Pupil mental health services: school notification.

Existing law requires the governing board of any school district to give diligent care to the health and physical development of pupils and authorizes the governing board of a school district to employ properly certified persons for the work. Existing law, the Mental Health Services Act (MHSA) , an initiative measure enacted by the voters as Proposition 63 at the November 2, 2004, statewide general election, establishes the continuously appropriated Mental Health Services Fund to fund various county mental health programs by imposing a tax of 1% on incomes above $1,000,000. Under the MHSA, funds are distributed to counties for local assistance for designated mental health programs according to a specified county plan. The MHSA requires a county to use 20% of the funds distributed from the Mental Health Services Fund for prevention and early intervention programs, which includes, among other components, outreach to families, employers, primary care health care providers, and others to recognize the early signs of potentially severe and disabling mental illnesses. This bill would require a school of a school district or county office of education and a charter school to notify pupils and parents or guardians of pupils no less than twice during the school year on how to initiate access to available pupil mental health services on campus or in the community, or both, as provided. By imposing an additional requirement on schools of school districts and county offices of education and charter schools, the bill would impose a state-mandated local program. The bill would authorize a county to use funds from the MHSA to provide a grant to a school district or county office of education, or to a charter school, within the county, for purposes of funding those notification requirements, and would authorize a school district or county office of education, or a charter school, to apply to its respective county for a grant for those purposes. The California Constitution requires the state to reimburse local agencies and school districts for certain costs mandated by the state. Statutory provisions establish procedures for making that reimbursement. This bill would provide that, if the Commission on State Mandates determines that the bill contains costs mandated by the state, reimbursement for those costs shall be made pursuant to the statutory provisions noted above.