II 

117TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION S. 5325 

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. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

DECEMBER 20, 2022 

Mr. CORNYN (for himself and Mr. KING) introduced the following bill; which 

was read twice and referred to the Committee on Health, Education, 

Labor, and Pensions 

A BILL 

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. 

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Behavioral Interven5 tion Guidelines Act of 2022’’. 


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1 SEC. 2. BEST PRACTICES FOR BEHAVIORAL AND MENTAL 

2 HEALTH INTERVENTION TEAMS. 

3 The Public Health Service Act is amended by insert4 ing after section 520G of such Act (42 U.S.C. 290bb–38) 

5 the following new section: 

6 ‘‘SEC. 520H. BEST PRACTICES FOR BEHAVIORAL AND MEN7 TAL HEALTH INTERVENTION TEAMS. 

8 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary, acting through 

9 the Assistant Secretary for Mental Health and Substance 

10 Use, and in consultation with the Secretary of Education, 

11 shall submit to the Health, Education, Labor, and Pen12 sions Committee of the Senate and the Energy and Com13 merce Committee of the House of Representatives a report 

14 that identifies best practices related to using behavioral 

15 and mental health intervention teams, which may be used 

16 to assist elementary schools, secondary schools, and insti17 tutions of higher education interested in voluntarily estab18 lishing and using such teams to support students exhib19 iting behaviors interfering with learning at school or who 

20 are at risk of harm to self or others. 

21 ‘‘(b) ELEMENTS.—The report under subsection (a) 

22 shall assess evidence supporting such best practices and, 

23 as appropriate, include consideration of the following: 

24 ‘‘(1) How behavioral and mental health inter25 vention teams might operate effectively from an evi26 dence-based, objective perspective while protecting 


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1 the constitutional and civil rights and privacy of in2 dividuals. 

3 ‘‘(2) The use of behavioral and mental health 

4 intervention teams— 

5 ‘‘(A) to identify and support students ex6 hibiting behaviors interfering with learning or 

7 posing a risk of harm to self or others; and 

8 ‘‘(B) to implement evidence-based interven9 tions to meet the behavioral and mental health 

10 needs of such students. 

11 ‘‘(3) How behavioral and mental health inter12 vention teams can— 

13 ‘‘(A) access evidence-based professional de14 velopment to support students described in 

15 paragraph (2)(A); and 

16 ‘‘(B) ensure that such teams— 

17 ‘‘(i) are composed of trained, diverse 

18 stakeholders with expertise in child and 

19 youth development, behavioral and mental 

20 health, and disability; and 

21 ‘‘(ii) use cross validation by a wide22 range of individual perspectives on the 

23 team. 

24 ‘‘(4) How behavioral and mental health inter25 vention teams can help mitigate inappropriate referVerDate Sep 11 2014 22:11 Jan 05, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S5325.IS S5325

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1 ral to mental health services or law enforcement by 

2 implementing evidence-based interventions that meet 

3 student needs. 

4 ‘‘(c) CONSULTATION.—In carrying out subsection 

5 (a), the Secretary shall consult with— 

6 ‘‘(1) the Secretary of Education; 

7 ‘‘(2) the Director of the National Threat As8 sessment Center of the United States Secret Service; 

9 ‘‘(3) the Attorney General; 

10 ‘‘(4) teachers (which shall include special edu11 cation teachers), principals and other school leaders, 

12 school board members, behavioral and mental health 

13 professionals (including school-based mental health 

14 professionals), and parents of students; 

15 ‘‘(5) local law enforcement agencies and campus 

16 law enforcement administrators; 

17 ‘‘(6) privacy, disability, and civil rights experts; 

18 and 

19 ‘‘(7) other education and mental health profes20 sionals as the Secretary deems appropriate. 

21 ‘‘(d) PUBLICATION.—The Secretary shall publish the 

22 report under subsection (a) in an accessible format on the 

23 internet website of the Department of Health and Human 

24 Services. 

25 ‘‘(e) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 


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1 ‘‘(1) The term ‘behavioral and mental health 

2 intervention team’ means a multidisciplinary team of 

3 trained individuals who— 

4 ‘‘(A) are trained to identify and assess the 

5 behavioral health needs of children and youth 

6 and who are responsible for identifying, sup7 porting, and connecting students exhibiting be8 haviors interfering with learning at school, or 

9 who are at risk of harm to self or others, with 

10 appropriate behavioral health services; and 

11 ‘‘(B) develop and facilitate implementation 

12 of evidence-based interventions to— 

13 ‘‘(i) mitigate the threat of harm to 

14 self or others posed by a student described 

15 in subparagraph (A); 

16 ‘‘(ii) meet the mental and behavioral 

17 health needs of such students; and 

18 ‘‘(iii) support positive, safe, and sup19 portive learning environments. 

20 ‘‘(2) The terms ‘elementary school’, ‘parent’, 

21 and ‘secondary school’ have the meanings given to 

22 such terms in section 8101 of the Elementary and 

23 Secondary Education Act of 1965. 


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1 ‘‘(3) The term ‘institution of higher education’ 

2 has the meaning given to such term in section 102 

3 of the Higher Education Act of 1965.’’. 

Æ 


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