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HB0119 • 2024

School finance-mental health service grants.

AN ACT relating to school finance; creating a program for school districts to assist in providing additional school counselors, school nurses and other mental health service assistance as specified; providing an appropriation; requiring reporting; requiring rulemaking; and providing for an effective date.

Education
Did Not Pass

The latest official action shows that this bill did not move forward in that session.

Sponsor
Representative Sommers
Last action
2024-02-15
Official status
inactive
Effective date
3/1/2024

Plain English Breakdown

The bill did not pass and was not signed into law.

School Mental Health Grants

This act creates a grant program for school districts in Wyoming to address student mental health needs by hiring additional staff like counselors and nurses, with funding provided through the public school foundation program account.

What This Bill Does

  • Creates a grant program for Wyoming school districts to hire more counselors, nurses, and other mental health professionals to help students.
  • Sets up rules for how grants are awarded based on each district's number of students from the previous year.
  • Requires schools to apply for the grants using forms provided by the state education department before specific deadlines.
  • Recommends that the state education department report back with findings and recommendations about the program after two years.

Who It Names or Affects

  • School districts in Wyoming
  • Students who may receive mental health services through this grant program

Terms To Know

Grant
Money given by a government agency to help pay for something.
Average Daily Membership (ADM)
The average number of students enrolled in school each day, used to calculate funding.

Limits and Unknowns

  • This bill did not pass and was not signed into law.
  • Details about how the grants will be distributed are left up to rules made by the state education department.

Bill History

  1. 2024-02-15 House

    H Failed Introduction 38-23-1-0-0

  2. 2024-02-07 House

    H Received for Introduction

  3. 2024-02-06 LSO

    Bill Number Assigned

Current Bill Text

Read the full stored bill text 
24LSO-0501
2024
STATE OF WYOMING
24LSO-0501
Numbered
2.0

HOUSE BILL NO. HB0119

School finance-mental health service grants.

Sponsored by: Representative(s) Sommers, Allred, Banks, Berger, Brown, Clouston, Crago, Larson, JT, Lawley and Newsome and Senator(s) Baldwin and Barlow

A BILL

for

AN ACT relating to school finance; creating a program for school districts to assist in providing additional school counselors, school nurses and other mental health service assistance as specified; providing an appropriation; requiring reporting; requiring rulemaking; and providing for an effective date.

Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Wyoming:

Section 1
.

(a)

For school year 2024-2025 and school year 2025-2026, to augment amounts within the education resource block grant model available to districts to address the mental health needs of the K
‑
12 student population, a school district may apply to the state department of education for a grant under this section. Grants awarded to school districts under this section shall be used to address the mental health needs of students, including but not limited to hiring or contracting with additional school counselors, school nurses and community or private mental health providers to serve students within school districts that are awarded the grants. Amounts awarded under this section shall be in addition to and shall not be considered in determining the school foundation program amount under the education resource block grant model pursuant to W.S. 21
‑
13
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309.

(b)

Grants shall be based upon a school district's average daily membership (ADM) at a rate of two hundred six dollars ($206.00) per student and based on the previous school year's ADM. Application for a grant under this section shall be on a form and in a manner specified by rule of the department, shall be filed with the department on or before June 30, 2024 and June 30, 2025 to secure a grant for the immediately succeeding school year, and shall at a minimum include:

(i)

A proposal documenting the need for additional funds for mental health services and how those funds are to be expended;

(ii)

Other necessary information required by the department.

(c)

Not later than August 1 of each applicable school year and following review of applications submitted under this section, the department shall notify applicant districts of its decision to award or deny a grant application and shall provide each applicant district a written statement of the reasons for approving or denying the application. If an application is approved, the department shall award the grant from amounts made available by legislative appropriation from the public school foundation program account for purposes of this section. For each school year, the department shall distribute awards to those school districts awarded grants under this section in the same proportion and schedule as distributions under W.S. 21-13-313(c).

(d)

Each district receiving a grant under this section shall report to the department the expenditure of amounts awarded under this section, the number of students that received services as a result of the grant and the impact of the services offered. Each district shall provide other information as required by rule of the department.

(e)

The department of education shall promulgate rules necessary to carry out this section.

Section 2.

Not later than August 1, 2025, and again on August 1, 2026, the department of education shall provide to the joint education interim committee findings and recommendations on the number of students served as a result of the grant program created by section 1 of this act and shall include any recommendations for refinement of components within the education resource block grant model resourcing services.

Section 3
.

There is appropriated thirty-seven million dollars ($37,000,000.00) from the public school foundation program account to the department of education for the grant program established by section 1 of this act. This appropriation shall be for the period beginning July 1, 2024 and ending June 30, 2026. To the extent these appropriated funds are insufficient to fund all grant payments awarded under section 1 of this act, the department shall make a pro rata reduction in district grant payments. This appropriation shall not be transferred or expended for any other purpose and any unexpended, unobligated funds remaining from this appropriation shall revert as provided by law on June 30, 2026. It is the intent of the legislature that this appropriation not be included in the standard budget for the department of education for the immediately succeeding fiscal biennium.

Section 4.

This act is effective immediately upon completion of all acts necessary for a bill to become law as provided by Article 4, Section 8 of the Wyoming Constitution.

(END)

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HB0119