Bill Text: NJ A4605 | 2024-2025 | Regular Session | Introduced
Bill Title: Requires school psychologists and school counselors to complete mental health first aid training.
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Republican 3-0)
Status: (Introduced) 2024-06-20 - Introduced, Referred to Assembly Education Committee [A4605 Detail]
Download: New_Jersey-2024-A4605-Introduced.html
Sponsored by:
Assemblywoman AURA K. DUNN
District 25 (Morris and Passaic)
Assemblywoman VICTORIA A. FLYNN
District 13 (Monmouth)
SYNOPSIS
Requires school psychologists and school counselors to complete mental health first aid training.
CURRENT VERSION OF TEXT
As introduced.
An Act concerning mental health first aid training for certain school personnel and supplementing chapter 6 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. (1) A school psychologist shall complete the mental health first aid training course established or approved by the Department of Education, pursuant to section 2 of this act, during the person's first year of employment as a school psychologist. If a person is employed as a school psychologist on the effective date of this act, then the person shall complete the mental health first aid training course during the first year following the effective date.
(2) The State Board of Education shall, as part of the professional development requirements established for school psychologists, require each school psychologist to complete the mental health first aid training course not less than once every three years.
b. (1) A school counselor shall complete the mental health first aid training course established or approved by the Department of Education, pursuant to section 2 of this act, during the person's first year of employment as a school counselor. If a person is employed as a school counselor on the effective date of this act, then the person shall complete the mental health first aid training course during the first year following the effective date.
(2) The State Board of Education shall, as part of the professional development requirements established for school counselors, require each school counselor to complete the mental health first aid training course not less than once every three years.
2. a. The Department of Education, in consultation with the Department of Human Services, shall establish or approve, as necessary, a mental health first aid training course to instruct school personnel on how to recognize and address the signs of mental illness in children and adolescents. The training course shall consist of no less than eight hours and include information on topics including, but not limited to:
(1) the methods of identifying, understanding, and responding to signs of mental health illnesses and substance use disorders;
(2) the risk factors and warning signs for mental health illnesses and substance use disorders;
(3) the interventions and strategies that may be used to assist an individual in both crisis and non-crisis situations; and
(4) an overview of mental health illnesses that may present in children and adolescents, including depression and mood disorders, anxiety disorders, trauma, psychosis, and substance use disorders.
b. The Department of Education, in consultation with the Department of Human Services, shall review and update, as necessary, the mental health first aid training course established or approved pursuant to this section, not less than once every three years, to ensure that the contents of the course reflect the current understanding of mental health issues, and continue to comply with the requirements of subsection a. of this section.
3. This act shall take effect on the first day of the sixth month next following the date of enactment.
STATEMENT
This bill requires school psychologists and school counselors to complete a mental health first aid training course established or approved by the Department of Education.
Under the bill, every school psychologist and school counselor would be required to complete a mental health first aid training course established or approved by the Department of Education during the person's first year of employment. If a person is employed as a school psychologist or school counselor on the effective date of the bill, then the person would be required to complete the mental health first aid training course during the first year following the bill's effective date. The bill also requires every school psychologist and school counselor to complete the mental health first aid training course at least once every three years as a part of the professional development requirements established by the State Board of Education.
Additionally, the bill requires the Department of Education, in consultation with the Department of Human Services, to establish or approve, as necessary, a mental health first aid training course to instruct school personnel on how to recognize and address the signs of mental illness in children and adolescents. This training course would be required to consist of no less than eight hours and, at a minimum, include information on the following topics:
(1) the methods of identifying, understanding, and responding to signs of mental health illnesses and substance use disorders;
(2) the risk factors and warning signs for mental health illnesses and substance use disorders;
(3) the interventions and strategies that may be used to assist an individual in both crisis and non-crisis situations; and
(4) an overview of mental health illnesses that may present in children and adolescents, including depression and mood disorders, anxiety disorders, trauma, psychosis, and substance use disorders
The bill also requires the training course to be reviewed and updated, as necessary, not less than once every three years, to ensure that the contents of the course reflect the current understanding of mental health issues, and continues to comply with the requirements of the bill.
