BILL ANALYSIS

S.B. 460

By: Deuell

Public Education

Committee Report (Unamended)

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE

It is reported that one in five children in the United States have a mental illness or an addictive disorder, meaning that approximately one million Texas public school students are dealing with these issues on a daily basis. These illnesses can cause mild to significant impairment in home and school activities and can lead to school failure, disciplinary placements and juvenile justice involvement, and, in extreme cases, suicide. Interested parties note that, in one study of disciplinary placements among Harris County school districts, special education students who were categorized as having an emotional disturbance were more than four times more likely to be placed in a disciplinary alternative education program than the student population overall and more than two times more likely to be placed in such a program than the special education population overall.

The parties express concern that, without training in how to recognize and appropriately respond to students with mental or emotional issues, teachers may inadvertently reinforce or escalate the very behavior they are trying to reduce. The parties contend that such training can help teachers better manage their classrooms and help link students and their families to needed services, either on campus or in the community. While some school districts across Texas already require some level of training in this area for teachers or administrators, specific mental health training in educator preparation programs is not required. S.B. 460 seeks to address these concerns.

RULEMAKING AUTHORITY

It is the committee's opinion that this bill does not expressly grant any additional rulemaking authority to a state officer, department, agency, or institution.

ANALYSIS

S.B. 460 amends the Education Code to require any minimum academic qualifications for educator certification that require a person to possess a bachelor's degree to also require that the person receive, as part of the training required to obtain that certification, instruction in detection of students with mental or emotional disorders. The bill requires the instruction to be developed by a panel of experts in the diagnosis and treatment of mental or emotional disorders who are appointed by State Board for Educator Certification. The bill also requires the instruction to include information on characteristics of the most prevalent mental or emotional disorders among children; identification of mental or emotional disorders; effective strategies for teaching and intervening with students with mental or emotional disorders, including de-escalation techniques and positive behavioral interventions and supports; and providing, in compliance with requirements for a school district's or district employee's referral of a student to an outside counselor for care or treatment of a chemical dependency or an emotional or psychological condition, notice and referral to a parent or guardian of a student with a mental or emotional disorder so that the parent or guardian may take appropriate action such as seeking mental health services.

EFFECTIVE DATE

On passage, or, if the bill does not receive the necessary vote, September 1, 2013.