Student mental health net.

AN ACT Relating to establishing a statewide network for student 1
mental and behavioral health to maintain, expand, and provide 2
oversight to Washington's school-based mental and behavioral health 3
system for children and adolescents across the state; adding new 4
sections to chapter 28A.300 RCW; adding a new section to chapter 5
28A.310 RCW; and creating a new section. 6
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF WASHINGTON:7
NEW SECTION. Sec. 1. The legislature recognizes that many 8
children and students struggle with mental health, substance use, and 9
behavioral health challenges that impact their ability to engage in 10
learning and develop pathways to wellness and success. The mental and 11
behavioral health crisis for children and youth in the United States 12
has reached a critical point. The legislature also recognizes that 13
behavioral health and wellness supports for K-12 students in 14
Washington are fragmented, with roles and responsibilities assigned 15
across several local and state agencies. The department of health, 16
the Washington state health care authority, and the office of the 17
superintendent of public instruction all play significant but 18
distinct roles, as do regional educational service districts, local 19
school districts, and community partners. Nonetheless, schools are 20
often community hubs making them a natural setting for prevention, 21
Z-0251.1
HOUSE BILL 1547
State of Washington 69th Legislature 2025 Regular Session
By Representatives Santos, Berry, Davis, Callan, Paul, Ortiz-Self,
Kloba, Shavers, Zahn, Ormsby, Pollet, Scott, Doglio, Hill, and
Simmons; by request of Superintendent of Public Instruction
Read first time 01/23/25. Referred to Committee on Education.
p. 1 HB 1547
early intervention, and service delivery related to mental and 1
behavioral health so that students can fully access their right to a 2
basic education. 3
The legislature also recognizes the investments made to support 4
student behavioral health and well-being and that despite those 5
investments, school districts lack the dedicated funding and 6
coordinated supports necessary to deploy comprehensive supports and 7
direct services across the behavioral health continuum for their 8
students. 9
Therefore, it is the intent of the legislature to create a 10
connected statewide network for student mental and behavioral health 11
to maintain, expand, and provide oversight to Washington's school-12
based mental and behavioral health system for children and 13
adolescents across the state. 14
NEW SECTION. Sec. 2. A new section is added to chapter 28A.300 15
RCW to read as follows: 16
(1) Subject to the availability of amounts appropriated for this 17
specific purpose, the office of the superintendent of public 18
instruction, in collaboration with local education agencies, the 19
Washington association of educational service districts, and other 20
state agencies as applicable, including the health care authority, 21
the department of health, and the department of children, youth, and 22
families, shall (a) establish strategic direction and goals for 23
statewide programming to strengthen the capacity of local education 24
agencies to meet the recognition, initial screening, and response 25
requirements outlined in RCW 28A.320.127 and (b) provide state-level 26
coordination to help schools better promote mental well-being as well 27
as identify and connect students to behavioral health supports in 28
school and interconnected community settings. 29
(2) At a minimum, the state-level coordination and strategic 30
direction and goals mandated in subsection (1) of this section must 31
include: 32
(a) In alignment with the Washington integrated student supports 33
protocol, tools, guidance, and supports for school districts to offer 34
coordinated student supports related to behavioral health, including 35
prevention and awareness, student engagement, and student access to 36
the full continuum of school-based behavioral health services;37
(b) Guidance and streamline processes to maximize access to state 38
and federal resources; 39
p. 2 HB 1547
(c) Coordination with training and technical assistance entities 1
who support local education agencies in designing, funding, and 2
implementing comprehensive student behavioral health supports based 3
on the tools, guidance, and supports established in (a) of this 4
subsection; 5
(d) Evidence-based practices, including practices aligned with 6
the Washington integrated student supports protocol that support 7
mental and behavioral health services in school districts;8
(e) Coordination with organizations representing school board 9
members, district and building-level leadership, educators, and other 10
school staff to support school district implementation of chapter 11
129, Laws of 2021; 12
(f) Support of local education agencies through guidance and 13
technical assistance in facilitating student access to mental and 14
behavioral health supports and reduction of barriers to school-based 15
behavioral health services; 16
(g) Resources to support local education agencies in deploying 17
student school-based substance use and behavioral health screening, 18
intervention, and referral activities in alignment to promising and 19
evidence-based practices; 20
(h) Foundational school substance abuse prevention and 21
intervention resources to address the health and well-being impacts 22
of drug use, including education to promote behaviors that positively 23
influence student behavioral health; and 24
(i) A review process for continuous improvement of services and 25
monitoring of the impact and alignment of statewide efforts related 26
to student behavioral health, including the regional school safety 27
centers established in RCW 28A.310.510 and the regional school-based 28
mental and behavioral health student assistance program established 29
