[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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