49428.1. (a) The department shall develop model referral protocols for addressing pupil mental health concerns. In developing these protocols, the department shall consult with the State Department of Health Care Services, the members of the Student Mental Health Policy Workgroup, local educational agencies that have served as state or regional leaders in state or federal pupil mental health initiatives, county mental health programs, current classroom teachers and administrators, current schoolsite classified staff, current schoolsite staff who hold pupil personnel services credentials, current school nurses, current school counselors, and other professionals involved in pupil mental health as the department deems appropriate. The department shall also select at least one member of each of the following groups to consult with in developing the protocols:
(1) Current high school pupils.
(2) Parents of current high school or middle school pupils.
(3) Parents of current elementary school pupils.
(b) These protocols shall be designed for use, on a voluntary basis, by schoolsites, school districts, county offices of education, charter schools, the California School for the Deaf, and the California School for the Blind, and by teacher, administrator, school counselor, pupil personnel services, and school nurse preparation programs operated by postsecondary educational institutions. The protocols shall do all of the following:
(1) Address the appropriate and timely referral by school staff of pupils with mental health concerns.
(2) Reflect a multitiered system of support processes and positive behavioral interventions and supports.
(3) Be adaptable to varied local service arrangements for mental health services.
(4) Reflect evidence-based and culturally appropriate approaches to pupil mental health referral.
(5) Address the inclusion of parents and guardians in the referral process.
(6) Be written to ensure clarity and ease of use by certificated and classified school employees.
(7) Reflect differentiated referral processes for pupils with disabilities and other populations for whom the referral process may be distinct.
(8) Be written to ensure that school employees act only within the authorization or scope of their credential or license. This section shall not be construed as authorizing or encouraging school employees to diagnose or treat mental illness unless they are specifically licensed and employed to do so.
(9) Be consistent with state activities conducted by the department in the administration of federally funded mental health programs.
(c) The department shall consider, when developing protocols under this section, the school mental health referral pathways toolkit developed by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration of the United States Department of Health and Human Services.
(d) The department shall post the model referral protocols on its internet website so that they may be accessed and used by educational institutions specified in subdivision (b).
(e) This section is contingent upon funds being appropriated for its purpose to the department in the annual Budget Act or other legislation, or state, federal, or private funds being allocated for this purpose.
(f) The model referral protocols shall be completed and made available within two years of the date funds are received or allocated to implement this section.
(Added by Stats. 2021, Ch. 662, Sec. 2. (AB 309) Effective January 1, 2022.)