Bill Text: TX SB2003 | 2019-2020 | 86th Legislature | Introduced
Bill Title: Relating to the establishment of school-based behavioral health centers by school districts and a grant program administered by the executive commissioner of the Health and Human Services Commission for the operation of those centers.
Sponsorship: Partisan Bill (Democrat 1)
Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2019-03-21 - Referred to Education [SB2003 Detail]
Download: Texas-2019-SB2003-Introduced.html
| 86R2930 KJE-F | ||
| By: Whitmire | S.B. No. 2003 | |
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| relating to the establishment of school-based behavioral health | ||
| centers by school districts and a grant program administered by the | ||
| executive commissioner of the Health and Human Services Commission | ||
| for the operation of those centers. | ||
| BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS: | ||
| SECTION 1. Chapter 38, Education Code, is amended by adding | ||
| Subchapter B-1 to read as follows: | ||
| SUBCHAPTER B-1. SCHOOL-BASED BEHAVIORAL HEALTH CENTERS | ||
| Sec. 38.081. DEFINITIONS. In this subchapter: | ||
| (1) "Behavioral health services" includes mental | ||
| health assessments, crisis interventions, counseling, mental | ||
| health treatments and referrals to a continuum of mental health | ||
| services, including psychiatric care, community support programs, | ||
| and inpatient or outpatient care programs. | ||
| (2) "Executive commissioner" means the executive | ||
| commissioner of the Health and Human Services Commission. | ||
| Sec. 38.082. ESTABLISHMENT OF SCHOOL-BASED BEHAVIORAL | ||
| HEALTH CENTER. (a) A school district may establish a school-based | ||
| behavioral health center to: | ||
| (1) provide accessible behavioral health services to | ||
| students and their families; | ||
| (2) improve the emotional well-being and academic | ||
| performance of medically underserved students and their families; | ||
| and | ||
| (3) integrate behavioral health services in the school | ||
| environment. | ||
| (b) A school district may combine a school-based behavioral | ||
| health center with a school-based health center established under | ||
| Subchapter B or any other district program that provides primary | ||
| health care services to students. | ||
| Sec. 38.083. CENTER REQUIREMENTS. (a) A school-based | ||
| behavioral health center must: | ||
| (1) be located at or near a school district facility; | ||
| (2) be organized with assistance from the community | ||
| and relevant health care providers; and | ||
| (3) provide behavioral health services during school | ||
| hours to students in accordance with: | ||
| (A) applicable federal, state, and local laws; | ||
| (B) established behavioral health standards; and | ||
| (C) community practice. | ||
| (b) A school-based behavioral health center must be | ||
| administered by an eligible entity. An eligible entity must be a | ||
| community-based organization that is: | ||
| (1) a school district; | ||
| (2) a hospital; | ||
| (3) a local health department; | ||
| (4) a federally qualified health center, as defined by | ||
| 42 U.S.C. Section 1396d(l)(2)(B); | ||
| (5) a community mental health center, as defined by 42 | ||
| U.S.C. Section 1395x(ff)(3)(B); | ||
| (6) a local mental health authority; | ||
| (7) a health care provider whose sole purpose is | ||
| providing school-based behavioral health services; or | ||
| (8) any other appropriate nonprofit health care agency | ||
| or behavioral health care agency. | ||
| Sec. 38.084. GRANTS. (a) The executive commissioner shall | ||
| administer a program under which grants are awarded to assist | ||
| school districts with the costs of operating school-based | ||
| behavioral health centers. | ||
| (b) To be eligible to receive a grant under this section, a | ||
| school district must: | ||
| (1) establish or propose to establish a school-based | ||
| behavioral health center that meets the requirements under Section | ||
| 38.083; | ||
| (2) provide sufficient information establishing local | ||
| need for the behavioral health services provided by or proposed to | ||
| be provided by the center; | ||
| (3) provide sufficient evidence that: | ||
| (A) the center will obtain parental consent | ||
| before providing behavioral health services to children; | ||
| (B) the district will establish and maintain | ||
| relationships with health care providers in the district; | ||
| (C) the center will offer: | ||
| (i) on-site access during each | ||
| instructional day; and | ||
| (ii) 24-hour coverage through an on-call | ||
| system to ensure year-round access to the center's services; | ||
| (D) the center will be integrated into the school | ||
| environment and will coordinate behavioral health resources with | ||
| district educators and other appropriate support personnel, | ||
| including other school-based health care providers; and | ||
| (E) the entity administering the center will | ||
| assume all responsibility for the administration, operation, and | ||
| oversight of the center; and | ||
| (4) provide any other information the executive | ||
| commissioner determines necessary. | ||
| (c) In awarding grants under this section, the executive | ||
| commissioner shall give priority to school districts that seek | ||
| funding for a school-based behavioral health center that meets at | ||
| least two of the following criteria: | ||
| (1) the center has already been established; | ||
| (2) the center will be established at a campus that | ||
| does not currently have a school-based behavioral health center; | ||
| (3) the center serves or will serve an area in which | ||
| there are barriers to students accessing behavioral health | ||
| services; or | ||
| (4) the center serves or will serve a campus at which | ||
| 50 percent or more of the students in daily attendance at the campus | ||
| are: | ||
| (A) uninsured, underinsured, or enrolled in a | ||
| public health insurance program; or | ||
| (B) educationally disadvantaged. | ||
| (d) The executive commissioner shall determine the amount | ||
| of each grant awarded under this section. In determining the amount | ||
| of a grant, the executive commissioner shall consider: | ||
| (1) the financial need of the school district to | ||
| operate the school-based behavioral health center; | ||
| (2) other funding provided to the school district for | ||
| the operation of the center; and | ||
| (3) any other factor the executive commissioner | ||
| determines relevant. | ||
| (e) A grant awarded under this section may be used only for: | ||
| (1) the salaries of health care providers who provide | ||
| behavioral health services through the school-based behavioral | ||
| health center; | ||
| (2) overhead costs of the center; or | ||
| (3) costs related to managing the center's programs. | ||
| (f) The executive commissioner shall provide to a school | ||
| district that receives a grant under this section: | ||
| (1) technical assistance; | ||
| (2) fiscal and program management assistance and | ||
| training; | ||
| (3) operational and administrative support; and | ||
| (4) information on best practices in offering | ||
| behavioral health services through a school-based behavioral | ||
| health center. | ||
| (g) The executive commissioner shall adopt rules as | ||
| necessary to implement this section, including rules regarding the | ||
| evaluation and monitoring of school-based behavioral health | ||
| centers operated by school districts that receive a grant under | ||
| this section. | ||
| SECTION 2. This Act applies beginning with the 2019-2020 | ||
| school year. | ||
| SECTION 3. This Act takes effect immediately if it receives | ||
| a vote of two-thirds of all the members elected to each house, as | ||
| provided by Section 39, Article III, Texas Constitution. If this | ||
| Act does not receive the vote necessary for immediate effect, this | ||
| Act takes effect September 1, 2019. | ||
