79-3605.

Mental health training grant program; State Department of Education; duties; grant; application.

(1) The State Department of Education shall establish a mental health training grant program. The department shall award mental health training grants from any money available in the Mental Health Training Cash Fund. A grantee shall be a school district or an educational service unit.

(2) Each applicant for a mental health training grant shall describe in the application the training to be provided under the grant on:

(a) The skills, resources, and knowledge necessary to assist students in crisis to connect with appropriate local mental health services;

(b) Mental health resources, including, but not limited to, the location of local community mental health centers; and

(c) Action plans and protocols for referral to such resources.

(3) Each application for a mental health training grant shall also include in the application a description of how the training to be provided under the grant will prepare recipients of such training to:

(a) Safely de-escalate crisis situations;

(b) Recognize the signs and symptoms of mental illness, including, but not limited to, schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, major clinical depression, and anxiety disorders; and

(c) Timely refer a student to available mental health services in the early stages of the development of a mental disorder to avoid the need for subsequent behavioral health care and to enhance the effectiveness of mental health services.

(4) The State Board of Education may adopt and promulgate rules and regulations to carry out this section, including, but not limited to, application procedures, selection procedures, and annual reporting procedures.

(5) Grants received pursuant to this section shall be considered special grant funds under section 79-1003.