Postsecondary education: mental health counselors.

Existing law establishes the California State University, administered by the Trustees of the California State University, and the California Community Colleges, administered by the Board of Governors of the California Community Colleges. Existing law provides for licensing and regulation of various professions in the healing arts, including physicians and surgeons, psychologists, marriage and family therapists, educational psychologists, clinical social workers, and licensed professional clinical counselors. This bill would require the Trustees of the California State University and the governing board of each community college district to establish a goal of having one full-time equivalent mental health counselor with an applicable California license per 1,500 students enrolled at each of their respective campuses to the extent consistent with state and federal law. The bill would define mental health counselor for purposes of this provision. The bill would require those institutions, on or before January 1, 2021, and every 3 years thereafter, to report to the Legislature how funding was spent and the number of mental health counselors employed on each of its campuses, as specified. The bill would require each campus of those institutions to, at least every 3 years, conduct a campus survey and focus groups to understand students' needs and challenges regarding, among other things, their mental health, would require each campus of those institutions to collect data on attempted suicides, as specified, and would require that data, without any personally identifiable information and collected in accordance with state and federal privacy law, to be included in the report to the Legislature. To the extent that this bill would impose new duties on community college districts, it would constitute a state-mandated local program. 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.