Revises provisions relating to mental health education in schools. (BDR 34-1068)

EXEMPT
(Reprinted with amendments adopted on April 21, 2025)
FIRST REPRINT S.B. 314

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SENATE BILL NO. 314–SENATOR LANGE

MARCH 10, 2025
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Referred to Committee on Education

SUMMARY—Revises provisions relating to mental health
education in schools. (BDR 34-1068)

FISCAL NOTE: Effect on Local Government: May have Fiscal Impact.
Effect on the State: Yes.

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EXPLANATION – Matter in bolded italics is new; matter between brackets [omitted material] is material to be omitted.

AN ACT relating to education; requiring certain standards of
content and performance for courses in health to
correspond with certain social and emotional learning
standards developed by the Department of Education and
to include certain information relating to mental health ;
requiring certain teachers to complete a course in mental
health education; requiring the Department to adopt
regulations concerning a course in mental health
education; requiring school districts and charter schools to
partner with certain entities to p rovide professional
development training in mental health education;
requiring certain professional development training for
teachers and administrators to include training on mental
health education and social and emotional learning; and
providing other matters properly relating thereto.
Legislative Counsel’s Digest:
Existing law requires the Council to Establish Academic Standards for Public 1
Schools to establish standards of content and performance for courses of study in 2
various subject areas, including health. Existing law further requires that such 3
standards established for courses in health include mental health and the 4
relationship between mental and physical health. (NRS 389.520) Section 1 of this 5
bill requires the standards developed for mental hea lth education to: (1) correspond 6
with any social and emotional learning standards that are developed by the 7
Department of Education; (2) include, without limitation, the provision of 8
information concerning mental health, the promotion of mental health and 9
culturally appropriate and age -appropriate mental health resources, as defined in 10
section 1, to pupils; and (3) require the use of evidence -based mental health 11
curriculum. 12

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Section 2 of this bill requires a teacher employed at a public school who is 13
initially hired: (1) on or before July 1, 2027, to complete a course in mental health 14
education on or before July 1, 2027; and (2) after July 1, 2027, to complete such a 15
course within his or her first year of employment , unless the teacher provides proof 16
that he or she already completed the course while employed at another public 17
school. Section 2 also requires the Department to adopt regulations that prescribe: 18
(1) the required contents of such a course; and (2) the process for approving such a 19
course. Section 2 further: (1) sets forth which entities are authorized to provide a 20
course in mental health education; (2) requires each public school to keep a record 21
of the completion of such a course for each teacher employed at the school; and (3) 22
authorizes the Department to inspect such records. Section 4 of this bill requires 23
school districts and charter schools to provide such professional development 24
training in mental health education by partnering with certain entities. Section 4 25
additionally requires school districts and charter schools to partner with the Nevada 26
System of Higher Education and other school districts to provide such professional 27
development training in rural areas and online. 28
Existing law requires the board of trustees of each scho ol district and the 29
governing body of each charter school to ensure that teachers have access to high -30
quality, ongoing professional development training. (NRS 391A.370) Section 6 of 31
this bill requires that such professional development training include tra ining on 32
mental health education and encompass any social and emotional learning 33
standards developed by the Department. 34

THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF NEVADA, REPRESENTED IN
SENATE AND ASSEMBLY, DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:

Section 1. NRS 389.520 is hereby amended to read as follows: 1
389.520 1. The Council shall: 2
(a) Establish standards of content and performance, including, 3
without limitation, a prescription of the resulting level of 4
achievement, for the grade levels set forth in subsection 5, based 5
upon the content of each course, that is expected of pupils for the 6
following courses of study: 7
(1) English language arts; 8
(2) Mathematics; 9
(3) Science; 10
(4) Social studies, which includes only the subjects of 11
history, geography, economics, civics, financial literacy and 12
multicultural education; 13
(5) The arts; 14
(6) Computer education and technology, which includes 15
computer science and computational thinking; 16
(7) Health; 17
(8) Physical education; and 18
(9) A foreign or world language. 19
(b) Establish a schedule for the periodic review and, if 20
necessary, revision of the standards of content and performance. The 21
review must include, without limitation, the review required 22

