Bill Text: FL S0590 | 2021 | Regular Session | Introduced
NOTE: There are more recent revisions of this legislation. Read Latest Draft
Bill Title: School Safety
Spectrum: Bipartisan Bill
Status: (Passed) 2021-07-06 - Chapter No. 2021-176 [S0590 Detail]
Download: Florida-2021-S0590-Introduced.html
Bill Title: School Safety
Spectrum: Bipartisan Bill
Status: (Passed) 2021-07-06 - Chapter No. 2021-176 [S0590 Detail]
Download: Florida-2021-S0590-Introduced.html
Florida Senate - 2021 SB 590 By Senator Harrell 25-00632-21 2021590__ 1 A bill to be entitled 2 An act relating to involuntary examinations of minors; 3 amending s. 381.0056, F.S.; revising parent, guardian, 4 or caregiver notification requirements that must be 5 met before an involuntary examination of a minor; 6 amending s. 394.463, F.S.; revising data reporting 7 requirements for the Department of Children and 8 Families; amending s. 1001.212, F.S.; revising data 9 reporting requirements for the Office of Safe Schools; 10 amending s. 1002.20, F.S.; revising parent and 11 guardian notification requirements that must be met 12 before conducting an involuntary examination of a 13 minor who is removed from school, school 14 transportation, or a school-sponsored activity; 15 providing an exception; amending s. 1002.33, F.S.; 16 revising parent and guardian notification requirements 17 that must be met before an involuntary examination of 18 a minor who is removed from a charter school, charter 19 school transportation, or a charter school-sponsored 20 activity; providing an exception; amending s. 1006.07, 21 F.S.; creating reporting requirements for schools 22 relating to involuntary examinations of minors; 23 amending s. 1006.12, F.S.; revising training 24 requirements for school safety officers; amending s. 25 1011.62, F.S.; requiring that certain plans include 26 procedures to assist certain mental and behavioral 27 health providers in attempts to verbally deescalate 28 certain crisis situations before initiating an 29 involuntary examination; requiring the procedures to 30 include certain strategies; creating requirements for 31 memoranda of understanding between schools and local 32 mobile crisis response services; providing an 33 effective date. 34 35 Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida: 36 37 Section 1. Paragraph (a) of subsection (4) of section 38 381.0056, Florida Statutes, is amended to read: 39 381.0056 School health services program.— 40 (4)(a) Each county health department shall develop, jointly 41 with the district school board and the local school health 42 advisory committee, a school health services plan. The plan must 43 include, at a minimum, provisions for all of the following: 44 1. Health appraisal; 45 2. Records review; 46 3. Nurse assessment; 47 4. Nutrition assessment; 48 5. A preventive dental program; 49 6. Vision screening; 50 7. Hearing screening; 51 8. Scoliosis screening; 52 9. Growth and development screening; 53 10. Health counseling; 54 11. Referral and followup of suspected or confirmed health 55 problems by the local county health department; 56 12. Meeting emergency health needs in each school; 57 13. County health department personnel to assist school 58 personnel in health education curriculum development; 59 14. Referral of students to appropriate health treatment, 60 in cooperation with the private health community whenever 61 possible; 62 15. Consultation with a student’s parent or guardian 63 regarding the need for health attention by the family physician, 64 dentist, or other specialist when definitive diagnosis or 65 treatment is indicated; 66 16. Maintenance of records on incidents of health problems, 67 corrective measures taken, and such other information as may be 68 needed to plan and evaluate health programs; except, however, 69 that provisions in the plan for maintenance of health records of 70 individual students must be in accordance with s. 1002.22; 71 17. Health information which will be provided by the school 72 health nurses, when necessary, regarding the placement of 73 students in exceptional student programs and the reevaluation at 74 periodic intervals of students placed in such programs; 75 18. Notification to the local nonpublic schools of the 76 school health services program and the opportunity for 77 representatives of the local nonpublic schools to participate in 78 the development of the cooperative health services plan; and 79 19.ImmediateNotification to a student’s parent, guardian, 80 or caregiver beforeifthe student is removed from school, 81 school transportation, or a school-sponsored activity to beand82 taken to a receiving facility for an involuntary examination 83 pursuant to s. 394.463, including and subject to the 84 requirements and exceptions established under ss. 1002.20(3) and 85 1002.33(9), as applicable. 86 Section 2. Subsection (4) of section 394.463, Florida 87 Statutes, is amended to read: 88 394.463 Involuntary examination.— 89 (4) DATA ANALYSIS.