ND SB2048

Teacher licensure candidates must demonstrate competencies in youth mental health including understanding prevalence and impact of mental health disorders, knowledge of symptoms and risk factors, and awareness of referral sources; board may issue provisional licenses for up to two years to candidates who do not meet requirements.

Each school district must provide a minimum of eight hours of youth mental health training biennially to elementary, middle, and high school teachers and administrators, with encouragement for ancillary staff participation, and must report training outcomes to the department of public instruction.

Appropriates $150,000 to the department of human services for facilitating behavioral health services including developing discharge planning protocols and designing resource support networks for families and custodial agencies, for the biennium July 1, 2015 through June 30, 2017.

Appropriates $750,000 to the department of human services to establish a voucher system for substance abuse treatment services from private licensed providers in underserved areas, effective July 1, 2016 through June 30, 2017.

Requires the department of public instruction to report on school district mental health training by July 1, 2016, and directs legislative management to conduct studies on mental health resources and behavioral health needs during the 2015-16 interim with findings due to the sixty-fifth legislative assembly.