Requiring school districts to obtain parental consent prior to providing certain school-based mental health services to a student.

As Further Amended by House Committee
As Amended by House Committee
Session of 2026
HOUSE BILL No. 2420
By Representative Steele
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AN ACT concerning education; relating to school districts; requiring
parental consent prior to providing any school-based mental health
service to a student; establishing exceptions to such requirement;
authorizing the imposition of a civil penalty for each violation thereof.
Be it enacted by the Legislature of the State of Kansas:
Section 1. (a) No school district or employee or agent thereof shall
initiate or provide any school-based mental health service for a student
unless, prior to initiating or providing the service, the student's parent or
person acting as parent:
(1) Is notified both through a direct verbal communication and a
written communication that provides information regarding the purpose,
expected time frame and plan for the school-based mental health service;
and
(2) provides written consent through a written or electronic signature
to authorize the provision of the school-based mental health service.
(b) Notwithstanding the provisions of this section, if any school
district employee becomes aware that a student may be at risk of suicide
by a credible report from the student, the student's peers or another school
district employee, the school personnel who are designated by the school
district to administer a suicide risk assessment or screening tool may
administer such risk assessment or screening tool in accordance with the
provisions of K.S.A. 72-6316(f), and amendments thereto.
(c) (1) If any school district or employee or agent thereof violates the
provisions of this section, the school district shall be liable for the payment
of a civil penalty in an amount of $5,000 for each violation. Such civil
penalty shall be recoverable in an action brought by the attorney general or
county or district attorney.
(2) Any civil penalty recovered by the attorney general shall be
remitted to the state treasurer in accordance with the provisions of K.S.A.
75-4215, and amendments thereto. Upon receipt of each such remittance,
the treasurer shall deposit the entire amount in the state treasury to the
credit of the state general fund.
(3) Any civil penalty recovered by a county or district attorney shall
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HB 2420—Fur. Am. by HC 2
be remitted to the county treasurer and deposited into the general fund of
the county where the proceedings occurred.
(d) As used in this section:
(1) "Agent" means any person who is not regularly employed by a
school district but provides a service for the school district that requires
such person to be present in a school of the school district or to come into
contact with students of the school district during the regular hours of the
school day. "Agent" includes, but is not limited to, any person employed
by a service provider that the school district contracts with for services,
student teachers and volunteers.
(2) "Employee" means any person regularly employed by a school
district to perform services for the school district, including, but not
limited to, teachers, school specialists, administrators, school nurses,
librarians and paraprofessionals.
(3) "Parent" and "person acting as parent" mean the same as defined
in K.S.A. 72-3127, and amendments thereto.
(4) "School-based mental health service" means any program,
intervention or strategy, including counseling-based therapeutic models,
applied in a school setting that is specifically designed to influence or
address a student's emotional, behavioral or social functioning. "School-
based mental health service" includes interventions to address mental
health concerns that are provided under tier 2 and tier 3 of the multi-tiered
system of supports framework. "School-based mental health service" does
not include:
(A) Interventions to address mental health concerns that are provided
universally under tier 1 of the multi-tiered system of supports framework
to multiple students; or
(B) any intervention that is provided as a one-time emergency
intervention or as an initial intervention to address an emergency
mental health concern with a student.
Sec. 2. This act shall take effect and be in force from and after its
publication in the statute book.
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