102ND GENERAL ASSEMBLY
State of Illinois
2021 and 2022
HB5393

 

Introduced 1/31/2022, by Rep. Deb Conroy

 

SYNOPSIS AS INTRODUCED:
 
New Act
30 ILCS 105/5.970 new

    Creates the Mental Health Screening in Schools Grant Program. Makes findings. Provides that the purpose of the grant program shall be to provide funding and resources to allow school districts to implement depression screening programs to identify students in grades 7 through 12 who are at risk of depression. Provides conditions for school districts to meet when implementing its depression screening program. Provides that to assist districts in selecting a research-based screening tool to use as part of depression screening programs, the State Board of Education, in consultation with the Department of Children and Family Services, may develop a list of preapproved research-based screening tools that are validated to screen depression in adolescents. Provides that the State Board of Education, in consultation with the Department of Children and Family Services and the Department of Healthcare and Family Services, shall within 180 days of the date of enactment of this Act develop guidance and resources for school districts to establish partnerships with organizations or health care providers specializing in pediatric and adolescent mental health to conduct depression screenings. Creates the Mental Health Screening in Schools Grant Program Fund. Provides that funds in Mental Health Screening in Schools Grant Program Fund may be used by the State Board for operational expenses associated with the administration of Mental Health Screening in Schools Grant Program and for the payment of costs associated with providing grants to school districts in accordance with the Mental Health Screening in Schools Grant Program. Provides that State Board of Education shall develop a report, or contract with a research institution to develop a report to evaluate depression screening programs in school districts participating in the Mental Health Screening in Schools Grant Program. Makes a corresponding change in the State Finance Act. Effective immediately.


LRB102 25492 RJT 34780 b

 

 

A BILL FOR

 

HB5393LRB102 25492 RJT 34780 b

1    AN ACT concerning education.
 
2    Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois,
3represented in the General Assembly:
 
4    Section 1. Short title. This Act may be cited as the Mental
5Health Screening in Schools Grant Program Act.
 
6    Section 5. Findings. The General Assembly finds that:
7        (1) Depression is the most common mental health
8    disorder among American teens and adults, with over 2.8
9    million young people between the ages of 12 and 17
10    experiencing at least one major depressive episode each
11    year, approximately 10-15% of teenagers exhibiting at
12    least one symptom of depression at any time, and roughly
13    5% of teenagers suffering from major depression at any
14    time. Teenage depression is 2 to 3 times more common in
15    females than in males.
16        (2) Various biological, psychological, and
17    environmental risk factors may contribute to teenage
18    depression, which can lead to substance and alcohol abuse,
19    social isolation, poor academic and workplace performance,
20    unnecessary risk taking, early pregnancy, and suicide,
21    which is the third leading cause of death among teenagers.
22    Approximately 20 percent of teens with depression
23    seriously consider suicide and one in 12 attempt suicide.

 

 

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1    Untreated teenage depression can also result in adverse
2    consequences throughout adulthood.
3        (3) Most teens who experience depression suffer from
4    more than one episode. It is estimated that, although
5    teenage depression is highly treatable through
6    combinations of therapy, individual and group counseling,
7    and certain medications, fewer than one-third of teenagers
8    experiencing depression seek help or treatment.
9        (4) The proper detection and diagnosis of depression
10    is a key element in reducing the risk of teenage suicide
11    and improving physical and mental health outcomes for
12    young people. It is therefore fitting and appropriate to
13    establish school-based depression screenings to help
14    identify the symptoms of depression and facilitate access
15    to appropriate treatment.
 
