in s. 394.455, which are
  389  initiated at a school, on school transportation, or at a school
  390  sponsored activity.
  391         Section 7. Present paragraph (c) of subsection (2) of
  392  section 1006.12, Florida Statutes, is redesignated as paragraph
  393  (d), and a new paragraph (c) is added to that subsection, to
  394  read:
  395         1006.12 Safe-school officers at each public school.—For the
  396  protection and safety of school personnel, property, students,
  397  and visitors, each district school board and school district
  398  superintendent shall partner with law enforcement agencies or
  399  security agencies to establish or assign one or more safe-school
  400  officers at each school facility within the district, including
  401  charter schools. A district school board must collaborate with
  402  charter school governing boards to facilitate charter school
  403  access to all safe-school officer options available under this
  404  section. The school district may implement any combination of
  405  the options in subsections (1)-(4) to best meet the needs of the
  406  school district and charter schools.
  407         (2) SCHOOL SAFETY OFFICER.—A school district may commission
  408  one or more school safety officers for the protection and safety
  409  of school personnel, property, and students within the school
  410  district. The district school superintendent may recommend, and
  411  the district school board may appoint, one or more school safety
  412  officers.
  413         (c)School safety officers must complete mental health
  414  crisis intervention training using a curriculum developed by a
  415  national organization with expertise in mental health crisis
  416  intervention. The training shall improve officers’ knowledge and
  417  skills as first responders to incidents involving students with
  418  emotional disturbance or mental illness, including de-escalation
  419  skills to ensure student and officer safety.
  420  
  421  If a district school board, through its adopted policies,
  422  procedures, or actions, denies a charter school access to any
  423  safe-school officer options pursuant to this section, the school
  424  district must assign a school resource officer or school safety
  425  officer to the charter school. Under such circumstances, the
  426  charter school’s share of the costs of the school resource
  427  officer or school safety officer may not exceed the safe school
  428  allocation funds provided to the charter school pursuant to s.
  429  1011.62(15) and shall be retained by the school district.
  430         Section 8. Section 1008.386, Florida Statutes, is amended
  431  to read:
  432         1008.386 Florida student identification numbers.—
  433         (1) When a student enrolls in a public school in this
  434  state, the district school board shall request that the student
  435  provide his or her social security number and shall indicate
  436  whether the student identification number assigned to the
  437  student is a social security number. A student satisfies this
  438  requirement by presenting his or her social security card or a
  439  copy of the card to a school enrollment official. However, a
  440  student is not required to provide his or her social security
  441  number as a condition for enrollment or graduation. The
  442  Commissioner of Education shall assist school districts with the
  443  assignment of student identification numbers to avoid
  444  duplication of any student identification number.
  445         (2) The department shall establish a process for assigning
  446  a Florida student identification number to each student in the
  447  state, at which time a school district may not use social
  448  security numbers as student identification numbers in its
  449  management information systems.
  450         (3) Beginning with the 2021-2022 school year, any student
  451  identification card issued by a public school to students in
  452  grades 6 through 12 must include the telephone numbers for
  453  national or statewide crisis and suicide hotlines and text
  454  lines.
  455         (4) The State Board of Education may adopt rules to
  456  implement this section.
  457         Section 9. Paragraph (b) of subsection (16) of section
  458  1011.62, Florida Statutes, is amended to read:
  459         1011.62 Funds for operation of schools.—If the annual
  460  allocation from the Florida Education Finance Program to each
  461  district for operation of schools is not determined in the
  462  annual appropriations act or the substantive bill implementing
  463  the annual appropriations act, it shall be determined as
  464  follows:
  465         (16) MENTAL HEALTH ASSISTANCE ALLOCATION.—The mental health
  466  assistance allocation is created to provide funding to assist
  467  school districts in establishing or expanding school-based
  468  mental health care; train educators and other school staff in
  469  detecting and responding to mental health issues; and connect
  470  children, youth, and families who may experience behavioral
  471  health issues with appropriate services. These funds shall be
  472  allocated annually in the General Appropriations Act or other
  473  law to each eligible school district. Each school district shall
  474  receive a minimum of $100,000, with the remaining balance
  475  allocated based on each school district’s proportionate share of
  476  the state’s total unweighted full-time equivalent student
  477  enrollment. Charter schools that submit a plan separate from the
  478  school district are entitled to a proportionate share of
  479  district funding. The allocated funds may not supplant funds
  480  that are provided for this purpose from other operating funds
  481  and may not be used to increase salaries or provide bonuses.
