Bill Text: CA SB11 | 2023-2024 | Regular Session | Introduced
NOTE: There are more recent revisions of this legislation. Read Latest Draft
Bill Title: California State University: mental health counseling.
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 4-0)
Status: (Engrossed) 2023-08-23 - August 23 set for first hearing canceled at the request of author. [SB11 Detail]
Download: California-2023-SB11-Introduced.html
Bill Title: California State University: mental health counseling.
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 4-0)
Status: (Engrossed) 2023-08-23 - August 23 set for first hearing canceled at the request of author. [SB11 Detail]
Download: California-2023-SB11-Introduced.html
CALIFORNIA LEGISLATURE—
2023–2024 REGULAR SESSION
Senate Bill
No. 11
| Introduced by Senator Menjivar (Principal coauthor: Assembly Member Schiavo) (Coauthor: Senator Stern) |
December 05, 2022 |
An act relating to the California State University.
LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST
SB 11, as introduced, Menjivar.
California State University: mental health services: contracting out.
Existing law establishes the California State University, under the administration of the Trustees of the California State University, as one of the segments of public postsecondary education in the state. The California State University comprises 23 institutions of higher education located throughout the state.
This bill would state the intent of the Legislature to enact future legislation that would restrict contracting out for mental health services at the 23 campuses of the California State University and instead increase the number of full-time, permanent mental health counselors.
Digest Key
Vote: MAJORITY Appropriation: NO Fiscal Committee: NO Local Program: NOBill Text
The people of the State of California do enact as follows:
SECTION 1.
(a) The Legislature finds and declares all of the following:(1) The California State University (CSU) serves an incredibly diverse student population. One-half of CSU students are from historically marginalized or underrepresented communities, nearly one-half of CSU students receive a federal Pell Grant, and nearly one-third of CSU students are the first in their family to attend college.
(2) Suicide is the second leading cause of death among college students, claiming more than 1,100 lives every year nationally.
(3) One in four students has a diagnosable mental illness and 40 percent
of students do not seek mental health services when they need it.
(4) For students of color, these challenges may be even more acute.
(5) Among the many benefits of mental health counseling are lower college dropout rates, improved academic performance, and reduced legal liability for campuses.
(6) The CSU system in particular is woefully understaffed with mental health counselors to address the needs of their campuses.
(7) CSU students deserve trauma-informed, culturally competent care from mental health professionals that will understand the unique experiences that they are facing.
(8) The contracting out for mental health services that have traditionally been performed by permanent,
union-represented mental health counselors to out-of-state organizations hiring nonunion counselors is detrimental to the goal of solving the student mental health crisis and antithetical to the values of the Legislature.
(9) Investing in a pipeline that improves graduation rates and helps solve the mental health counselor workforce shortage is necessary to solve the student mental health crisis.
(b) It is the intent of the Legislature to enact future legislation that would restrict contracting out for mental health services at the 23 campuses of the California State University and instead increase the number of full-time, permanent mental health counselors.
