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ACT No. 9442026 Regular Session
HOUSE BILL NO. 352
BY REPRESENTATIVES MACK, ADAMS, CHASSION, DICKERSON, EDMONSTON,
DANA HENRY, JACKSON, LAFLEUR, SPELL, AND VILLIO AND SENATORS
BARROW, FOIL, HODGES, JACKSON-ANDREWS, JENKINS, MYERS, AND
TALBOT
1 AN ACT
2 To amend and reenact R.S. 17:173(A)(2)(introductory paragraph), (c), (e), and (h) and (D)
3 and to enact R.S. 17:173(A)(2)(l) and (B)(9), relative to behavioral health services
4 for public school students; to provide for related policies adopted by public school
5 governing authorities; to provide for definitions; and to provide for related matters.
6 Be it enacted by the Legislature of Louisiana:
7 Section 1. R.S. 17:173(A)(2)(introductory paragraph), (c), (e), and (h) and (D) are
8 hereby amended and reenacted and R.S. 17:173(A)(2)(l) and (B)(9) are hereby enacted to
9 read as follows:
10 §173. Behavioral health services for students
11 A.
12 * * *
13 (2) Each public school governing authority shall adopt and make available
14 to the public a policy to implement the provisions of this Section. The authority
15 shall make such policy available to the public by, at a minimum, posting it on its
16 website and shall include it in its student handbook. The policy shall not create
17 onerous requirements for behavioral health providers resulting in a delay or barrier
18 to the provision of medically necessary services. The policy, at a minimum, shall
19 provide that:
20 * * *
21 (c) Behavioral health services shall be permitted during school hours if the
22 student's parent or legal guardian presents a behavioral health evaluation performed
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1 by an evaluator as well as an assessment and authorized treatment plan performed
2 by a behavioral health provider chosen by the parent or legal guardian and the
3 evaluation indicates that the services are necessary during school hours to assist the
4 student with behavioral health impairments associated with a medical diagnosis that
5 the evaluator determines are interfering with the student's ability to thrive in the
6 educational setting. If supervision of the behavioral health provider is conducted
7 virtually, no other student except the student receiving behavioral health services
8 shall be recorded.
9 * * *
10 (e) A public school governing authority shall not prohibit a behavioral health
11 evaluation, assessment, or authorized treatment plan from being performed on school
12 property in order to establish medical necessity or deliver medically necessary
13 services. Behavioral health services may shall be provided in a physical classroom,
14 to the extent that it is medically necessary, during any part of the school day,
15 including any and all instructional time in courses including but not limited to
16 English, reading, mathematics, and science. However, behavioral health services
17 shall also be provided outside of the physical classroom to the extent that it is
18 medically necessary. The school administrator and service provider shall work
19 collaboratively to create a consistent schedule that meets the medical needs of the
20 student and complies with the provider's ethical code of conduct. In developing the
21 student's plan, consideration shall include impacts on a school's operations and a
22 student's testing schedule. If the parties cannot agree, then the parties shall engage
23 in a dispute resolution process set forth by the state Department of Education in
24 accordance with Subsection D of this Section.
25 * * *
26 (h) While on a school campus, a behavioral service health provider shall
27 comply with, and abide by, the terms of any Individualized Education Plan,
28 Individualized Accommodation Plan, Section 504 Plan, Behavior Management Plan,
29 or Individualized Health Plan applicable to a student who is a patient of the provider.
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1 The services furnished by a provider shall be incorporated into a written treatment
2 plan applicable to a student.
3 * * *
4 (l)(i) The contract or agreement between a public school governing authority
5 and a behavioral health provider may specify whether a school principal may dismiss
6 a behavioral health provider staff member from the campus and the terms under
7 which such a dismissal is permissible.
8 (ii) Within twenty-one days after a parent or guardian submits a behavioral
9 health treatment plan to a school administrator and no later than fourteen school days
10 after behavioral health services begin, the school administrator or his designee shall
11 ensure that a school-based service delivery review meeting is held in person or
12 virtually. At a minimum, the meeting shall include the school administrator or his
13 designee, the student's classroom teacher or teachers, and the behavioral health
14 provider. The meeting may also include the student's special education teacher, case
15 manager, or other school employee responsible for implementation of the student's
16 Individualized Education Plan, Individualized Accommodation Plan, Section 504
17 Plan, Behavior Intervention Plan, or Individualized Health Plan.
18 (iii) Behavioral health services may begin prior to the school-based service
19 delivery review meeting, if reasonable efforts are made to coordinate with school
20 personnel. A behavioral health provider may initiate and continue medically
21 necessary services, and the school shall provide reasonable access to the student,
22 pending completion of the meeting. Reasonable access shall include the ability to
23 enter the school, observe the student, and deliver authorized services during the
24 school day in coordination with instructional activities.
