Better Options for Kids Act of 2014

Summary: Better Options for Kids Act of 2014 - Amends the Public Health Service Act to direct the Administrator of the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, in awarding priority mental health needs grants to programs for youth involved in, or at risk of becoming involved in, the criminal justice system, to give preference to states that: (1) demonstrate greater educational continuity, lower rates of juvenile court involvement, and reduced recidivism through implementation of certain evidence-based policies; (2) demonstrate partnerships through which the state will establish a coordinated process for service delivery and develop the ability to share information and which involve interagency agreements or strategic plans; and (3) have certified a commitment to such partnerships and to the state's responsibility for the desired results. Terminates such grant preference five years after enactment of this Act. Requires a state, to receive such preference, to demonstrate that it has implemented, or will use grant funds to implement, evidence-based policies under which the state:   provides or funds training for local educational agencies (LEAs) in the use of discipline and positive school climate strategies that minimize the use of suspensions, expulsions, and other actions that remove students from instruction and that show evidence of effectiveness for improving the learning environment; requires or provides incentives to LEAs to execute with any law enforcement agency that assigns officers to schools a collaborative agreement that prohibits the involvement of such officers in regular student disciplinary matters and describes their roles and responsibilities; prohibits or limits court referrals for juvenile school-based status offenses; has shifted, or has a plan to shift, significant funding formerly dedicated to secure detention of minors into community-based alternatives to incarceration; and has adopted, or will adopt, a reentry policy to ensure that youth in correctional facilities can continue their education immediately and without delay upon release by providing for prompt re-enrollment. 

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Better Options for Kids Act of 
2014''.

SEC. 2. JUVENILE JUSTICE.

    Section 520A of the Public Health Service Act (42 U.S.C. 290bb-32) 
is amended by adding at the end the following:
    ``(g) Preference for Juvenile Justice Programs.--
            ``(1) In general.--In awarding competitive grants under 
        this section to programs for youth involved in the criminal 
        justice system or youth at risk of becoming involved in the 
        criminal justice system, the Secretary, acting through the 
        Administrator and in consultation with the Director of the 
        Office of Safe and Healthy Students of the Department of 
        Education and the Administrator of the Office of Juvenile 
        Justice and Delinquency Prevention of the Department of 
        Justice, shall give preference to applications from--
                    ``(A) States that--
                            ``(i) demonstrate greater educational 
                        continuity, lower rates of juvenile court 
                        involvement, and reduced recidivism, by 
                        implementing, or planning to use the grant 
                        funds to implement, the required evidence-based 
                        policies described in paragraph (2);
                            ``(ii) demonstrate existing partnerships or 
                        proposed partnerships--
                                    ``(I) through which the State will 
                                establish a coordinated process for 
                                service delivery and develop the 
                                ability to share information;
                                    ``(II) that involve interagency 
                                agreements or strategic plans; and
                                    ``(III) established through a 
                                memorandum of understanding or 
                                strategic plan signed by State, tribal, 
                                and local agency partners, as 
                                applicable, articulating the commitment 
                                of the partners to a system of shared 
                                accountability and contributions to 
                                achieving and measuring specific 
                                desired results;
                            ``(iii) have certified, through the chief 
                        executive officer of the State, a commitment to 
                        the partnerships described in clause (ii) and 
                        the responsibility of the State for the 
                        specific desired results of such partnerships; 
                        and
                    ``(B) entities within such States.
            ``(2) Required evidence-based policies.--To receive the 
        preference under paragraph (1), a State or entity shall 
        demonstrate through the grant application that the State, or, 
        in the case of an application from an entity described in 
        paragraph (1)(B), the State in which such entity is located and 
        provides services, has implemented, or will use the grant funds 
        to implement the following evidence-based policies:
                    ``(A) The State provides training or funds training 
                for local educational agencies in the use of discipline 
                strategies and positive school climate strategies that 
                minimize the use of suspensions, expulsions, and other 
                actions that remove students from instruction and that 
                show evidence of effectiveness for improving the 
                learning environment in the school, including 
                schoolwide positive behavioral interventions and 
                supports.
                    ``(B) The State requires or provides incentives to 
                local educational agencies (as defined under section 
                9101 of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act) to 
                execute a written memorandum of understanding or other 
                type of collaborative agreement with any law 
                enforcement agency that assigns school resource 
                officers or other officers assigned to schools 
                prohibiting the involvement of such officers in regular 
                student disciplinary matters and sets forth a 
                description of the roles and responsibilities of the 
                officers on school grounds.
                    ``(C) The State prohibits or limits court referrals 
                for juvenile school-based status offenses, including 
                cases involving a valid court order.
                    ``(D) The State has shifted, or has a plan to 
                shift, significant funding formerly dedicated to secure 
                detention of minors into community-based alternatives 
                to incarceration.
                    ``(E) The State has adopted, or will adopt, a 
                reentry policy to ensure that youth in correctional 
                facilities can continue their education immediately and 
                without delay upon release from such facilities by 
                providing for prompt reenrollment into the most 
                appropriate grade or educational setting based on their 
                individual needs and designed to maximize their 
                educational success.
            ``(3) Report.--Not later than 90 days after the date of 
        enactment of the Better Options for Kids Act of 2014, the 
        Secretary shall submit to the Committee on Appropriations of 
        the Senate and the Committee on Appropriations of the House of 
        Representatives a report that specifies the programs to which 
        the preference under this subsection applies.
            ``(4) Sunset.--The application preference under this 
        subsection shall cease to have force and effect 5 years after 
        the date of enactment of this section.''.