16    Section 10. Mental Health Screening in Schools Grant
17Program.
18    (a) There is established within the State Board of
19Education the Mental Health Screening in Schools Grant
20Program. The purpose of the grant program shall be to provide
21funding and resources to allow school districts to implement
22depression screening programs to identify students in grades 7
23through 12 who are at risk of depression.
24    (b) A school district that receives an award under the
25grant program shall make available to each student in grades 7

 

 

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1through 12 an annual health screening for depression. The
2school district shall meet the following conditions when
3implementing its depression screening program:
4        (1) The school district shall use a research-based
5    screening tool in its depression screening program
6    conducted by a licensed mental health professional or
7    through a partnership with an organization or health care
8    provider specializing in pediatric and adolescent mental
9    health to conduct the screenings. Nothing in this
10    subsection shall prohibit a school district from using a
11    self-administered screening tool as part of the depression
12    screening program.
13        (2) The screenings shall be conducted in a manner that
14    permits real-time evaluation of the screening results and
15    same-day intervention by a licensed mental health
16    professional as indicated by the screening.
17        (3) The school district shall ensure that the
18    screenings are conducted in a manner that accommodates
19    bilingual education students, students with disabilities,
20    and students with low reading proficiency.
21        (4) The screenings shall be conducted in a manner that
22    ensures the privacy of the student during the screening
23    process and the confidentiality of the results, consistent
24    with State and federal laws applicable to the
25    confidentiality of student records and mental health
26    records.

 

 

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1        (5) The school district shall obtain written informed
2    consent from a student's parent or guardian prior to the
3    screening.
4        (6) The school district shall develop a form to obtain
5    permission from a student's parent or guardian to conduct
6    the screening.
7        (7) The school district shall forward data collected
8    from the screenings to the State Board of Education and
9    the Department of Children and Family Services in a form
10    and manner to be determined by the State Board of
11    Education. The forwarded data shall be aggregated and
12    shall not contain any identifying or confidential
13    information with regard to any individual.
14    (c) To assist districts in selecting a research-based
15screening tool to use as part of depression screening
16programs, the State Board of Education, in consultation with
17the Department of Children and Family Services, may develop a
18list of preapproved research-based screening tools that are
19validated to screen depression in adolescents. The list shall
20be posted on the websites of the State Board of Education and
21the Department of Children and Family Services.
22    (d) If a school district chooses to partner with an
23organization or health care provider specializing in pediatric
24and adolescent mental health to conduct the depression
25screenings, the partner organization or provider may also
26provide mental health services as deemed necessary by the

 

 

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1organization or provider and as consented to by a student's
2parent or guardian. A school district partnering with an
3organization or health care provider specializing in pediatric
4and adolescent mental health may develop a form to obtain
5parental consent and student health insurance information as
6necessary to satisfy the provisions of any partnership
7agreement.
8    (e) The State Board of Education, in consultation with the
9Department of Children and Family Services and the Department
10of Healthcare and Family Services, shall within 180 days of
11the effective date of this Act develop guidance and resources
12for school districts to establish partnerships with
13organizations or health care providers specializing in
14pediatric and adolescent mental health to conduct depression
15screenings.
16    (f) A school district seeking to participate and receive
17funding under the grant program shall submit an application to
18the State Board of Education, in accordance with application
19procedures and requirements prescribed by the State Board. An
20application submitted by a school district shall include, at a
21minimum:
22        (1) a description of the depression screening program
23    to be implemented by the school district and an
24    explanation of how the school district will make available
25    to each student in grades 7 through 12 an annual health
26    screening for depression;

 

 

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1        (2) a description of how the school district will meet
2    the conditions of paragraphs (1) and (3) of subsection
3    (b);
4        (3) details concerning the research-based screening
5    tool that will be used by the school district or whether
6    the school district will partner with an organization or
7    health care provider specializing in pediatric and
8    adolescent mental health to conduct the screenings;
9        (4) a request and justification for the amount of
10    funding sought by the school district under the grant
11    program;
12        (5) a description of how the grant funding will be
13    used to further the purposes of the depression screening
14    program, including hiring additional personnel, purchasing
15    materials, or contracting with outside entities;
16        (6) a description of how the depression screenings
17    will be conducted in a manner that permits real-time
18    evaluation of the screening results and same-day
19    intervention by a licensed mental health professional if
20    required by the results of the screening;
21        (7) as applicable, the details of any partnership with
22    an organization or provider specializing in pediatric and
23    adolescent mental health services, including, but not
24    limited to, the name of the organization or provider, the
25    number of students being served by the organization or
26    provider, the expected timeframe to screen the students,

 

 

