SB314 - Revises provisions relating to mental health education in schools. (BDR 34-1068)

EXEMPT (Reprinted with amendments adopted on April 21, 2025) FIRST REPRINT S.B. 314 - *SB314_R1* SENATE BILL NO. 314–SENATOR LANGE MARCH 10, 2025 ____________ Referred to Committee on Education SUMMARY—Revises provisions relating to mental health education in schools. (BDR 34-1068) FISCAL NOTE: Effect on Local Government: May have Fiscal Impact. Effect on the State: Yes. ~ EXPLANATION – Matter in bolded italics is new; matter between brackets [omitted material] is material to be omitted. AN ACT relating to education; requiring certain standards of content and performance for courses in health to correspond with certain social and emotional learning standards developed by the Department of Education and to include certain information relating to mental health; requiring certain teachers to complete a course in mental health education; requiring the Department to adopt regulations concerning a course in mental health education; requiring school districts and charter schools to partner with certain entities to provide professional development training in mental health education; requiring certain professional development training for teachers and administrators to include training on mental health education and social and emotional learning; and providing other matters properly relating thereto. Legislative Counsel’s Digest: Existing law requires the Council to Establish Academic Standards for Public 1 Schools to establish standards of content and performance for courses of study in 2 various subject areas, including health. Existing law further requires that such 3 standards established for courses in health include mental health and the 4 relationship between mental and physical health. (NRS 389.520) Section 1 of this 5 bill requires the standards developed for mental health education to: (1) correspond 6 with any social and emotional learning standards that are developed by the 7 Department of Education; (2) include, without limitation, the provision of 8 information concerning mental health, the promotion of mental health and 9 culturally appropriate and age-appropriate mental health resources, as defined in 10 section 1, to pupils; and (3) require the use of evidence-based mental health 11 curriculum. 12 – 2 – - *SB314_R1* Section 2 of this bill requires a teacher employed at a public school who is 13 initially hired: (1) on or before July 1, 2027, to complete a course in mental health 14 education on or before July 1, 2027; and (2) after July 1, 2027, to complete such a 15 course within his or her first year of employment, unless the teacher provides proof 16 that he or she already completed the course while employed at another public 17 school. Section 2 also requires the Department to adopt regulations that prescribe: 18 (1) the required contents of such a course; and (2) the process for approving such a 19 course. Section 2 further: (1) sets forth which entities are authorized to provide a 20 course in mental health education; (2) requires each public school to keep a record 21 of the completion of such a course for each teacher employed at the school; and (3) 22 authorizes the Department to inspect such records. Section 4 of this bill requires 23 school districts and charter schools to provide such professional development 24 training in mental health education by partnering with certain entities. Section 4 25 additionally requires school districts and charter schools to partner with the Nevada 26 System of Higher Education and other school districts to provide such professional 27 development training in rural areas and online. 28 Existing law requires the board of trustees of each school district and the 29 governing body of each charter school to ensure that teachers have access to high- 30 quality, ongoing professional development training. (NRS 391A.370) Section 6 of 31 this bill requires that such professional development training include training on 32 mental health education and encompass any social and emotional learning 33 standards developed by the Department. 34 THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF NEVADA, REPRESENTED IN SENATE AND ASSEMBLY, DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS: Section 1. NRS 389.520 is hereby amended to read as follows: 1 389.520 1. The Council shall: 2 (a) Establish standards of content and performance, including, 3 without limitation, a prescription of the resulting level of 4 achievement, for the grade levels set forth in subsection 5, based 5 upon the content of each course, that is expected of pupils for the 6 following courses of study: 7 (1) English language arts; 8 (2) Mathematics; 9 (3) Science; 10 (4) Social studies, which includes only the subjects of 11 history, geography, economics, civics, financial literacy and 12 multicultural education; 13 (5) The arts; 14 (6) Computer education and technology, which includes 15 computer science and computational thinking; 16 (7) Health; 17 (8) Physical education; and 18 (9) A foreign or world language. 