School employee and pupil training: youth mental and behavioral health: mental health education.

(1) Existing law, subject to an appropriation, requires the State Department of Education to recommend best practices and identify training programs for use by local educational agencies that serve pupils in any of grades 7 to 12, inclusive, to address youth behavioral health, on or before January 1, 2023, as provided. Existing law requires the department to ensure that each identified training program, among other requirements, provides instruction on recognizing the signs and symptoms of youth behavioral health disorders, including common psychiatric conditions and substance use disorders. This bill would delete the term "common" and replace "use" with "abuse" for purposes of that instruction requirement. The bill would, subject to an appropriation, require the department to, on or before January 1, 2025, recommend best practices and identify training programs for use by local educational agencies serving pupils in kindergarten or any of grades 1 to 6, inclusive, to address youth behavioral health for those pupils, as provided. The bill would require, on or before July 1, 2027, local educational agencies serving pupils in any of grades 7 to 12, inclusive, to certify to the department that 40% of its classified employees and 100% of its certificated employees, who serve and have direct contact with pupils in any of grades 7 to 12, inclusive, at school, have received the above-described 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. (2) Existing law requires the adopted course of study for grades 1 to 6, inclusive, to include certain areas of study, including, among others, English, mathematics, social sciences, science, visual and performing arts, and health, as specified. With respect to the study of health, existing law requires instruction in the principles and practices of individual, family, and community health. This bill would require that health area of study for grades 1 to 6, inclusive, to also include instruction on mental health. To the extent that this requirement would impose new duties on local educational agencies, it would constitute a state-mandated local program. (3) This bill would incorporate additional changes to Section 51210 of the Education Code proposed by AB 285 and AB 446 to be operative only if this bill and either or both of those bills are enacted and this bill is enacted last. (4) 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.