New Jersey A 3761: Directs DOE to develop guidelines for school districts concerning student mental health services.

Bill Text

(Sponsorship Updated As Of: 2/22/2024)
ASSEMBLY, No. 3761
STATE OF NEW JERSEY
221st LEGISLATURE

INTRODUCED FEBRUARY 22, 2024

Sponsored by:
Assemblywoman SHANIQUE SPEIGHT
District 29 (Essex and Hudson)
Assemblywoman TENNILLE R. MCCOY
District 14 (Mercer and Middlesex)

SYNOPSIS
Directs DOE to develop guidelines for school districts concerning student
mental health services.

CURRENT VERSION OF TEXT
As introduced.

A3761 SPEIGHT, MCCOY
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AN ACT concerning student mental health services and 1
supplementing chapter 40 of Title 18A of the New Jersey 2
Statutes. 3
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BE IT ENACTED by the Senate and General Assembly of the State 5
of New Jersey: 6
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1. a. The Department of Education, in partnership with the 8
Department of Human Services and the Department of Children and 9
Families, shall develop and distribute to school districts guidelines 10
for providing mental health services to students. The purpose of the 11
guidelines shall be to assist school districts in enhancing and 12
improving mental health services for students and shall reflect the 13
findings of the “New Jersey Comprehensive School-Based Mental 14
Health Resource Guide” published by the Department of Education 15
in February 2022. The department shall review and update the 16
guidelines as needed. In developing and updating the guidelines, 17
the department shall seek the input and recommendations of school 18
district administrators, educators, mental health professionals, and 19
other appropriate stakeholders. 20
b. The guidelines, developed pursuant to this section shall 21
include information as needed to support the development and 22
implementation of comprehensive school-based mental health 23
systems, which may include recommendations on: 24
(1) implementing a quality-based multi-tiered student mental 25
health system of care that prevents mental health concerns and 26
mitigates trauma; 27
(2) establishing sustainable school partnerships with community 28
mental health service providers; 29
(3) providing mental health services to English language 30
learners; 31
(4) providing culturally sensitive mental health services; 32
(5) incorporating new technology and innovations into existing 33
mental health services, including, but not limited to, providing 34
mental health services to students through virtual or remote means; 35
(6) evaluating the effectiveness of available student mental 36
health services; 37
(7) identifying and maximizing the use of available State, 38
federal, nonprofit, and private funding to support a multi-tiered 39
student mental health system of care; and 40
(8) the ratios of student mental health providers to students. 41
c. The Department of Education shall post the guidelines 42
developed pursuant to this section on its Internet website. The 43
department shall also include on its Internet website links to 44
professional development resources related to student mental health 45
for school administrators, educators, and staff. 46
d. The Department of Education
shall provide on its Internet 47
website information about the Division of Children’s System of 48

A3761 SPEIGHT, MCCOY
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Care in the Department of Children and Families. This information 1
shall include a link to the division’s website, as well as the contact 2
information for the division’s access line.
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2. This act shall take effect immediately and shall first apply to 5
the first full school year following the date of enactment. 6
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STATEMENT 9
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This bill directs the Department of Education, in partnership with 11
the Department of Human Services and the Department of Children 12
and Families, to develop and distribute to school districts guidelines 13
for providing mental health services to students. The purpose of the 14
guidelines is to assist school districts in enhancing and improving 15
mental health services for students. Under the bill, the guidelines 16
are to be reviewed and updated annually by the Department of 17
Education. In developing and updating the guidelines, the 18
department is required to seek the input and recommendations of 19
school district administrators, educators, mental health 20
professionals, and other appropriate stakeholders. 21
The guidelines established under the bill, at minimum, are to 22
include recommendations on: 23
(1) implementing a quality-based multi-tiered student mental 24
health system of care that prevents mental health concerns and 25
mitigates trauma; 26
(2) establishing sustainable school partnerships with community 27
mental health service providers; 28
(3) providing mental health services to English language 29
learners; 30
(4) providing culturally sensitive mental health services; 31
(5) incorporating new technology and innovations into existing 32
mental health services including, but not limited to, providing 33
mental health services to students through virtual or remote means; 34
(6) evaluating the effectiveness of available student mental 35
health services; 36
(7) identifying and maxi