19 (b) Establish a schedule for the periodic review and, if 20 necessary, revision of the standards of content and performance. The 21 review must include, without limitation, the review required 22 – 3 – - *SB314_R1* pursuant to NRS 390.115 of the results of pupils on the 1 examinations administered pursuant to NRS 390.105. 2 (c) Assign priorities to the standards of content and performance 3 relative to importance and degree of emphasis and revise the 4 standards, if necessary, based upon the priorities. 5 2. The standards for computer education and technology must 6 include a policy for the ethical, safe and secure use of computers 7 and other electronic devices. The policy must include, without 8 limitation: 9 (a) The ethical use of computers and other electronic devices, 10 including, without limitation: 11 (1) Rules of conduct for the acceptable use of the Internet 12 and other electronic devices; and 13 (2) Methods to ensure the prevention of: 14 (I) Cyber-bullying; 15 (II) Plagiarism; and 16 (III) The theft of information or data in an electronic 17 form; 18 (b) The safe use of computers and other electronic devices, 19 including, without limitation, methods to: 20 (1) Avoid cyber-bullying and other unwanted electronic 21 communication, including, without limitation, communication with 22 on-line predators; 23 (2) Recognize when an on-line electronic communication is 24 dangerous or potentially dangerous; and 25 (3) Report a dangerous or potentially dangerous on-line 26 electronic communication to the appropriate school personnel; 27 (c) The secure use of computers and other electronic devices, 28 including, without limitation: 29 (1) Methods to maintain the security of personal identifying 30 information and financial information, including, without limitation, 31 identifying unsolicited electronic communication which is sent for 32 the purpose of obtaining such personal and financial information for 33 an unlawful purpose; 34 (2) The necessity for secure passwords or other unique 35 identifiers; 36 (3) The effects of a computer contaminant; 37 (4) Methods to identify unsolicited commercial material; and 38 (5) The dangers associated with social networking Internet 39 sites; and 40 (d) A designation of the level of detail of instruction as 41 appropriate for the grade level of pupils who receive the instruction. 42 3. The standards for social studies must include multicultural 43 education, including, without limitation, information relating to 44 contributions made by men and women from various racial and 45 – 4 – - *SB314_R1* ethnic backgrounds. The Council shall consult with members of the 1 community who represent the racial and ethnic diversity of this 2 State in developing such standards. 3 4. The standards for health must include mental health 4 education and the relationship between mental health and physical 5 health. The standards for mental health education must: 6 (a) Correspond with any social and emotional learning 7 standards developed by the Department; 8 (b) Include, without limitation, the provision of information 9 concerning mental health, the promotion of mental health and 10 culturally appropriate and age-appropriate mental health 11 resources to pupils; and 12 (c) Require the use of evidence-based mental health 13 curriculum. 14 5. The Council shall establish standards of content and 15 performance for each grade level in kindergarten and grades 1 to 8, 16 inclusive, for English language arts and mathematics. The Council 17 shall establish standards of content and performance for the grade 18 levels selected by the Council for the other courses of study 19 prescribed in subsection 1. 20 6. The Council shall forward to the State Board the standards 21 of content and performance established by the Council for each 22 course of study. The State Board shall: 23 (a) Adopt the standards for each course of study, as submitted 24 by the Council; or 25 (b) If the State Board objects to the standards for a course of 26 study or a particular grade level for a course of study, return those 27 standards to the Council with a written explanation setting forth the 28 reason for the objection. 29 7. If the State Board returns to the Council the standards of 30 content and performance for a course of study or a grade level, the 31 Council shall: 32 (a) Consider the objection provided by the State Board and 33 determine whether to revise the standards based upon the objection; 34 and 35 (b) Return the standards or the revised standards, as applicable, 36 to the State Board. 