Health Curriculum and Procedures Amendments

Parental consent for in-school mental health therapy now requires written consent before the first session of each school year, with specific form requirements including student name, consenting parent name, and authorized therapist names.

Parental notification after mental health therapy sessions was changed from 'within one business day' to 'on the day of the instance' for each therapy session.

Health curriculum requirements were updated to explicitly include 'situational awareness' and the 'success sequence' framework as required instructional topics.

Sex education instruction definition was reorganized and clarified to better categorize topics like contraception, reproductive anatomy, and refusal skills.

Definition of 'school-based mental health therapist' was simplified by removing the school social worker and school psychologist license options, keeping only mental health therapist and behavioral health coach/technician licenses.

Definition of 'in-school mental health therapy' was modified to clarify that generalized crisis response protocols established by the state board do not include one-on-one counseling.

Several formatting and organizational changes were made to the bill text, including renumbering of subsections and restructuring of curriculum requirements.

Requires written parental consent before any health care provider provides or facilitates non-traditional health care services to students in public schools.

Establishes that only licensed mental health therapists or behavioral health coaches can provide in-school mental health therapy, and prohibits such therapy in general education classrooms with other students present.

Requires written parental consent before the first therapy session each school year and mandates notification to parents after each session about whether therapy occurred and what topics were discussed.

Allows parents to opt out of receiving therapy notifications at any time and provides opportunity for parents to specify topics they want addressed or avoided during therapy.

Prohibits local or state rules from creating exemptions for endorsing, promoting, or disparaging certain religious beliefs or viewpoints in health instruction.

Adds 'success sequence' and situational awareness to required health curriculum and reorganizes duties regarding instruction, discussion, and advocacy of certain concepts.

Defines 'in-school mental health therapy' to include various forms of counseling, therapy, diagnosis, and neuropsychology, while excluding basic stress management and crisis response protocols.

Changed consent requirements from requiring notice after each session to requiring informed written or verbal consent before services begin, with specific form requirements.

Added detailed consent form requirements including student name, parent name, authorized therapist names, notification rights, and parent ability to set topic boundaries.

Clarified that generalized crisis response does not include one-on-one counseling or therapy, distinguishing crisis protocols from therapeutic services.

Removed requirement for post-session notifications to parents, replacing it with opt-out notification rights and pre-session consent requirements.

Revised eligibility criteria by removing reference to marriage and stable family formation, focusing instead on employment and family stability without specific marriage requirements.

Changed parental notification timing for mental health therapy sessions from 'within one business day' to 'on the day of the instance' unless the parent opts out.

Changed parental consent requirement from 'written consent only' to 'informed written or verbal consent' for health care services in public schools.

Added requirement for standardized consent forms with specific fields for student name, parent name, and authorized personnel names.

Clarified that parental notification rights can be opted out at any time, making this right explicit in the consent process.

Replaced 'in-school mental health therapy' with broader term 'restricted service' and expanded list of licensed professionals who can provide these services.

Reorganized bill structure and terminology for consistency while maintaining core policy intent of protecting student mental health and parental rights.

Added exemption for SafeUT Crisis Line services from parental consent requirements

Changed parental notification timing from 'day of session' to 'within one business day' and added option for parents to opt out of notifications

Expanded eligibility for school-based mental health therapists to include school social workers and school psychologists

Updated definition of generalized crisis response to clarify it does not include one-on-one counseling or therapy

Changed 'school-based mental health therapist' to 'authorized personnel' and expanded eligible qualifications to include school psychologists, social workers, marriage and family therapists, and clinical mental health counselors under their respective licensing acts.

Redefined 'restricted service' to mean any mental health service taking place in a school setting, with specific exclusions for stress management, availability notifications, and generalized crisis response.

Updated consent requirements to specify 'informed written or verbal consent' for health care services and added a standard consent form with specific required fields including student name, parent name, and authorized personnel names.

Modified mental health therapy restrictions to clarify that services cannot be provided outside the scope of the provider's license or with other students present in the classroom.

Added requirement for LEAs to provide parents an opportunity to identify topics they want addressed or not addressed before mental health therapy begins.

Modified health curriculum requirements to add 'situational awareness' and 'success sequence' as required instructional topics.

Updated sex education consent requirements to clarify that schools cannot penalize students whose parents opt out of sex education instruction.

Established specific effective dates: July 1, 2025 for new sections and July 1, 2026 for amended sections.