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pursuant to NRS 390.115 of the results of pupils on the 1
examinations administered pursuant to NRS 390.105. 2
(c) Assign priorities to the standards of content and performance 3
relative to importance and degree of emphasis and revise the 4
standards, if necessary, based upon the priorities. 5
2. The standards for computer education and technology must 6
include a policy for the ethical, safe and secure use of computers 7
and other electronic devices. The policy must include, without 8
limitation: 9
(a) The ethical use of computers and other electronic devices, 10
including, without limitation: 11
(1) Rules of conduct for the acceptable use of the Internet 12
and other electronic devices; and 13
(2) Methods to ensure the prevention of: 14
(I) Cyber-bullying; 15
(II) Plagiarism; and 16
(III) The theft of information or data in an electronic 17
form; 18
(b) The safe use of computers a nd other electronic devices, 19
including, without limitation, methods to: 20
(1) Avoid cyber -bullying and other unwanted electronic 21
communication, including, without limitation, communication with 22
on-line predators; 23
(2) Recognize when an on -line electronic communication is 24
dangerous or potentially dangerous; and 25
(3) Report a dangerous or potentially dangerous on -line 26
electronic communication to the appropriate school personnel; 27
(c) The secure use of computers and other electronic devices, 28
including, without limitation: 29
(1) Methods to maintain the security of personal identifying 30
information and financial information, including, without limitation, 31
identifying unsolicited electronic communication which is sent for 32
the purpose of obtaining such personal and financial information for 33
an unlawful purpose; 34
(2) The necessity for secure passwords or other unique 35
identifiers; 36
(3) The effects of a computer contaminant; 37
(4) Methods to identify unsolicited commercial material; and 38
(5) The dangers associated with social networking Internet 39
sites; and 40
(d) A designation of the level of detail of instruction as 41
appropriate for the grade level of pupils who receive the instruction. 42
3. The standards for social studies must include multicultural 43
education, including, without limitation, information relating to 44
contributions made by men and women from various racial and 45

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ethnic backgrounds. The Council shall consult with members of the 1
community who represent the racial and ethnic diversity of this 2
State in developing such standards. 3
4. The standards for health must include mental health 4
education and the relationship between mental health and physical 5
health. The standards for mental health education must: 6
(a) Correspond with any social and emotional learning 7
standards developed by the Department; 8
(b) Include, without limitation, the provision of information 9
concerning mental health, the promotion of mental health and 10
culturally appropri ate and age -appropriate mental health 11
resources to pupils; and 12
(c) Require the use of evidence -based mental health 13
curriculum. 14
5. The Council shall establish standards of content and 15
performance for each grade level in kindergarten and grades 1 to 8, 16
inclusive, for English language arts and mathematics. The Council 17
shall establish standards of content and performance for the grade 18
levels selected by the Council for the other courses of study 19
prescribed in subsection 1. 20
6. The Council shall forward to the State Board the standards 21
of content and performance established by the Council for each 22
course of study. The State Board shall: 23
(a) Adopt the standards for each course of study, as submitted 24
by the Council; or 25
(b) If the State Board objects to the standards for a course of 26
study or a particular grade level for a course of study, return those 27
standards to the Council with a written explanation setting forth the 28
reason for the objection. 29
7. If the State Board returns to the Council the standards of 30
content and performance for a course of study or a grade level, the 31
Council shall: 32
(a) Consider the objection provided by the State Board and 33
determine whether to revise the standards based upon the objection; 34
and 35
(b) Return the standards or the revised standards, as applicable, 36
to the State Board. 37
 The State Board shall adopt the standards of content and 38
performance or the revised standards, as applicable. 39
8. The Council shall work in cooperation with the State Board 40
to prescribe the examinations required by NRS 390.105. 41
9. As used in this section: 42
(a) “Computer contaminant” has the meaning ascribed to it in 43
NRS 205.4737. 44

