Bill Text: IL HB0212 | 2021-2022 | 102nd General Assembly | Introduced

NOTE: There are more recent revisions of this legislation. Read Latest Draft

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Bill Title: Amends the Children's Mental Health Act of 2003. Provides that the Children's Mental Health Plan shall include recommendations for ensuring all Illinois youth receive mental health education and have access to mental health care in the school setting. Provides that in developing these recommendations, the Children's Mental Health Partnership shall consult with the State Board of Education, education practitioners, health care professionals, disability advocates, and other representatives as necessary to ensure the interests of all students are represented. Effective July 1, 2021.

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 10-0)

Status: (Passed) 2021-07-23 - Public Act . . . . . . . . . 102-0116 [HB0212 Detail]

Download: Illinois-2021-HB0212-Introduced.html

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102ND GENERAL ASSEMBLY State of Illinois 2021 and 2022 HB0212 Introduced , by Rep. Deb Conroy SYNOPSIS AS INTRODUCED:
105 ILCS 5/22-90 new
Amends the School Code to create the Mental Health Task Force for Communication, Intelligence, Empathy, Emotion, and Empowerment. Provides that the purpose of the task force is to explore and determine a method and program for all students in primary and secondary school to receive mandated mental health care. Sets forth the membership of the task force. Contains provisions concerning the intent of the program, the goals of mandated health care, and task force meetings, duties, and reporting. Repeals these provisions on January 1, 2023. Effective immediately.
LRB102 10171 CMG 15493 b
FISCAL NOTE ACT MAY APPLY
A BILL FOR
HB0212 LRB102 10171 CMG 15493 b
AN ACT concerning education.
Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois,
represented in the General Assembly:
Section 5. The School Code is amended by adding Section
22-90 as follows:
(105 ILCS 5/22-90 new)
Sec. 22-90. Mental Health Task Force for Communication,
Intelligence, Empathy, Emotion, and Empowerment.
(a) The General Assembly makes all of the following
findings:
(1) Mental health is not specific to any faith, color,
community, gender, or socioeconomic standard. It applies
to everyone. It impacts everyone. Access and availability
to mental health services is a human right. A right that
should be available to all people. The removal of the
stigma that society has historically placed upon those
seeking to obtain mental health services begins with
education and accessibility to mental health services for
all persons. Removing the stigma of mental health care
could be one of the greatest gifts that our State can give
to our children and to our society and a standard that
other states should follow.
(2) The State of Illinois has a social and ethical

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responsibility to help guide Illinois youth by providing
necessary resources for mental health care. Providing
resources for students to learn how to effectively
articulate their thoughts and feelings and to become
emotionally responsible shall provide the tools and skill
sets needed to succeed professionally and personally
throughout the course of a lifetime.
(3) Our schools and educational systems continue to
operate with the highest of expectations and with minimal
resources. We can no longer ask or expect our schools and
educators to fill the much-needed gaps in mental health
development, including social and personal growth.
Additional resources are necessary to address and resolve
significant social problems and issues that include, but
are not limited to, mass shootings, racism,
cyber-bullying, special needs, adaptation to emerging
technologies, the unknown long-term consequences of the
use of those technologies, a global pandemic, human
trafficking, and unspeakable trauma and abuse.
(b) The Mental Health Task Force for Communication,
Intelligence, Empathy, Emotion, and Empowerment is created as
a proactive and preventative approach to protect and empower
our State and nation.
(c) The primary purpose of this task force is to explore
and determine a method and program for all students in primary
and secondary school to receive mandated mental health care.

