2021 Kentucky Revised Statutes Chapter 158 - Conduct of schools -- special programs 158.4416 Trauma-informed approach to education -- Definitions -- Goals for employment of school-based counselors -- School counselor or school-based mental health services provider to facilitate creation of trauma-informed team -- Training and guidance of school personnel to assist in recognizing and dealing with issues of student trauma -- Collaboration for provision of services between two or more school districts or between school districts and educational cooperatives, or other public or private entities -- Annual report to department of number and placement of school counselors in each district, source of funding, summary of job duties, and percentage of time devoted to each duty -- Department of Education to make available toolkits to develop trauma-informed approach in schools -- Plan and strategies for implementing trauma-informed approach.
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158.4416
Trauma-informed approach to education -- Definitions -- Goals for
employment of school-based counselors -- School counselor or school-based
mental health services provider to facilitate creation of trauma-informed team
-- Training and guidance of school personnel to assist in recognizing and
dealing with issues of student trauma -- Collaboration for provision of services
between two or more school districts or between school districts and
educational cooperatives, or other public or private entities -- Annual report to
department of number and placement of school counselors in each district,
source of funding, summary of job duties, and percentage of time devoted to
each duty -- Department of Education to make available toolkits to develop
trauma-informed approach in schools -- Plan and strategies for implementing
trauma-informed approach.
(1)
(2)
(3)
For purposes of this section:
(a) "School counselor" means an individual who holds a valid school counselor
certificate issued in accordance with the administrative regulations of the
Education Professional Standards Board;
(b) "School-based mental health services provider" means a licensed or certified
school counselor, school psychologist, school social worker, or other qualified
mental health professional as defined in KRS 202A.011; and
(c) "Trauma-informed approach" means incorporating principles of trauma
awareness and trauma-informed practices, as recommended by the federal
Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, in a school in
order to foster a safe, stable, and understanding learning environment for all
students and staff and ensuring that all students are known well by at least one
(1) adult in the school setting.
The General Assembly recognizes that all schools must provide a place for students
to feel safe and supported to learn throughout the school day, and that any trauma a
student may have experienced can have a significant impact on the ability of a
student to learn. The General Assembly directs all public schools to adopt a traumainformed approach to education in order to better recognize, understand, and
address the learning needs of students impacted by trauma and to foster a learning
environment where all students, including those who have been traumatized, can be
safe, successful, and known well by at least one (1) adult in the school setting.
(a) Beginning July 1, 2021, or as funds and qualified personnel become available:
1.
Each school district and each public charter school shall employ at least
one (1) school counselor in each school with the goal of the school
counselor spending sixty percent (60%) or more of his or her time
providing counseling and related services directly to students; and
2.
It shall be the goal that each school district and each public charter
school shall provide at least one (1) school counselor or school-based
mental health services provider who is employed by the school district
for every two hundred fifty (250) students, including but not limited to
the school counselor required in subparagraph 1. of this paragraph.
(b)
(4)
(5)
A school counselor or school-based mental health services provider at each
school shall facilitate the creation of a trauma-informed team to identify and
assist students whose learning, behavior, and relationships have been
impacted by trauma. The trauma-informed team may consist of school
administrators, school counselors, school-based mental health services
providers, family resource and youth services coordinators, school nurses, and
any other school or district personnel.
(c) Each school counselor or school-based mental health services provider
providing services pursuant to this section, and the trauma-informed team
members described in paragraph (b) of this subsection, shall provide training,
guidance, and assistance to other administrators, teachers, and staff on:
1.
Recognizing symptoms of trauma in students;
2.
Utilizing interventions and strategies to support the learning needs of
those students; and
3.
Implementing a plan for a trauma-informed approach as described in
subsection (5) of this section.
(d) 1.
School districts may employ or contract for the services of school-based
mental health services providers to assist with the development and
implementation of a trauma-informed approach and the development of
a trauma-informed team pursuant to this subsection and to enhance or
expand student mental health support services as funds and qualified
personnel become available.
2.
School-based mental health services providers may provide services
through a collaboration between two (2) or more school districts or
between school districts and educational cooperatives or any other
public or private entities, including but not limited to local or regional
mental health day treatment programs.
(e) No later than November 1, 2019, and each subsequent year, the local school
district superintendent shall report to the department the number and
placement of school counselors in the district. The report shall include the
source of funding for each position, as well as a summary of the job duties and
work undertaken by each counselor and the approximate percent of time
devoted to each duty over the course of the year.
On or before July 1, 2020, the Department of Education shall make available a
toolkit that includes guidance, strategies, behavioral interventions, practices, and
techniques to assist school districts and public charter schools in developing a
trauma-informed approach in schools.
On or before July 1, 2021, each local board of education and board of a public
charter school shall develop a plan for implementing a trauma-informed approach in
its schools. The plan shall include but not be limited to strategies for:
(a) Enhancing trauma awareness throughout the school community;
(b) Conducting an assessment of the school climate, including but not limited to
inclusiveness and respect for diversity;
(c)
(d)
(e)
Developing trauma-informed discipline policies;
Collaborating with the Department of Kentucky State Police, the local sheriff,
and the local chief of police to create procedures for notification of traumaexposed students; and
Providing services and programs designed to reduce the negative impact of
trauma, support critical learning, and foster a positive and safe school
environment for every student.
Effective: February 21, 2020
History: Amended 2020 Ky. Acts ch. 5, sec. 4, effective February 21, 2020. -- Created
2019 Ky. Acts ch. 5, sec. 16, effective March 11, 2019.
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