[Congressional Bills 117th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 5325 Introduced in Senate (IS)]
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117th CONGRESS
2d Session
S. 5325
To amend the Public Health Service Act to direct the Secretary of
Health and Human Services to develop best practices for the
establishment and use of behavioral intervention teams at schools, and
for other purposes.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES
December 20, 2022
Mr. Cornyn (for himself and Mr. King) introduced the following bill;
which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Health,
Education, Labor, and Pensions
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To amend the Public Health Service Act to direct the Secretary of
Health and Human Services to develop best practices for the
establishment and use of behavioral intervention teams at schools, and
for other purposes.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the
United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the ``Behavioral Intervention Guidelines
Act of 2022''.
SEC. 2. BEST PRACTICES FOR BEHAVIORAL AND MENTAL HEALTH INTERVENTION
TEAMS.
The Public Health Service Act is amended by inserting after section
520G of such Act (42 U.S.C. 290bb-38) the following new section:
``SEC. 520H. BEST PRACTICES FOR BEHAVIORAL AND MENTAL HEALTH
INTERVENTION TEAMS.
``(a) In General.--The Secretary, acting through the Assistant
Secretary for Mental Health and Substance Use, and in consultation with
the Secretary of Education, shall submit to the Health, Education,
Labor, and Pensions Committee of the Senate and the Energy and Commerce
Committee of the House of Representatives a report that identifies best
practices related to using behavioral and mental health intervention
teams, which may be used to assist elementary schools, secondary
schools, and institutions of higher education interested in voluntarily
establishing and using such teams to support students exhibiting
behaviors interfering with learning at school or who are at risk of
harm to self or others.
``(b) Elements.--The report under subsection (a) shall assess
evidence supporting such best practices and, as appropriate, include
consideration of the following:
``(1) How behavioral and mental health intervention teams
might operate effectively from an evidence-based, objective
perspective while protecting the constitutional and civil
rights and privacy of individuals.
``(2) The use of behavioral and mental health intervention
teams--
``(A) to identify and support students exhibiting
behaviors interfering with learning or posing a risk of
harm to self or others; and
``(B) to implement evidence-based interventions to
meet the behavioral and mental health needs of such
students.
``(3) How behavioral and mental health intervention teams
can--
``(A) access evidence-based professional
development to support students described in paragraph
(2)(A); and
``(B) ensure that such teams--
``(i) are composed of trained, diverse
stakeholders with expertise in child and youth
development, behavioral and mental health, and
disability; and
``(ii) use cross validation by a wide-range
of individual perspectives on the team.
``(4) How behavioral and mental health intervention teams
can help mitigate inappropriate referral to mental health
services or law enforcement by implementing evidence-based
interventions that meet student needs.
``(c) Consultation.--In carrying out subsection (a), the Secretary
shall consult with--
``(1) the Secretary of Education;
``(2) the Director of the National Threat Assessment Center
of the United States Secret Service;
``(3) the Attorney General;
``(4) teachers (which shall include special education
teachers), principals and other school leaders, school board
members, behavioral and mental health professionals (including
school-based mental health professionals), and parents of
students;
``(5) local law enforcement agencies and campus law
enforcement administrators;
``(6) privacy, disability, and civil rights experts; and
``(7) other education and mental health professionals as
the Secretary deems appropriate.
``(d) Publication.--The Secretary shall publish the report under
subsection (a) in an accessible format on the internet website of the
Department of Health and Human Services.
``(e) Definitions.--In this section:
``(1) The term `behavioral and mental health intervention
team' means a multidisciplinary team of trained individuals
who--
``(A) are trained to identify and assess the
behavioral health needs of children and youth and who
are responsible for identifying, supporting, and
connecting students exhibiting behaviors interfering
with learning at school, or who are at risk of harm to
self or others, with appropriate behavioral health
services; and
``(B) develop and facilitate implementation of
evidence-based interventions to--
``(i) mitigate the threat of harm to self
or others posed by a student described in
subparagraph (A);
``(ii) meet the mental and behavioral
health needs of such students; and
``(iii) support positive, safe, and
supportive learning environments.
``(2) The terms `elementary school', `parent', and
`secondary school' have the meanings given to such terms in
section 8101 of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of
1965.
``(3) The term `institution of higher education' has the
meaning given to such term in section 102 of the Higher
Education Act of 1965.''.
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