in section 3 of this act. 30
(3) Subject to funds appropriated, the office of the 31
superintendent of public instruction shall support and implement 32
elements from the strategic plan developed by the strategic plan 33
advisory group established by section 1, chapter 76, Laws of 2022.34
NEW SECTION. Sec. 3. A new section is added to chapter 28A.310 35
RCW to read as follows: 36
(1) Subject to the availability of amounts appropriated for this 37
specific purpose, the regional school-based mental and behavioral 38
health student assistance program is established. The purpose of the 39
p. 3 HB 1547
program is to support the office of the superintendent of public 1
instruction through increased regional deployment of behavioral and 2
mental health supports, including substance abuse prevention and 3
intervention services in communities with limited access to 4
behavioral and mental health services across Washington state. The 5
Washington association of educational service districts shall provide 6
overall coordination of the program across the regions.7
(2) At a minimum, each regional program must: 8
(a) Work in conjunction with the office of the superintendent of 9
public instruction as prescribed in section 2 of this act and 10
permitted under RCW 28A.310.470 to form a statewide network for 11
student mental and behavioral health; 12
(b) Provide aligned student behavioral health assistance 13
prevention and intervention services in schools by:14
(i) Supporting multidisciplinary school teams for referral and 15
systems improvement coordination; 16
(ii) Conducting screening, referral, and care coordination 17
activities; 18
(iii) Conducting internal capacity and fidelity assessments to 19
support systems improvement and continued sustained implementation 20
efforts at the local education agency level; 21
(iv) Providing individual and group intervention services using 22
evidence-based practices; 23
(v) Delivering and supporting the local education agency in 24
adoption and development of mental health and substance use classroom 25
education inclusive of prevention topics, such as opiates, vaping, 26
and mental health promotion; 27
(vi) Supporting behavioral health awareness campaigns;28
(vii) Providing and/or supporting parent and community learning 29
events; and 30
(viii) Providing behavioral health treatment services in regions 31
where available; 32
(c) Support school districts in providing direct student 33
screening in both mental health and substance abuse;34
(d) Collaborate as necessary and appropriate with regional school 35
safety centers required by RCW 28A.310.510 by sharing information and 36
student assistance resources to ensure alignment of behavioral health 37
supports across the region; and 38
(e) Support behavioral health career pathways through hiring new 39
nonlicensed staff who receive training, supervision, and internship 40
p. 4 HB 1547
opportunities to explore career pathways in behavioral health. For 1
educational service districts that are licensed as behavioral health 2
agencies this may include hiring licensure candidates and licensed 3
staff that would like to pursue a career in school-based behavioral 4
health. 5
(3) Educational service districts that are licensed as behavioral 6
health agencies may pilot the integration of telehealth services and 7
provide in-person treatment services to support students in need of 8
more focused mental health treatment support. 9
(4) The Washington association of education service districts 10
shall support the regional programs by: 11
(a) Establishing consistent criteria for school participation in 12
the program; 13
(b) Establishing an overall evaluation and reporting of program 14
outcomes from across the regions; 15
(c) Engaging with regional programs and providers in the 16
administration of validated capacity assessments to measure action 17
plans for the ability to sustain implementation efforts;18
(d) Supporting the office of the superintendent of public 19
instruction in coordinating statewide data collection and progress 20
monitoring; and 21
(e) Submitting an annual report to the office of the 22
superintendent of public instruction summarizing: 23
(i) Services provided by each regional program;24
(ii) Other related mental and behavioral health services provided 25
by each educational service district, including fees for service 26
schedules; and 27
(iii) Barriers and opportunities for deployment of behavioral and 28
mental health supports including, but not limited to, student 29
impacts, local workforce needs, and other recommendations to support 30
greater state-level coordination. 31
NEW SECTION. Sec. 4. A new section is added to chapter 28A.300 32
RCW to read as follows: 33
(1) Subject to the availability of amounts appropriated for this 34
specific purpose, the office of the superintendent of public 35
instruction shall establish a grant program to support school 36
districts in developing and implementing a plan for recognition, 37
screening, and response to emotional or behavioral distress in 38
students as required by RCW 28A.320.127. 39
p. 5 HB 1547
(2) To the greatest extent possible, the office of the 1
superintendent of public instruction shall pair grantees with the 2
state and regional support structures established in sections 2 and 3 3
of this act, the state school safety center established in RCW 4
28A.300.630, and the regional school safety centers established in 5
RCW 28A.310.510 to support local education agency planning, connect 6
local education agency staff to effective training and technical 7
assistance, and ensure community-center implementation.8
(3) Funds may be used to support training, develop model school 9
safety policies and procedures, and identify and implement best 10
practices in school-based mental and behavioral health.11
--- END ---
p. 6 HB 1547