Florida Senate - 2025                                     SB 484
       
       
        
       By Senator Berman
       
       
       
       
       
       26-00261-25                                            2025484__
    1                        A bill to be entitled                      
    2         An act relating to student mental health; amending s.
    3         1006.041, F.S.; requiring minimum ratios of school
    4         psychologists and of certified school counselors,
    5         school social workers, or other licensed mental health
    6         professionals to students in certain grades,
    7         respectively, beginning with a specified school year;
    8         making technical changes; providing an effective date.
    9          
   10  Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:
   11  
   12         Section 1. Paragraph (a) of subsection (2) of section
   13  1006.041, Florida Statutes, is amended to read:
   14         1006.041 Mental health assistance program.—Each school
   15  district must implement a school-based mental health assistance
   16  program that includes training classroom teachers and other
   17  school staff in detecting and responding to mental health issues
   18  and connecting children, youth, and families who may experience
   19  behavioral health issues with appropriate services.
   20         (2) A plan required under subsection (1) must be focused on
   21  a multitiered system of supports to deliver evidence-based
   22  mental health care assessment, diagnosis, intervention,
   23  treatment, and recovery services to students with one or more
   24  mental health or co-occurring substance abuse diagnoses and to
   25  students at high risk of such diagnoses. The provision of these
   26  services must be coordinated with a student’s primary mental
   27  health care provider and with other mental health providers
   28  involved in the student’s care. At a minimum, the plan must
   29  include all of the following components:
   30         (a) Direct employment of school-based mental health
   31  services providers to expand and enhance school-based student
   32  services and to increase reduce the ratio of staff to students
   33  to staff in order to better align with nationally recommended
   34  ratio models. The Providers must shall include, but need are not
   35  be limited to, certified school counselors, school
   36  psychologists, school social workers, and other licensed mental
   37  health professionals. However, by the beginning of the 2027
   38  school year and each subsequent school year, the ratio of school
   39  psychologists must be at least 1 per 700 full-time students in
   40  grades 9 through 12 and the ratio of certified school
   41  counselors, school social workers, or other licensed mental
   42  health professionals must be 1 per 250 full-time students in
   43  grades 9 through 12. The plan must also identify strategies to
   44  increase the amount of time that school-based student services
   45  personnel spend providing direct services to students, which may
   46  include the review and revision of district staffing resource
   47  allocations based on school or student mental health assistance
   48  needs.
   49         Section 2. This act shall take effect July 1, 2025.