Behavioral Intervention Guidelines Act of 2021

IIB 117TH CONGRESS 1ST SESSION H. R. 2877 IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES MAY 17, 2021 Received; read twice and referred to the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions AN ACT To amend the Public Health Service Act to direct the Sec- retary of Health and Human Services to develop best practices for the establishment and use of behavioral intervention teams at schools, and for other purposes. Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa- 1 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 2 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:45 May 17, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2877.RFS H2877 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 2 HR 2877 RFS SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 1 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Behavioral Interven- 2 tion Guidelines Act of 2021’’. 3 SEC. 2. BEST PRACTICES FOR BEHAVIORAL INTERVENTION 4 TEAMS. 5 The Public Health Service Act is amended by insert- 6 ing after section 520G of such Act (42 U.S.C. 290bb–38) 7 the following new section: 8 ‘‘SEC. 520H. BEST PRACTICES FOR BEHAVIORAL INTERVEN- 9 TION TEAMS. 10 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall identify and 11 facilitate the development of best practices to assist ele- 12 mentary schools, secondary schools, and institutions of 13 higher education in establishing and using behavioral 14 intervention teams. 15 ‘‘(b) ELEMENTS.—The best practices under sub- 16 section (a)(1) shall include guidance on the following: 17 ‘‘(1) How behavioral intervention teams can op- 18 erate effectively from an evidence-based, objective 19 perspective while protecting the constitutional and 20 civil rights of individuals. 21 ‘‘(2) The use of behavioral intervention teams 22 to identify concerning behaviors, implement interven- 23 tions, and manage risk through the framework of 24 the school’s or institution’s rules or code of conduct, 25 as applicable. 26 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:45 May 17, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2877.RFS H2877 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 3 HR 2877 RFS ‘‘(3) How behavioral intervention teams can, 1 when assessing an individual— 2 ‘‘(A) access training on evidence-based, 3 threat-assessment rubrics; 4 ‘‘(B) ensure that such teams— 5 ‘‘(i) have trained, diverse stakeholders 6 with varied expertise; and 7 ‘‘(ii) use cross validation by a wide- 8 range of individual perspectives on the 9 team; and 10 ‘‘(C) use violence risk assessment. 11 ‘‘(4) How behavioral intervention teams can 12 help mitigate— 13 ‘‘(A) inappropriate use of a mental health 14 assessment; 15 ‘‘(B) inappropriate limitations or restric- 16 tions on law enforcement’s jurisdiction over 17 criminal matters; 18 ‘‘(C) attempts to substitute the behavioral 19 intervention process in place of a criminal proc- 20 ess, or impede a criminal process, when an indi- 21 vidual’s behavior has potential criminal implica- 22 tions; 23 ‘‘(D) endangerment of an individual’s pri- 24 vacy by failing to ensure that all applicable 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:45 May 17, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2877.RFS H2877 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 4 HR 2877 RFS Federal and State privacy laws are fully com- 1 plied with; or 2 ‘‘(E) inappropriate referrals to, or involve- 3 ment of, law enforcement when an individual’s 4 behavior does not warrant a criminal response. 5 ‘‘(c) CONSULTATION.—In carrying out subsection 6 (a)(1), the Secretary shall consult with— 7 ‘‘(1) the Secretary of Education; 8 ‘‘(2) the Director of the National Threat As- 9 sessment Center of the United States Secretary 10 Service; 11 ‘‘(3) the Attorney General and the Director of 12 the Bureau of Justice Assistance; 13 ‘‘(4) teachers and other educators, principals, 14 school administrators, school board members, school 15 psychologists, mental health professionals, and par- 16 ents of students; 17 ‘‘(5) local law enforcement agencies and campus 18 law enforcement administrators; 19 ‘‘(6) privacy experts; and 20 ‘‘(7) other education and mental health profes- 21 sionals as the Secretary deems appropriate. 22 ‘‘(d) PUBLICATION.—Not later than 2 years after the 23 date of enactment of this section, the Secretary shall pub- 24 lish the best practices under subsection (a)(1) on the inter- 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:45 May 17, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2877.RFS H2877 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 5 HR 2877 RFS net website of the Department of Health and Human 1 Services. 2 ‘‘(e) TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE.—The Secretary shall 3 provide technical assistance to institutions of higher edu- 4 cation, elementary schools, and secondary schools to assist 5 such institutions and schools in implementing the best 6 practices under subsection (a). 7 ‘‘(f) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 8 ‘‘(1) The term ‘behavioral intervention team’ 9 means a team of qualified individuals who— 10 ‘‘(A) are responsible for identifying and as- 11 sessing individuals exhibiting concerning behav- 12 iors, experiencing distress, or who are at risk of 13 harm to self or others; 14 ‘‘(B) develop and facilitate implementation 15 of evidence-based interventions to mitigate the 16 threat of harm to self or others posed by an in- 17 dividual and address the mental and behavioral 18 health needs of individuals to reduce risk; and 19 ‘‘(C) provide information to students, par- 20 ents, and school employees on recognizing be- 21 havior described in this subsection. 22 ‘‘(2) The terms ‘elementary school’, ‘parent’, 23 and ‘secondary school’ have the meanings given to 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:45 May 17, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2877.RFS H2877 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 6 HR 2877 RFS such terms in section 8101 of the Elementary and 1 Secondary Education Act of 1965. 2 ‘‘(3) The term ‘institution of higher education’ 3 has the meaning given to such term in section 102 4 of the Higher Education Act of 1965. 5 ‘‘(4) The term ‘mental health assessment’ 6 means an evaluation, primarily focused on diagnosis, 7 determining the need for involuntary commitment, 8 medication management, and on-going treatment 9 recommendations. 10 ‘‘(5) The term ‘violence risk assessment’ means 11 a broad determination of the potential risk of vio- 12 lence based on evidence-based literature.’’. 13 Passed the House of Representatives May 13, 2021. Attest: CHERYL L. JOHNSON, Clerk. VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:45 May 17, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2877.RFS H2877 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS