Mental health professionals: natural disasters: county offices of education: personnel sharing agreements.

Existing law requires the governing board of a 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 requires 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. Existing law requires the State Department of Education to develop guidelines for the use of telehealth technology in public schools to provide mental health and behavioral health services to pupils on school campuses, as provided. This bill would require, on or before November 1, 2024, county offices of education, in consultation with the department and other relevant state and local agencies, to coordinate agreements between school districts and charter schools within the county to develop a system for rapidly deploying qualified mental health professionals and other key school personnel employed by individual school districts and charter schools throughout the county to areas of the county that experienced a natural disaster or other traumatic event, as provided. The bill would require county offices of education, in developing these agreements, to consider cost, criteria for a local educational agency to request the use of mental health professionals and other key school personnel, and reimbursements between local educational agencies and for travel expenses, as provided. This bill would require single school district county offices of education to enter into agreements with at least one other county office of education that they share a border with. The bill would also require county offices of education that share a county border with a single school district county office of education to consult with and enter into agreements with at least one single school district county office of education. By imposing new requirements on local educational agencies, this bill would impose 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.