25 (iv) The school-based service delivery review meeting shall address, at a
26 minimum, the following:
27 (aa) Review of the provider's written treatment plan and any applicable
28 Individualized Education Plan, Individualized Accommodation Plan, Section 504
29 Plan, Behavior Intervention Plan, or Individualized Health Plan.
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1 (bb) The role and responsibilities of the behavioral health provider while on
2 the school campus, including activities to be conducted in the classroom during
3 instructional time.
4 (cc) The classroom routines, school policies, and behavioral expectations
5 applicable to the student.
6 (dd) The method and frequency of ongoing communication between the
7 behavioral health provider and school personnel and the chain of communication for
8 questions or concerns.
9 (ee) The schedule for behavioral health services during the school day,
10 including how services will be coordinated with instructional activities, assessments,
11 and school-wide events.
12 (ff) Procedures for requesting a follow-up school-based service delivery
13 review meeting when the behavioral health provider changes or there is a material
14 change in the student's classroom or educational placement or in the behavioral
15 health provider's written treatment plan. The school-based service delivery meeting
16 shall not take the place of any meetings required by a student's Individualized
17 Education Plan.
18 (v) A behavioral health provider delivering services pursuant to this Section
19 shall use reasonable efforts to minimize disruption to instruction and classroom
20 management.
21 (vi) Recommendations, concerns, or requested changes regarding classroom
22 strategies, interventions, accommodations, modifications, supports, or safety
23 procedures shall be communicated to the teacher and the school administrator or his
24 designee outside the presence of other students, except when immediate action is
25 necessary to prevent imminent risk of harm to the student or another person.
26 (vii) A behavioral health provider shall not direct, supervise, or evaluate the
27 job performance of a teacher or other school employee.
28 (viii) A behavioral health provider's role in the classroom shall be limited to
29 delivery of services to the designated student, which may include collaboration with
30 school personnel to support implementation of the student's treatment plan.
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1 (ix) A behavioral health provider shall not implement or direct the
2 implementation of medically necessary services that knowingly interfere, impede,
3 or conflict with services the school is legally required to provide under a student's
4 Individualized Education Plan, Individualized Accommodation Plan, Section 504
5 Plan, Behavior Intervention Plan, or Individualized Health Plan, without
6 collaboration and agreement between service providers.
7 * * *
8 B. For purposes of this Section, the following terms shall have the following
9 meanings:
10 * * *
11 (9) "School-based service delivery review meeting" means a meeting held,
12 either in person or virtually, for the purpose of reviewing the delivery of behavioral
13 health services in the school setting, including the behavioral health provider's role,
14 applicable student plans, classroom expectations, communication, scheduling, and
15 other procedures necessary to support uninterrupted instruction and appropriate
16 coordination with school personnel and the behavioral health provider.
17 * * *
18 D. The State Board of Elementary and Secondary Education shall adopt rules
19 for the implementation of this Section and provide for a dispute resolution process
20 relative to the services provided pursuant to this Section according to guidelines
21 established by the state Department of Education. A parent or legal guardian shall
22 be the sole person permitted to file a dispute resolution claim in relation to a student,
23 which shall be filed only after an alleged incident has occurred. In the event of a
24 conflict between a student's Individualized Education Plan, Individualized
25 Accommodation Plan, Section 504 Plan, Behavior Intervention Plan, or
26 Individualized Health Plan and a behavioral health provider's written treatment plan,
27 the applicable student plan shall control with respect to the educational services and
28 supports addressed by that plan. Nothing in this Section shall be construed to require
29 medically necessary behavioral health services authorized under this Section be
30 included in any such student plan as a condition of being delivered on school
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1 property, nor shall the absence of such services from any such student plan constitute
2 a basis to deny those services.
SPEAKER OF THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
PRESIDENT OF THE SENATE
GOVERNOR OF THE STATE OF LOUISIANA
APPROVED:
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