Sponsored by:
Assemblywoman PAMELA R. LAMPITT
District 6 (Burlington and Camden)
Assemblyman LOUIS D. GREENWALD
District 6 (Burlington and Camden)
Assemblywoman SHANIQUE SPEIGHT
District 29 (Essex)
Assemblyman ANTHONY S. VERRELLI
District 15 (Hunterdon and Mercer)
Co-Sponsored by:
Assemblywomen Vainieri Huttle, Murphy, Assemblyman Benson, Assemblywomen Mosquera, Reynolds-Jackson, Assemblyman Chiaravalloti, Assemblywomen Jasey, McKnight, Downey, Swain, Assemblyman Tully, Assemblywomen Lopez and Timberlake
SYNOPSIS
Permits certain mental health professionals working in school districts to refer or help facilitate referral of students to private professional counselors.
CURRENT VERSION OF TEXT
As reported by the Assembly Education Committee on December 14, 2020, with amendments.
An Act concerning mental health services for public school students and supplementing chapter 40 of Title 18A of the New Jersey Statutes.
Be It Enacted by the Senate and General Assembly of the State of New Jersey:
1. A student assistance coordinator 1[or a] , school counselor, or1 school psychologist or other mental health professional working in a school district may refer, or help facilitate the referral of, a student to a private individual licensed to provide professional counseling under Title 45 of the Revised Statutes, for mental health assessments and services. 1[After consultation with a student assistance coordinator or a school psychologist or other mental health professional working in the school district, a principal or a school counselor also may refer or help facilitate the referral of a student to a private individual licensed to provide professional counseling, for mental health assessments and services] A student assistance coordinator, school counselor, or school psychologist or other mental health professional working in a school district shall not refer a student to a private individual licensed to provide professional counseling if the student assistance coordinator, school counselor, or school psychologist or other mental health professional, or that individual’s immediate family, or that individual in combination with the individual’s immediate family has a significant beneficial interest in or with the private individual licensed to provide professional counseling1. If a student is not legally permitted to consent on his own to the mental health assessments and services, the student’s parent or guardian shall be notified of, and consent to, the referral or the facilitation of a referral prior to the provision of any assessment or service by the licensed private individual.
In the case of a referral or a facilitation of a referral pursuant to this section, neither the school district nor the individual referring or facilitating the referral shall bear the cost of the assessments or services provided to the student.
1This section shall not be construed to limit a school district’s authority to provide mental health assessments and services to a student prior to or after a referral or the facilitation of a referral has been made to a private individual licensed to provide professional counseling under Title 45 of the Revised Statutes.1
2. This act shall take effect immediately.