—Using data collected under paragraph 90 (2)(a), the department shall, at a minimum, analyze data on both 91 the initiation of involuntary examinations of children and the 92 initiation of involuntary examinations of students who are 93 removed from a school, identify any patterns or trends and cases 94 in which involuntary examinations are repeatedly initiated on 95 the same child or student, study root causes for such patterns, 96 trends, or repeated involuntary examinations, and make 97 recommendations to encourage the use offor encouraging98 alternatives to eliminateandeliminatinginappropriate 99 initiations of such examinations. The department shall submit a 100 report on its findings and recommendations to the Governor, the 101 President of the Senate, and the Speaker of the House of 102 Representatives by November 1 of each odd-numberedodd numbered103 year. 104 Section 3. Subsection (7) of section 1001.212, Florida 105 Statutes, is amended to read: 106 1001.212 Office of Safe Schools.—There is created in the 107 Department of Education the Office of Safe Schools. The office 108 is fully accountable to the Commissioner of Education. The 109 office shall serve as a central repository for best practices, 110 training standards, and compliance oversight in all matters 111 regarding school safety and security, including prevention 112 efforts, intervention efforts, and emergency preparedness 113 planning. The office shall: 114 (7) Provide data to support the evaluation of mental health 115 services pursuant to s. 1004.44. Such data must include, for 116 each school, the number of involuntary examinations as defined 117 in s. 394.455 which are initiated at the school, on school 118 transportation, or at a school-sponsored activity and the number 119 of children for whom an examination is initiated. 120 Section 4. Paragraph (l) of subsection (3) of section 121 1002.20, Florida Statutes, is amended to read: 122 1002.20 K-12 student and parent rights.—Parents of public 123 school students must receive accurate and timely information 124 regarding their child’s academic progress and must be informed 125 of ways they can help their child to succeed in school. K-12 126 students and their parents are afforded numerous statutory 127 rights including, but not limited to, the following: 128 (3) HEALTH ISSUES.— 129 (l) Notification of involuntary examinations.— 130 1. Except as provided in subparagraph 2., the public school 131 principal or the principal’s designee shallimmediatelynotify 132 the parent of a student before the studentwhois removed from 133 school, school transportation, or a school-sponsored activity to 134 beandtaken to a receiving facility for an involuntary 135 examination pursuant to s. 394.463. 136 2. The principal or the principal’s designee may delay the 137 required notification for no more than 24 hours after the 138 student is removed if: 139 a. The principal or the principal’s designee deems the 140 delay to be in the student’s best interest andifa report has 141 been submitted to the central abuse hotline, pursuant to s. 142 39.201, based upon knowledge or suspicion of abuse, abandonment, 143 or neglect; or 144 b. The principal or principal’s designee reasonably 145 believes that such delay is necessary to avoid jeopardizing the 146 health and safety of the student. 147 3. Before a principal or his or her designee contacts a law 148 enforcement officer, he or she must verify that deescalationde149escalationstrategies have been utilized and outreach to a 150 mobile response team has been initiated unless the principal or 151 the principal’s designee reasonably believes that any delay in 152 removing the student will increase the likelihood of harm to the 153 student or others. This requirement does not supersede the 154 authority of a law enforcement officer to act under s. 394.463. 155 156 Each district school board shall develop a policy and procedures 157 for notification under this paragraph. 158 Section 5. Paragraph (q) of subsection (9) of section 159 1002.33, Florida Statutes, is amended to read: 160 1002.33 Charter schools.— 161 (9) CHARTER SCHOOL REQUIREMENTS.— 162 (q)1. The charter school principal or the principal’s 163 designee shallimmediatelynotify the parent of a student before 164 the studentwhois removed from school, school transportation, 165 or a school-sponsored activity to beandtaken to a receiving 166 facility for an involuntary examination pursuant to s. 394.463. 167 2. The principal or the principal’s designee may delay 168 notification for no more than 24 hours after the student is 169 removed if: 170 a. The principal or the principal’s designee deems the 171 delay to be in the student’s best interest andifa report has 172 been submitted to the central abuse hotline, pursuant to s. 173 39.201, based upon knowledge or suspicion of abuse, abandonment, 174 or neglect; or 175 b. The principal or principal’s designee reasonably 176 believes that such delay is necessary to avoid jeopardizing the 177 health and safety of the student. 