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The overarching intent of the program is to provide open
access to mental health care for everyone, but the program
shall begin with students enrolled in grades kindergarten
through 12. The goals of mandated health care are to:
(1) create empathy in students for other students
whose needs may differ from their own;
(2) teach emotional responsibility and empowerment;
(3) remove the stigma of seeing a mental health
provider through exposure and education;
(4) normalize counseling by also approaching it as a
sort of life-coaching application to which all students
should have access;
(5) teach and develop interest in the field of mental
health so that our youth will have a solid and applicable
approach as needs change with evolving emerging
technologies;
(6) ensure that the science of psychology evolves with
advancements in technology by normalizing mental health
care and incorporating it into the daily lives of future
mental health care providers;
(7) determine a method for the collection of data for
evaluating the needs, progress, and successes of the
program that does not reveal or expose student identities;
(8) determine data markers that may be delineated
geographically for the purpose of future funding and the
allocation of resources, with the resources required to

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collect, store, and administer the data being reported in
the findings submitted by the task force under subsection
(j); and
(9) establish consistent and clear procedures among
State and local agencies concerning the manner in which
the mental health records of students are legally
collected, stored, sealed, and expunged under the program.
(d) Members of this task force shall represent the
magnitude and importance of mandated mental health care and
mental health education for students. This task force shall
include all of the following members:
(1) Ten professional mental health providers whose
licensure and practice specialize in child and adolescent
care, who employ culturally sensitive, evidence-based
practices, and who hold current and good standing
licensure in the State of Illinois that has never been
suspended or revoked as follows:
(A) Two professional clinical psychologists
licensed under the Clinical Psychologist Licensing Act
as follows:
(i) One clinical psychologist appointed by the
Governor.
(ii) One clinical psychologist appointed by
the Lieutenant Governor.
(B) Two psychiatrists licensed under the Medical
Practice Act of 1987 as follows:

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(i) One psychiatrist appointed by the
Governor.
(ii) One psychiatrist appointed by the
Lieutenant Governor.
(C) Two professional clinical social workers
licensed under the Clinical Social Work and Social
Work Practice Act as follows:
(i) One clinical social worker appointed by
the Governor.
(ii) One clinical social worker appointed by
the Lieutenant Governor.
(D) One clinical professional counselor and one
professional counselor licensed under the Professional
Counselor and Clinical Professional Counselor
Licensing and Practice Act as follows:
(i) One clinical professional counselor
appointed by the Governor.
(ii) One professional counselor appointed by
the Lieutenant Governor.
(E) Two licensed marriage and family therapists
licensed under the Marriage and Family Therapy
Licensing Act as follows:
(i) One marriage and family therapist
appointed by the Governor.
(ii) One marriage and family therapist
appointed by the Lieutenant Governor.

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(2) One full-time school nurse or one nurse who is a
member of the United States Congress licensed under the
Nurse Practice Act and holding current and good standing
licensure in the State of Illinois that has never been
suspended or revoked, appointed by the Lieutenant
Governor.
(3) Six members of the General Assembly as follows:
(A) Two members of the General Assembly who are
appointed by the Speaker of the House of
Representatives.
(B) Two members of the General Assembly who are
appointed by the President of the Senate.
(C) One member of the General Assembly who is
appointed by the Minority Leader of the House of
Representatives.
(D) One member of the General Assembly who is
appointed by the Minority Leader of the Senate.
(4) Four school board members who are appointed by the
Illinois Association of School Boards as follows:
(A) One member of the Chicago Board of Education.
(B) One school board member of a school district
other than City of Chicago School District 299 that is
located north of Interstate 80.
(C) One school board member of a school district
located south of Interstate 80 and north of Interstate
72.

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(D) One school board member of a school district
located south of Interstate 72.
(5) Three school district superintendents from the
geographic regions identified by the Illinois Association
of Regional Superintendents of Schools and who are
appointed by the Illinois Association of School
Administrators as follows:
(A) One superintendent from region 1 or 2.
(B) One superintendent from region 3 or 4.
(C) One superintendent from region 5 or 6.
(6) Three full-time principals appointed by the State
Board of Education as follows:
(A) One full-time principal of a primary school.
(B) One full-time principal of a secondary school.
(C) One full-time principal of a special education
school.
(7) Three full-time teachers appointed by the State
Board of Education as follows:
(A) One full-time teacher of a primary school.
(B) One full-time teacher of a secondary school.
(C) One full-time special education teacher.
(8) Three parents who have children currently enrolled
in a primary or secondary school and who are appointed by
the State Board of Education as follows:
(A) One parent who has a child enrolled in a public
school.

