Sponsored by:
Assemblywoman SHANIQUE SPEIGHT
District 29 (Essex and Hudson)
Assemblywoman TENNILLE R. MCCOY
District 14 (Mercer and Middlesex)
SYNOPSIS
Directs DOE to develop guidelines for school districts concerning student mental health services.
CURRENT VERSION OF TEXT
As introduced.
An Act concerning student mental health services and supplementing chapter 40 of Title 18A of the New Jersey Statutes.
Be It Enacted by the Senate and General Assembly of the State of New Jersey:
1. a. The Department of Education, in partnership with the Department of Human Services and the Department of Children and Families, shall develop and distribute to school districts guidelines for providing mental health services to students. The purpose of the guidelines shall be to assist school districts in enhancing and improving mental health services for students and shall reflect the findings of the "New Jersey Comprehensive School-Based Mental Health Resource Guide" published by the Department of Education in February 2022. The department shall review and update the guidelines as needed. In developing and updating the guidelines, the department shall seek the input and recommendations of school district administrators, educators, mental health professionals, and other appropriate stakeholders.
b. The guidelines, developed pursuant to this section shall include information as needed to support the development and implementation of comprehensive school-based mental health systems, which may include recommendations on:
(1) implementing a quality-based multi-tiered student mental health system of care that prevents mental health concerns and mitigates trauma;
(2) establishing sustainable school partnerships with community mental health service providers;
(3) providing mental health services to English language learners;
(4) providing culturally sensitive mental health services;
(5) incorporating new technology and innovations into existing mental health services, including, but not limited to, providing mental health services to students through virtual or remote means;
(6) evaluating the effectiveness of available student mental health services;
(7) identifying and maximizing the use of available State, federal, nonprofit, and private funding to support a multi-tiered student mental health system of care; and
(8) the ratios of student mental health providers to students.
c. The Department of Education shall post the guidelines developed pursuant to this section on its Internet website. The department shall also include on its Internet website links to professional development resources related to student mental health for school administrators, educators, and staff.
d. The Department of Education shall provide on its Internet website information about the Division of Children's System of Care in the Department of Children and Families. This information shall include a link to the division's website, as well as the contact information for the division's access line.
2. This act shall take effect immediately and shall first apply to the first full school year following the date of enactment.
STATEMENT
This bill directs the Department of Education, in partnership with the Department of Human Services and the Department of Children and Families, to develop and distribute to school districts guidelines for providing mental health services to students. The purpose of the guidelines is to assist school districts in enhancing and improving mental health services for students. Under the bill, the guidelines are to be reviewed and updated annually by the Department of Education. In developing and updating the guidelines, the department is required to seek the input and recommendations of school district administrators, educators, mental health professionals, and other appropriate stakeholders.
The guidelines established under the bill, at minimum, are to include recommendations on:
(1) implementing a quality-based multi-tiered student mental health system of care that prevents mental health concerns and mitigates trauma;
(2) establishing sustainable school partnerships with community mental health service providers;
(3) providing mental health services to English language learners;
(4) providing culturally sensitive mental health services;
(5) incorporating new technology and innovations into existing mental health services including, but not limited to, providing mental health services to students through virtual or remote means;
(6) evaluating the effectiveness of available student mental health services;
(7) identifying and maximizing the use of available State, federal, nonprofit, and private funding to support a multi-tiered student mental health system of care; and
(8) the ratios of student mental health providers to students.
Under the bill, the Department of Education is to post the guidelines on its Internet website. The bill also requires the Department of Education, in partnership with the Department of Human Services and the Department of Children and Families, to create and maintain a database consisting of available mental health resource providers throughout the State. The database is to be available to school districts, as well as students and their families.