Pupil health: school employee and pupil training: youth mental and behavioral health.

Existing law, contingent on an appropriation made for these purposes, requires the State Department of Education, on or before January 1, 2023, to recommend best practices and identify training programs for use by local educational agencies to address youth behavioral health, including, but not necessarily limited to, staff and pupil training, as specified. Existing law requires the department to ensure that each identified training program, among other requirements, provides instruction on how school staff can best provide referrals to youth behavioral health services or other support to individuals in the early stages of developing a youth behavioral health disorder. Existing law defines a local educational agency for purposes of these provisions to mean a county office of education, school district, state special school, or charter school that serves pupils in any of grades 7 to 12, inclusive. This bill would include referrals to special education services in that instruction requirement for identified training programs. The bill would require, on or before January 1, 2025, those local educational agencies to certify to the department that 75% of both its classified and certificated employees have received that youth behavioral health training, as specified. The bill would prohibit the training in youth behavioral health to be a condition of employment or hiring. By imposing training certification duties on local educational agencies, the 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.