HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

152nd GENERAL ASSEMBLY

HOUSE AMENDMENT NO. 2

TO

HOUSE BILL NO. 4

AMEND House Bill No. 4 by deleting lines 20 and 21 in their entirety and substituting in lieu thereof the following:

“ (1) “School-connected traumatic event” means the death of any student, educator, administrator, or other building employee of a public school or other traumatic event that affects a significant portion of the students of the school. ”.

FURTHER AMEND House Bill No. 4 by deleting lines 34 and 35 in their entirety and inserting in lieu thereof the following:

“ (c) The Department of Education shall cover the cost of grief counseling offered at the school to students for 45 days after a school-connected traumatic event. After 30 days, the Department and the school administration shall consult about the need for continuing grief counseling services, and the Department shall continue to cover the cost of grief counseling at the school for an additional 45 days where a showing of significant need for and utilization of the services has been made. ”.

FURTHER AMEND House Bill No. 4 by inserting after line 53 the following:

“ (f) By September 1 of each year, beginning in 2024, the Department of Education shall submit a report to the Chairs of the House and Senate Education Committees and the Chairs of the Joint Finance Committee detailing the cost of providing grief counseling in schools under this section. ”.

SYNOPSIS

This amendment expands the definition of "school-connected traumatic event" to include any "other traumatic event that affects a significant portion of the students in the school. It also specifies that the Department of Education is responsible only for grief counseling provided at the school and extends the period during which the Department must cover the cost of grief counseling to 45 days, with an option to renew for an additional 45 days. Finally, it requires that the Department provide a report each year to the JFC chairs and Education Committee chairs detailing the costs of grief counseling provided pursuant to this section.