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1    the costs associated with engaging in a partnership with
2    the organization or provider, and the location where the
3    screenings will take place. A school district shall detail
4    whether student health insurance information will be
5    required under its agreement with a partner organization
6    or provider, how it will obtain that information, and what
7    accommodations will be made for uninsured or underinsured
8    students whose parents or guardians have consented to the
9    depression screening;
10        (8) a description of how the school district will
11    ensure that the parent or guardian of a student whose
12    screening for depression detects an abnormality is
13    notified of such abnormality and how it will advise the
14    parent or guardian of the services available through a
15    partner organization or provider or supply the parent or
16    guardian with resources to assist in the acquisition of
17    the services of a health care professional in order to
18    obtain further evaluation and diagnosis; and
19        (9) a description of how the school district will
20    obtain written informed consent from a student's parent or
21    guardian prior to the screening.
22    (g) Awards under the grant program shall be allocated to
23school districts in a manner determined by the State Board of
24Education from a cross-section of school districts from urban,
25suburban, and rural areas of the State.
26    (h) Nothing in this Act shall be construed to affect a

 

 

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1school district's ability to provide additional or
2supplemental services to a student as required by, or as
3consistent with, any applicable provision of State or federal
4law.
5    (i) The State Board of Education shall adopt rules to
6implement this Act.
 
7    Section 15. Mental Health Screening in Schools Grant
8Program Fund.
9    (a) The Mental Health Screening in Schools Grant Program
10Fund is created as a special fund in the State treasury. All
11money in this Fund may be used, subject to appropriation, by
12the State Board for operational expenses associated with the
13administration of Mental Health Screening in Schools Grant
14Program and for the payment of costs associated with providing
15grants to school districts in accordance with the Mental
16Health Screening in Schools Grant Program.
17    (b) A school district may seek to secure funds or other
18resources from the federal government or from private
19nonprofit or for-profit sources as may be available, to
20supplement funds received pursuant to the Mental Health
21Screening in Schools Grant Program Fund. These funds shall not
22have any impact on the availability of funding received under
23the Mental Health Screening in Schools Grant Program.
 
24    Section 20. Depression screening programs; report and

 

 

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1evaluation.
2    (a) The State Board of Education shall develop a report,
3or contract with a research institution to develop a report,
4evaluating depression screening programs in school districts
5participating in the Mental Health Screening in Schools Grant
6Program established pursuant to this Act as well as other
7school districts that have developed depression screening
8programs. In developing the report, the State Board of
9Education or contracted research organization or institution
10shall analyze the data forwarded to the State Board of
11Education and the Department of Children and Family Services.
12The study shall include information on:
13        (1) the costs of the programs to the school districts
14    and to parents or legal guardians of students, as well as
15    any copayments received by practitioners as part of the
16    depression screening programs;
17        (2) the number of students identified as at risk of
18    depression by the depression screenings in each school
19    district;
20        (3) the number of students who were provided mental
21    health services as a result of the screenings;
22        (4) the number of students who were identified as
23    needing follow-up services;
24        (5) the number of school staff members involved in the
25    depression screening process and the time spent
26    administering the screening;

 

 

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1        (6) best practices used by the school districts or
2    mental health providers in implementing the depression
3    screening programs;
4        (7) the health, academic, and safety benefits
5    associated with establishing a depression screening
6    program and an evaluation of any potential negative
7    impacts on school districts and families that may be
8    associated with implementing a depression screening
9    program; and
10        (8) findings and recommendations concerning additional
11    resources that may be necessary to screen adolescents for
12    depression and to provide follow-up services to
13    adolescents who have exhibited abnormalities in depression
14    screenings.
15    (b) Within 300 days following September 1 of the first
16full school year following the effective date of this Act, the
17report developed pursuant to subsection (a) shall be submitted
18to the State Board of Education, the Department of Healthcare
19and Family Services, the Department of Children and Family
20Services, and the General Assembly.
 
21    Section 90. The State Finance Act is amended by adding
22Section 5.970 as follows:
 
23    (30 ILCS 105/5.970 new)
24    Sec. 5.970. The Mental Health Screening in Schools Grant

 

 

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1Program Fund.
 
2    Section 99. Effective date. This Act takes effect upon
3becoming law.