Amended  IN  Senate  April 29, 2021
Amended  IN  Senate  April 15, 2021
Amended  IN  Senate  March 09, 2021

CALIFORNIA LEGISLATURE— 2021–2022 REGULAR SESSION

Senate Bill
No. 229


Introduced by Senator Dahle
(Principal coauthor: Assembly Member Megan Dahle)
(Coauthors: Senators Grove, Hurtado, Kamlager, and Nielsen)
(Coauthors: Assembly Members Cunningham, Lackey, Mathis, Nguyen, Seyarto, Smith, and Valladares)

January 19, 2021


An act to add Article 15 (commencing with Section 49595) to Chapter 9 of Part 27 of Division 4 of Title 2 of the Education Code, relating to pupil health.


LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST


SB 229, as amended, Dahle. Pupil health: mental health services: grants.
Existing law requires the governing board of any school district to give diligent care to the health and physical development of pupils and authorizes the governing board of a school district to employ properly certified persons for the work, including school psychologists and counselors.
This bill would require the State Department of Education, upon appropriation by the Legislature, to provide up to $500,000,000 in grants each year for the specific purpose of providing mental health services for pupils all pupils, including those affected by school closures and distance learning requirements resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic. The bill would require the department to allocate those grants to local educational agencies and private schools, agencies, as specified. The bill would be implemented only to the extent that funds for its purposes are appropriated by the Legislature in the annual Budget Act, and would authorize that appropriation to come from any available state and federal funds.
Vote: MAJORITY   Appropriation: NO   Fiscal Committee: YES   Local Program: NO  

The people of the State of California do enact as follows:


SECTION 1.

 Article 15 (commencing with Section 49595) is added to Chapter 9 of Part 27 of Division 4 of Title 2 of the Education Code, to read:
Article  15. Pupil Mental Health Services

49595.
 (a) (1) The department shall, upon appropriation by the Legislature for these purposes, provide up to five hundred million dollars ($500,000,000) in grants each year to provide mental health services for pupils, as specified in this article.
(2) The grants described in paragraph (1) shall be used for the exclusive purpose of providing mental health services for pupils all pupils, including those affected by school closures and distance learning requirements resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic.
(3) The department shall allocate funding to each local educational agency on a per unit of average daily attendance basis, using the most current data available pursuant to Section 41601, and, to the extent permitted by the California Constitution, to each private school pursuant to a substantially similar methodology, as determined by the department. 41601.
(b) (1) On or before August 31, 2024, and annually thereafter, each local educational agency in receipt of a grant under this article shall submit a detailed report to the department on how the grant was spent, including direct services provided to pupils in accordance with this article.
(2) On or before December 31, 2024, and annually thereafter, the department shall compile the information received pursuant to paragraph (1) and submit a report, pursuant to Section 9795 of the Government Code, to the Legislature.
(3) Unless otherwise specified, the information reported pursuant to paragraphs (1) and (2) shall be for the academic year immediately preceding the reporting deadline.
(4) A report required pursuant to this subdivision shall not include any personally identifiable information for any individual.
(c) As used in this article, “local educational agency” means a school district, county office of education, and charter school.

49596.
 (a) This article shall be implemented only if funds for its purposes are appropriated by the Legislature in the annual Budget Act. Any available state and federal funding may be the source of the appropriation for purposes of this article.
(b) It is the intent of the Legislature that moneys included in the annual Budget Act for purposes described in this article would count towards satisfying the minimum funding obligation under Section 8 of Article XVI of the California Constitution.