HB 1634 — Providing school districts and public schools with assistance to coordinate comprehensive behavioral health supports for students.

H-1610.1H-0778.1 SUBSTITUTE HOUSE BILL 1634 State of Washington 69th Legislature 2025 Regular Session By House Education (originally sponsored by Representatives Thai, Eslick, Reed, Cortes, Doglio, Goodman, Salahuddin, Bergquist, Scott, Parshley, Zahn, Nance, and Shavers)Shavers READRead FIRSTfirst TIMEtime 02/21/25.01/28/25.

Referred to Committee on Education.

and amendingadding RCWa 28A.310.510.new section to chapter 28A.300 RCW.

NEW SECTION.

RCWA 28A.310.510new andsection 2019is cadded 333to schapter 328A.300 areRCW each amended to read as follows:

(1) SubjectA technical assistance and training network is established to theprovide availabilityschool ofdistricts amountsand appropriatedpublic forschools thiswith specificthe purpose,technical eachassistance, educationalresources, serviceand districttraining mustnecessary establishto acoordinate regionalcomprehensive schoolsupports safetyacross centerthe asbehavioral providedhealth incontinuum thisfor section.their students.

(2) The regionalnetwork schoolmust safetybe centerscomprised workingof instatewide collaboration with one another and theregional statepartners schoolwith safetyspecific center,experience establishedand incapacity RCWto 28A.300.630,provide formbehavioral ahealth-related statewidetraining networkand fortechnical schoolassistance safety.to schools.

ThePartners purposemay ofinclude thisthe statewideeducational networkservice isdistricts, toacademic providecenters coordination of schoolexcellence, safety efforts throughout the state and tocommunity-based provideorganizations. school safety resources to the school districts in each educational service district region.

(3) WorkingThe innetwork collaborationmust withprovide thedirect officeassistance ofto theschool superintendentdistricts ofand public instructionschools andfor theestablishing, statewideimplementing, network,and eachevaluating regionalefforts schoolto safetysupport centerstudents mustacross provide to the schoolbehavioral districtshealth inp. its region:

p.1 HB 1634 continuum.

1 SHB 1634 (a) Behavioral health coordination that, at a minimum, includes:

(i) Providing support for school district development and implementation of plans for recognition, initial screening, and response to emotional or behavioral distress in students as required by RCW 28A.320.127;

(ii) Suicide prevention training for school counselors, school psychologists, and school social workers;

(iii) Facilitating partnerships and coordination between school districts, public schools, and existing regional and local systems of behavioral health care services and supports in order to increase student and family access to the services and supports;

(iv) Assisting school districts and public schools in building capacity to identify and support students in need of behavioral health care services and to link students and families with community-based behavioral health care services;

(v) Identifying, sharing, and integrating, to the extent practicable, behavioral and physical health care service delivery models;

(vi) Providing medicaid billing related training, technical assistance, and coordination between school districts;

and (vii) Guidance in implementing best practices in response to, and to recover from, the suicide or attempted suicide of a student;

(b) School-based threat assessment coordination that, at a minimum, includes:

(i) Providing training and technical assistance regarding the use of the model policy and procedure to establish a school-based threat assessment program, developed under RCW 28A.300.640;

(ii) Assisting with ongoing identification and implementation of best practices for school-based threat assessment programs, described under RCW 28A.320.123;

and (iii) Building partnerships with community partners, such as behavioral health providers, law enforcement agencies, emergency responders, juvenile justice organizations, and child welfare agencies, for the purpose of implementing school-based threat assessment programs that comply with best practices;

(c) Assistance with coordinating other entities in the region to provide support to school districts before emergencies occur;

(d) Plan, coordinate, and deliver the trainings required by this subsection (3), and other school district staff trainings related to school safety, in order to maximize quality professional learning;

p.

2 SHB 1634 (e) Technical assistance to school districts seeking funding for first aid, health, and safety and security resources;

(f) Information about systems and programs that allow anonymous reporting of student concerns;

(g) Real-time support and assistance for school districts in crisis, such as offering information, technical assistance associated with best practices, and staff trained in responding to school emergencies;

(h) Develop collaborative relationships with community organizations, private schools, businesses, and others interested in supporting safe schools;

and (i) Other services consistent with state and federal school safety requirements, including comprehensive safe school planning under RCW 28A.320.125.

(4) The regional school safety centers may, based on the needs of the school districts in their region, and in collaboration with emergency responders, provide assistance to, and facilitate communication between, emergency responders and schools or school districts impacted by emergency situations.

(5)(a) The regional school safety center of each educational service district, the department of health, the office of the superintendent of public instruction, the academic centers for excellence, and representatives of associations representing behavioral health professionals working in public schools shall collaborate to provide administrative support to the technical assistance and training network established in subsection (6) of this section to coordinate comprehensive supports across the behavioral health continuum for their students.

At a minimum this administrative support must include:

(i) Providing strategic oversight to ensure the priorities of the network align with state frameworks, systemwide goals, and statutory requirements;

(ii) Managing grants and contracts related to the network;

(iii) Establishing criteria for recruiting and selecting network partners;

(iv) Analyzing state and local data to identify priorities for the network;

and (v) Promoting, organizing, and coordinating network activities, as necessary.

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3 SHB 1634 (b) The regional school safety centers, through the educational service districts, shall create and maintain the infrastructure of the network, including administering any grants or contracts managed by the network.