Behavioral Intervention Guidelines Act of 2020
Floor Speech
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Mr. PALLONE. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the bill (H.R. 3539) to amend the Public Health Service Act to direct the Secretary of Health and Human Services to develop best practices for the establishment and use of behavioral intervention teams at schools, and for other purposes, as amended.
The Clerk read the title of the bill.
The text of the bill is as follows: H.R. 3539
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the ``Behavioral Intervention Guidelines Act of 2020''. SEC. 2. BEST PRACTICES FOR BEHAVIORAL INTERVENTION TEAMS.
The Public Health Service Act is amended by inserting after section 520G of such Act (42 U.S.C. 290bb-38) the following new section: ``SEC. 520H. BEST PRACTICES FOR BEHAVIORAL INTERVENTION TEAMS.
``(a) In General.--The Secretary, acting through the Assistant Secretary, shall develop and periodically update--
``(1) best practices to assist elementary schools, secondary schools, and institutions of higher education in establishing and using behavioral intervention teams; and
``(2) a list of evidence-based threat assessment training providers to assist personnel in elementary schools, secondary schools, and institutions of higher education in implementing such best practices, including with respect to training behavioral intervention teams.
``(b) Elements.--The best practices under subsection (a)(1) shall include guidance on the following:
``(1) How behavioral intervention teams can operate effectively from an evidence-based, objective perspective while protecting the constitutional and civil rights of individuals, including any individual of concern.
``(2) The use of behavioral intervention teams to identify individuals of concern, implement interventions, and manage risk through the framework of the school's or institution's rules or code of conduct, as applicable.
``(3) How behavioral intervention teams can, when assessing an individual of concern--
``(A) seek training on evidence-based, threat-assessment rubrics;
``(B) ensure that such teams--
``(i) have adequately trained, diverse stakeholders with varied expertise; and
``(ii) use cross validation by a wide-range of individual perspectives on the team; and
``(C) use violence risk assessment.
``(4) How behavioral intervention teams can avoid--
``(A) attempting to predict future behavior by the concept of pre-crime;
``(B) inappropriately using a mental health assessment;
``(C) inappropriately limiting or restricting law enforcement's jurisdiction over criminal matters;
``(D) attempting to substitute the behavioral intervention process in place of a criminal process, or impede a criminal process, when an individual of concern's behavior has potential criminal implications;
``(E) endangering an individual's privacy by failing to ensure that all applicable Federal and State privacy laws are fully complied with; or
``(F) creating school-to-prison pipelines.
``(c) Consultation.--In carrying out subsection (a)(1), the Secretary shall consult with--
``(1) the Secretary of Education;
``(2) the Director of the National Threat Assessment Center of the Department of Homeland Security;
``(3) the Attorney General of the United States; and
``(4) as appropriate, relevant stakeholders including--
``(A) teachers and other educators, principals, school administrators, school board members, school psychologists, mental health professionals, and parents of elementary school and secondary school students;
``(B) local law enforcement agencies and campus law enforcement administrators;
``(C) mental health mobile crisis providers;
``(D) child and adolescent psychiatrists; and
``(E) other education and mental health professionals.
``(d) Publication.--Not later than 2 years after the date of enactment of this section, the Secretary shall publish the best practices under subsection (a)(1) and the list under subsection (a)(2) on a publicly accessible website of the Department of Health and Human Services.
``(e) Technical Assistance.--The Secretary shall provide technical assistance to institutions of higher education, elementary schools, and secondary schools to assist such institutions and schools in implementing the best practices under subsection (a).
``(f) Definitions.--In this section:
``(1) The term `behavioral intervention team' means a team of qualified individuals who--
``(A) are responsible for identifying and assessing individuals of concern; and
``(B) develop and facilitate implementation of evidence- based interventions to mitigate the threat of harm to self or others posed by individuals of concern and address the mental and behavioral health needs of individuals of concern to reduce such threat.
``(2) The terms `elementary school', `parent', and `secondary school' have the meanings given to such terms in section 8101 of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 7801).
``(3) The term `individual of concern' means an individual whose behavior indicates a potential threat to self or others.
``(4) The term `institution of higher education' has the meaning given to such term in section 102 of the Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1002).
``(5) The term `mental health assessment' means an evaluation, primarily focused on diagnosis, determining the need for involuntary commitment, medication management, and on-going treatment recommendations.
``(6) The term `pre-crime' means law-enforcement efforts and strategies to deter crime by predicting when and where criminal activity will occur.
``(7) The term `violence risk assessment' refers to a broad determination of the potential risk of violence based on evidence-based literature.''.
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Mr. PALLONE. 3539.
I rise today in support of H.R. 3539, the Behavioral Intervention Guidelines Act of 2020. The champions of this legislation, Representatives Drew Ferguson, Michael Burgess, Joe Kennedy, and Jimmy Panetta, worked together to help provide improved behavioral health prevention tools to schools and colleges across the country, and I applaud them for their bipartisan efforts.
Behavioral intervention teams are multidisciplinary teams that support students' mental health and emotional well-being by detecting patterns, trends, and disturbances in behavior, and by conducting outreach to students who are unable to manage distress in healthy and constructive ways.
These teams are already active in some educational settings, such as the University of California, Los Angeles; Texas A&M University; and Virginia Tech.
H.R. 3539 requires the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration to develop best practices for schools that have or want to have behavioral intervention teams. These best practices would cover the proper use of these teams and how to intervene and avoid inappropriate use of mental health assessments and law enforcement.
These best practices would then be required to be posted publicly on the Department of Health and Human Services website, and HHS would help to provide technical assistance to entities implementing these best practices.
As we have heard, Mr. Speaker, three in four children aged 3-17 with depression also have anxiety. Anxiety and depression are two top mental health concerns among college students as well. Unfortunately, recent data found that over 80 percent of young people with mental health needs did not receive the care they needed.
Young people in crisis should be able to access the care they need or be able to find support from peers who can direct them toward appropriate services, and this bill helps bridge that gap.
Again, I want to thank the Democrats and Republicans on my committee, including Ranking Member Walden, for working together to put this legislation in shape, and I urge my colleagues to support the bill.
I don't have any additional speakers, but I do want also to praise Mike Bloomquist.
He is now the Republican staff director, but he has had several tours with the committee. He worked on some major legislation in the committee. I think of 21st Century Cures, robocalls, and, even today, getting the cyber bills passed, which was not an easy task, as you know, Mike.
I know that our Ranking Member Walden mentioned your family. I don't know how your family puts up with any of the things we do because I know the many hours that you have to spend. So, again, thank your family for sharing you.
I wish you well in your future endeavors as well.
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Mr. PALLONE. Mr. Speaker, I urge support for the legislation, and I yield back the balance of my time.
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