178 3. Before a principal or his or her designee contacts a law 179 enforcement officer, he or she must verify that deescalationde180escalationstrategies have been utilized and outreach to a 181 mobile response team has been initiated unless the principal or 182 the principal’s designee reasonably believes that any delay in 183 removing the student will increase the likelihood of harm to the 184 student or others. This requirement does not supersede the 185 authority of a law enforcement officer to act under s. 394.463. 186 187 Each charter school governing board shall develop a policy and 188 procedures for notification under this paragraph. 189 Section 6. Subsection (10) is added to section 1006.07, 190 Florida Statutes, to read: 191 1006.07 District school board duties relating to student 192 discipline and school safety.—The district school board shall 193 provide for the proper accounting for all students, for the 194 attendance and control of students at school, and for proper 195 attention to health, safety, and other matters relating to the 196 welfare of students, including: 197 (10) REPORTING OF INVOLUNTARY EXAMINATIONS.—Each district 198 school board shall adopt a policy to require the district 199 superintendent to annually report to the department the number 200 of involuntary examinations, as defined in s. 394.455, which are 201 initiated at a school, on school transportation, or at a school 202 sponsored activity. 203 Section 7. Present paragraph (c) of subsection (2) of 204 section 1006.12, Florida Statutes, is redesignated as paragraph 205 (d), and a new paragraph (c) is added to that subsection, to 206 read: 207 1006.12 Safe-school officers at each public school.—For the 208 protection and safety of school personnel, property, students, 209 and visitors, each district school board and school district 210 superintendent shall partner with law enforcement agencies or 211 security agencies to establish or assign one or more safe-school 212 officers at each school facility within the district, including 213 charter schools. A district school board must collaborate with 214 charter school governing boards to facilitate charter school 215 access to all safe-school officer options available under this 216 section. The school district may implement any combination of 217 the options in subsections (1)-(4) to best meet the needs of the 218 school district and charter schools. 219 (2) SCHOOL SAFETY OFFICER.—A school district may commission 220 one or more school safety officers for the protection and safety 221 of school personnel, property, and students within the school 222 district. The district school superintendent may recommend, and 223 the district school board may appoint, one or more school safety 224 officers. 225 (c) School safety officers must complete mental health 226 crisis intervention training using a curriculum developed by a 227 national organization with expertise in mental health crisis 228 intervention. The training shall improve officers’ knowledge and 229 skills as first responders to incidents involving students with 230 emotional disturbance or mental illness, including deescalation 231 skills to ensure student and officer safety. 232 233 If a district school board, through its adopted policies, 234 procedures, or actions, denies a charter school access to any 235 safe-school officer options pursuant to this section, the school 236 district must assign a school resource officer or school safety 237 officer to the charter school. Under such circumstances, the 238 charter school’s share of the costs of the school resource 239 officer or school safety officer may not exceed the safe school 240 allocation funds provided to the charter school pursuant to s. 241 1011.62(15) and shall be retained by the school district. 242 Section 8. Paragraph (b) of subsection (16) of section 243 1011.62, Florida Statutes, is amended to read: 244 1011.62 Funds for operation of schools.—If the annual 245 allocation from the Florida Education Finance Program to each 246 district for operation of schools is not determined in the 247 annual appropriations act or the substantive bill implementing 248 the annual appropriations act, it shall be determined as 249 follows: 250 (16) MENTAL HEALTH ASSISTANCE ALLOCATION.—The mental health 251 assistance allocation is created to provide funding to assist 252 school districts in establishing or expanding school-based 253 mental health care; train educators and other school staff in 254 detecting and responding to mental health issues; and connect 255 children, youth, and families who may experience behavioral 256 health issues with appropriate services. These funds shall be 257 allocated annually in the General Appropriations Act or other 258 law to each eligible school district. Each school district shall 259 receive a minimum of $100,000, with the remaining balance 260 allocated based on each school district’s proportionate share of 261 the state’s total unweighted full-time equivalent student 262 enrollment. Charter schools that submit a plan separate from the 263 school district are entitled to a proportionate share of 264 district funding. The allocated funds may not supplant funds 265 that are provided for this purpose from other operating funds 266 and may not be used to increase salaries or provide bonuses. 