  482  School districts are encouraged to maximize third-party health
  483  insurance benefits and Medicaid claiming for services, where
  484  appropriate.
  485         (b) The plans required under paragraph (a) must be focused
  486  on a multitiered system of supports to deliver evidence-based
  487  mental health care assessment, diagnosis, intervention,
  488  treatment, and recovery services to students with one or more
  489  mental health or co-occurring substance abuse diagnoses and to
  490  students at high risk of such diagnoses. The provision of these
  491  services must be coordinated with a student’s primary mental
  492  health care provider and with other mental health providers
  493  involved in the student’s care. At a minimum, the plans must
  494  include the following elements:
  495         1. Direct employment of school-based mental health services
  496  providers to expand and enhance school-based student services
  497  and to reduce the ratio of students to staff in order to better
  498  align with nationally recommended ratio models. These providers
  499  include, but are not limited to, certified school counselors,
  500  school psychologists, school social workers, and other licensed
  501  mental health professionals. The plan also must identify
  502  strategies to increase the amount of time that school-based
  503  student services personnel spend providing direct services to
  504  students, which may include the review and revision of district
  505  staffing resource allocations based on school or student mental
  506  health assistance needs.
  507         2. Contracts or interagency agreements with one or more
  508  local community behavioral health providers or providers of
  509  Community Action Team services to provide a behavioral health
  510  staff presence and services at district schools. Services may
  511  include, but are not limited to, mental health screenings and
  512  assessments, individual counseling, family counseling, group
  513  counseling, psychiatric or psychological services, trauma
  514  informed care, mobile crisis services, and behavior
  515  modification. These behavioral health services may be provided
  516  on or off the school campus and may be supplemented by
  517  telehealth.
  518         3. Policies and procedures, including contracts with
  519  service providers, which will ensure that students who are
  520  referred to a school-based or community-based mental health
  521  service provider for mental health screening for the
  522  identification of mental health concerns and ensure that the
  523  assessment of students at risk for mental health disorders
  524  occurs within 15 days of referral. School-based mental health
  525  services must be initiated within 15 days after identification
  526  and assessment, and support by community-based mental health
  527  service providers for students who are referred for community
  528  based mental health services must be initiated within 30 days
  529  after the school or district makes a referral.
  530         4. Strategies or programs to reduce the likelihood of at
  531  risk students developing social, emotional, or behavioral health
  532  problems, depression, anxiety disorders, suicidal tendencies, or
  533  substance use disorders.
  534         5. Strategies to improve the early identification of
  535  social, emotional, or behavioral problems or substance use
  536  disorders, to improve the provision of early intervention
  537  services, and to assist students in dealing with trauma and
  538  violence.
  539         6. Procedures to assist a mental health services provider
  540  or a behavioral health provider as described in subparagraph 1.
  541  or subparagraph 2., respectively, or a school resource officer
  542  or school safety officer who has completed mental health crisis
  543  intervention training in attempting to verbally de-escalate a
  544  student’s crisis situation before initiating an involuntary
  545  examination pursuant to s. 394.463. Such procedures must include
  546  strategies to de-escalate a crisis situation for a student with
  547  a developmental disability as that term is defined in s.
  548  393.063.
  549         7.Policies of the school district must require that in a
  550  student crisis situation, school or law enforcement personnel
  551  must make a reasonable attempt to contact a mental health
  552  professional who may initiate an involuntary examination
  553  pursuant to s. 394.463, unless the child poses an imminent
  554  danger to themselves or others, before initiating an involuntary
  555  examination pursuant to s. 394.463. Such contact may be in
  556  person or using telehealth as defined in s. 456.47. The mental
  557  health professional may be available to the school district
  558  either by contracts or interagency agreements with the managing
  559  entity, one or more local community behavioral health providers,
  560  or the local mobile response team or be a direct or contracted
  561  school district employee.
  562         Section 10. This act shall take effect July 1, 2021.