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(B) One parent who has a child enrolled in a
nonpublic school.
(C) One parent who has a child with special needs
enrolled in a public or nonpublic school.
(9) Two members who represent emerging technology
industries, preferably with a strong presence in science,
technology, engineering, arts, and mathematics (STEAM)
programs, as follows:
(A) One member appointed by the Governor.
(B) One member appointed by the Lieutenant
Governor.
(10) Three student representatives as follows:
(A) One high school student who, for the duration
of the task force, is in attendance at a high school
located north of Interstate 80 and who is appointed by
the Governor.
(B) One high school student who, for the duration
of the task force, is in attendance at a high school
located south of Interstate 80 and north of Interstate
72 and who is appointed by the Lieutenant Governor.
(C) One high school student who, for the duration
of the task force, is in attendance at a high school
located south of Interstate 72 and who is appointed by
the Governor.
To assist the task force in establishing the best legal
and ethical practices for protecting the privacy,

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confidentiality, and identity of students who participate in
the program and to ensure consistency in the application of
these practices, as well as laws, among State agencies and
entities, the State Board of Education shall consult, as
necessary, with the appropriate agencies and entities who
handle and administer the legal, safety, or reform interests
of juveniles.
(e) The task force shall meet initially at the call of the
State Board of Education within 45 days after the effective
date of this amendatory Act of the 102nd General Assembly and
shall thereafter meet at the call of the State Board of
Education. At its initial meeting, the task force shall elect
a chairperson or chairpersons and any other officers it deems
appropriate from among its members and shall establish and
approve a meeting schedule under the advisement of the State
Board of Education. The task force shall meet by
videoconference, teleconference, or any other method
determined to be an efficient use of State resources by the
State Board of Education.
(f) Due to the size of the task force, the State Board of
Education and the chairperson or chairpersons of the task
force shall, at the task force's initial meeting, determine a
scalable means to efficiently administer the task force.
Options may include that one member from each group or
profession represented on the task force be selected to
represent that member's designated group or profession or that

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members of each group or profession alternate their attendance
at meetings. If an appropriate scalability is determined, it
shall be the responsibility of the members of each group or
profession to communicate within their group or profession
about the agenda of each meeting and to also confirm which
member will be in attendance. To promote efficiency and
transparency among the members of the task force, the State
Board of Education may arrange for a shared channel or other
similar means of electronic communication for members of the
task force to communicate with each other and to upload
documents. The State Board of Education and the chairperson or
chairpersons of the task force may collaborate with other
State task forces whose missions are similar in purpose and
nature to the task force created under this Section.
(g) Members of the task force shall serve without
compensation but shall be reimbursed for their reasonable and
necessary expenses from funds appropriated to the State Board
of Education for that purpose, including travel, subject to
the rules of the appropriate travel control board.
(h) The task force shall receive administrative and other
support from the State Board of Education. Additionally, the
Department of Innovation and Technology may provide technical
advice and guidance to the task force on the collection of
data.
(i) The task force shall determine the feasibility and
funding of and the best course of action to implement the

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program. This course of action shall include the type of
provider or providers and the frequency of seeing the provider
or providers. The course of action may include pilot programs
throughout this State, including pilot programs that use and
provide access to telehealth services as described under the
Telehealth Act.
(j) The task force shall submit a report of its findings to
the Governor and the General Assembly on or before December
31, 2022. Once the task force has submitted its report and a
positive course of action is set in place, all of the following
shall apply:
(1) A parent or guardian of a student has the option to
exclude the student from the program.
(2) Mental health records may not become a part of the
student's school record.
(3) Safety standards in mental health and child care
reporting shall remain in place.
(k) The task force is dissolved upon submission of its
report under subsection (j).
(l) This Section is repealed on January 1, 2023.
Section 99. Effective date. This Act takes effect upon
becoming law.