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(b) “Cyber-bullying” has the meaning ascribed to it in 1
NRS 388.123. 2
(c) “Electronic communication” has the meaning ascribed to it 3
in NRS 388.124. 4
(d) “Mental health resources” means information a pupil may 5
use to address a mental health concern, including, without 6
limitation, information: 7
(1) That a pupil may use to seek help for mental health 8
treatment; 9
(2) Relating to the services of mental health workers, 10
counselors, psychologists or community -based medical or 11
behavioral providers of health care, which are provided by the 12
board of trustees of a school district or the governing body of a 13
charter school; and 14
(3) Relating to suicide awareness and prevention. 15
Sec. 2. Chapter 391 of NRS is hereby amended by adding 16
thereto a new section to read as follows: 17
1. Each licensed teacher employed at a public school, 18
including, w ithout limitation, a charter school, who is initially 19
hired: 20
(a) On or before July 1, 2027, except for a teacher who is 21
licensed only as a substitute teacher, must , on or before July 1, 22
2027, complete a course in mental health education approved by 23
the Department. 24
(b) After July 1, 2027, except for a teacher who is licensed only 25
as a substitute teacher, must complete a course in mental health 26
education approved by the Department within his or her first year 27
of employment , unless the teacher submits to t he public school 28
proof that the teacher previously completed such a course while 29
employed at a different public school. 30
2. The Department shall adopt regulations that prescribe the 31
required contents of a course in mental health education which 32
must be co mpleted pursuant to this section and the process 33
through which the Department will approve a course in mental 34
health education. 35
3. A course in mental health education may be offered by: 36
(a) A postsecondary educational institution in this State; or 37
(b) At no cost to a teacher required to complete the course 38
pursuant to this section, a school district or regional training 39
program. 40
4. Each public school, including, without limitation, each 41
charter school, in this State shall keep an accurate record o f the 42
completion of a course in mental health education for each 43
licensed teacher employed at the school. The Department may 44

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perform an inspection of such records to ensure compliance with 1
the provisions of this section. 2
5. As used in this section, “reg ional training program” has 3
the meaning ascribed to it in NRS 391A.105. 4
Sec. 3. (Deleted by amendment.) 5
Sec. 4. Chapter 391A of NRS is hereby amended by adding 6
thereto a new section to read as follows: 7
1. Each school district and the governing body of each 8
charter school shall provide professional development training 9
regarding mental health education that satisfies the requirements 10
of section 2 of this act to teachers. Such professional de velopment 11
training may be provided by the school district or governing body 12
or through an agreement with an institution of higher education 13
or a regional training program for the professional development 14
of teachers and administrators. 15
2. Each school di strict and charter school shall, as 16
applicable, enter into agreements with the Nevada System of 17
Higher Education and other school districts and charter schools to 18
provide such professional development training online and to 19
public schools located in rural areas. 20
Sec. 5. NRS 391A.345 is hereby amended to read as follows: 21
391A.345 As used in NRS 391A.345 to 391A.385, inclusive, 22
and section 4 of this act, unless the context otherwise requires, 23
“professional development traini ng” has the meaning ascribed to 24
“professional development” in 20 U.S.C. § 7801(42). 25
Sec. 6. NRS 391A.370 is hereby amended to read as follows: 26
391A.370 1. The State Board shall adopt regulations 27
prescribing standards for the professional development training 28
provided to teachers and administrators employed by a school 29
district or charter school. 30
2. The board of trustees of each school district and the 31
governing body of each charter school shall ensure that the teachers 32
and administrators employed by the school district or charter school 33
have access to high -quality, ongoing professional development 34
training. The professional development training must meet the 35
standards prescribed by the State Board pursuant to subsection 1 and 36
include, without limitation, training concerning: 37
(a) The academic standards adopted by the State Board, 38
including, without limitation, the academic standards for science. 39
(b) The academic standards and curriculum in English language 40
development and literacy. 41
(c) The curriculum and instruction required for courses of study 42
in: 43

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(1) Science, technology, engineering and mathematics, 1
including, without limitation and to the extent applicable, computer 2
science and computer education and technology. 3
(2) English language development and literacy. 4
(d) The cultural competency required to meet the social, 5
emotional and academic needs of certain categories of pupils 6
enrolled in the school, including, without limitation, pupils who are 7
at risk, pupils who are English learners, pupils with disabilities and 8
gifted and talented pupils. 9
(e) Mental health education, including, without limitation, any 10
social and emotional learning standards developed by the 11
Department. 12
3. Professional development training con cerning the 13
curriculum and instruction required for courses of study in computer 14
science and computer education and technology may be provided by 15
the school district or governing body or through an agreement with 16
an institution of higher education, a regio nal training program for 17
the professional development of teachers and administrators or the 18
Department. If the professional development training is provided 19
through an agreement with the Department, the professional 20
development training may include content contributed by a third 21
party if the content is approved by the Department for the purpose 22
of professional development training. 23
Sec. 7. 1. This section becomes effective upon passage and 24
approval. 25
2. Section 1 of this act becomes effective on July 1, 2026. 26
3. Sections 2 to 6, inclusive, of this act become effective: 27
(a) Upon passage and approval for the purpose of adopting any 28
regulations and performing any other preparatory administrative 29
tasks that are necessary to carry out the provisions of this act; and 30
(b) On July 1, 2027, for all other purposes. 31

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