Dems weaken school mental health care bill
Columbia Basin HeraldFeb 28, 2018
Amidst calls to strengthen school safety in an era of mass shootings, a bill that sought to bring up-to-date lagging school district response plans for students suffering emotional or behavioral health crises was stripped of its core substance earlier this month.
The bill, SB 6141, originally would have put mental health coordinators into each of the state's nine education service districts to help bring districts into compliance with a five-year-old state law that requires response plans and coordination with community mental health organizations. This law is one of the only statewide directives mandating how a district responds to a student whose emotional or behavioral health has deteriorated to the point that they may be a danger to themselves or others.
The mental health coordinators would have assisted in program implementation and reported the progress made by districts to the Office of the Superintendent
This has deemed necessary due to a low rate of compliance among school districts. Among eight school districts located in Eastern or
After the original measure was replaced without debate by a substitute bill sponsored by Sen.
The legislation in its original form was requested by the Office of the Superintendent
"Should we spend all of our time trying to stop a school shooter, or should we put some money and time into preventing a school shooter?" Reykdal said. "This question of mental health is so important, because it's more about diagnostics, it's about supporting a student through it and making sure there is a continuity of care across school districts."
After being voted through the
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