37  The State Board shall adopt the standards of content and 38 performance or the revised standards, as applicable. 39 8. The Council shall work in cooperation with the State Board 40 to prescribe the examinations required by NRS 390.105. 41 9. As used in this section: 42 (a) “Computer contaminant” has the meaning ascribed to it in 43 NRS 205.4737. 44 – 5 – - *SB314_R1* (b) “Cyber-bullying” has the meaning ascribed to it in 1 NRS 388.123. 2 (c) “Electronic communication” has the meaning ascribed to it 3 in NRS 388.124. 4 (d) “Mental health resources” means information a pupil may 5 use to address a mental health concern, including, without 6 limitation, information: 7 (1) That a pupil may use to seek help for mental health 8 treatment; 9 (2) Relating to the services of mental health workers, 10 counselors, psychologists or community-based medical or 11 behavioral providers of health care, which are provided by the 12 board of trustees of a school district or the governing body of a 13 charter school; and 14 (3) Relating to suicide awareness and prevention. 15 Sec. 2. Chapter 391 of NRS is hereby amended by adding 16 thereto a new section to read as follows: 17 1. Each licensed teacher employed at a public school, 18 including, without limitation, a charter school, who is initially 19 hired: 20 (a) On or before July 1, 2027, except for a teacher who is 21 licensed only as a substitute teacher, must, on or before July 1, 22 2027, complete a course in mental health education approved by 23 the Department. 24 (b) After July 1, 2027, except for a teacher who is licensed only 25 as a substitute teacher, must complete a course in mental health 26 education approved by the Department within his or her first year 27 of employment, unless the teacher submits to the public school 28 proof that the teacher previously completed such a course while 29 employed at a different public school. 30 2. The Department shall adopt regulations that prescribe the 31 required contents of a course in mental health education which 32 must be completed pursuant to this section and the process 33 through which the Department will approve a course in mental 34 health education. 35 3. A course in mental health education may be offered by: 36 (a) A postsecondary educational institution in this State; or 37 (b) At no cost to a teacher required to complete the course 38 pursuant to this section, a school district or regional training 39 program. 40 4. Each public school, including, without limitation, each 41 charter school, in this State shall keep an accurate record of the 42 completion of a course in mental health education for each 43 licensed teacher employed at the school. The Department may 44 – 6 – - *SB314_R1* perform an inspection of such records to ensure compliance with 1 the provisions of this section. 2 5. As used in this section, “regional training program” has 3 the meaning ascribed to it in NRS 391A.105. 4 Sec. 3. (Deleted by amendment.) 5 Sec. 4. Chapter 391A of NRS is hereby amended by adding 6 thereto a new section to read as follows: 7 1. Each school district and the governing body of each 8 charter school shall provide professional development training 9 regarding mental health education that satisfies the requirements 10 of section 2 of this act to teachers. Such professional development 11 training may be provided by the school district or governing body 12 or through an agreement with an institution of higher education 13 or a regional training program for the professional development 14 of teachers and administrators. 15 2. Each school district and charter school shall, as 16 applicable, enter into agreements with the Nevada System of 17 Higher Education and other school districts and charter schools to 18 provide such professional development training online and to 19 public schools located in rural areas. 20 Sec. 5. NRS 391A.345 is hereby amended to read as follows: 21 391A.345 As used in NRS 391A.345 to 391A.385, inclusive, 22 and section 4 of this act, unless the context otherwise requires, 23 “professional development training” has the meaning ascribed to 24 “professional development” in 20 U.S.C. § 7801(42). 25 Sec. 6. NRS 391A.370 is hereby amended to read as follows: 26 391A.370 1. The State Board shall adopt regulations 27 prescribing standards for the professional development training 28 provided to teachers and administrators employed by a school 29 district or charter school. 30 2. The board of trustees of each school district and the 31 governing body of each charter school shall ensure that the teachers 32 and administrators employed by the school district or charter schoo [Text truncated for display. Full text available on LegiScan.]