267 School districts are encouraged to maximize third-party health 268 insurance benefits and Medicaid claiming for services, where 269 appropriate. 270 (b) The plans required under paragraph (a) must be focused 271 on a multitiered system of supports to deliver evidence-based 272 mental health care assessment, diagnosis, intervention, 273 treatment, and recovery services to students with one or more 274 mental health or co-occurring substance abuse diagnoses and to 275 students at high risk of such diagnoses. The provision of these 276 services must be coordinated with a student’s primary mental 277 health care provider and with other mental health providers 278 involved in the student’s care. At a minimum, the plans must 279 include the following elements: 280 1. Direct employment of school-based mental health services 281 providers to expand and enhance school-based student services 282 and to reduce the ratio of students to staff in order to better 283 align with nationally recommended ratio models. These providers 284 include, but are not limited to, certified school counselors, 285 school psychologists, school social workers, and other licensed 286 mental health professionals. The plan also must identify 287 strategies to increase the amount of time that school-based 288 student services personnel spend providing direct services to 289 students, which may include the review and revision of district 290 staffing resource allocations based on school or student mental 291 health assistance needs. 292 2. Contracts or interagency agreements with one or more 293 local community behavioral health providers or providers of 294 Community Action Team services to provide a behavioral health 295 staff presence and services at district schools. Services may 296 include, but are not limited to, mental health screenings and 297 assessments, individual counseling, family counseling, group 298 counseling, psychiatric or psychological services, trauma 299 informed care, mobile crisis services, and behavior 300 modification. These behavioral health services may be provided 301 on or off the school campus and may be supplemented by 302 telehealth. 303 3. Policies and procedures, including contracts with 304 service providers, which will ensure that students who are 305 referred to a school-based or community-based mental health 306 service provider for mental health screening for the 307 identification of mental health concerns and ensure that the 308 assessment of students at risk for mental health disorders 309 occurs within 15 days of referral. School-based mental health 310 services must be initiated within 15 days after identification 311 and assessment, and support by community-based mental health 312 service providers for students who are referred for community 313 based mental health services must be initiated within 30 days 314 after the school or district makes a referral. 315 4. Strategies or programs to reduce the likelihood of at 316 risk students developing social, emotional, or behavioral health 317 problems, depression, anxiety disorders, suicidal tendencies, or 318 substance use disorders. 319 5. Strategies to improve the early identification of 320 social, emotional, or behavioral problems or substance use 321 disorders, to improve the provision of early intervention 322 services, and to assist students in dealing with trauma and 323 violence. 324 6. Procedures to assist a mental health services provider 325 or a behavioral health provider as described in subparagraph 1. 326 or subparagraph 2., respectively, or a school resource officer 327 or school safety officer who has completed mental health crisis 328 intervention training in attempting to verbally deescalate a 329 student’s crisis situation before initiating an involuntary 330 examination pursuant to s. 394.463. Such procedures must include 331 strategies to deescalate a crisis situation for a student with a 332 developmental disability as that term is defined in s. 393.063. 333 7. A memorandum of understanding with a local mobile crisis 334 response service. Policies of the school district and the terms 335 of the memorandum of understanding must require that, in a 336 student crisis situation, school or law enforcement personnel 337 must contact the local mobile crisis response service before 338 initiating an involuntary examination pursuant to s. 394.463. 339 Such contact may be in person or by using telehealth as defined 340 in s. 456.47. School districts shall provide all school resource 341 officers and school safety officers with training on protocols 342 established under the memorandum of understanding developed 343 pursuant to this subparagraph. 344 Section 9. This act shall take effect July 1, 2021.