republic-os/legal/us/code/title-42/chapter-6a/section-290bb-39a.md

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LegalText	42 U.S.C. § 290bb–39a	Best practices for behavioral and mental health intervention teams	us	united_states_code	code_section	42	THE PUBLIC HEALTH AND WELFARE	6A	PUBLIC HEALTH SERVICE	290bb–39a	42 U.S.C. § 290bb–39a	current	119-100	2026-06-26	official	https://uscode.house.gov/download/releasepoints/us/pl/119/100/xml_usc42@119-100.zip	/us/usc/t42/s290bb–39a	data/legal/raw/us/code/title-42/usc42.xml	a0c3f507dfbf3eb76354b8022e7d02a4da1f42aa8a28951ffae30cb416d71463	644321055a08eb1f260a6a3e31ac157fa024756abf612a9fd6857e7e400cf24e	05d2aea25c7a48852ec8514486975916159f309a6fbd7ee97719b7bc302b7dc3	2026-07-04	official	legal us-code

42 U.S.C. § 290bb–39a - Best practices for behavioral and mental health intervention teams

Text

(a) In general The Secretary, acting through the Assistant Secretary for Mental Health and Substance Use, and in consultation with the Secretary of Education, shall submit to the Health Education, Labor, and Pensions Committee of the Senate and the Energy and Commerce Committee of the House of Representatives a report that identifies best practices related to using behavioral and mental health intervention teams, which may be used to assist elementary schools, secondary schools, and institutions of higher education interested in voluntarily establishing and using such teams to support students exhibiting behaviors interfering with learning at school or who are at risk of harm to self or others.

(b) Elements The report under subsection (a) shall assess evidence supporting such best practices and, as appropriate, include consideration of the following:

(1) How behavioral and mental health intervention teams might operate effectively from an evidence-based, objective perspective while protecting the constitutional and civil rights and privacy of individuals.

(2) The use of behavioral and mental health intervention teams—

(A) to identify and support students exhibiting behaviors interfering with learning or posing a risk of harm to self or others; and

(B) to implement evidence-based interventions to meet the behavioral and mental health needs of such students.

(3) How behavioral and mental health intervention teams can—

(A) access evidence-based professional development to support students described in paragraph (2)(A); and

(B) ensure that such teams—

(i) are composed of trained, diverse stakeholders with expertise in child and youth development, behavioral and mental health, and disability; and

(ii) use cross validation by a wide-range of individual perspectives on the team.

(4) How behavioral and mental health intervention teams can help mitigate inappropriate referral to mental health services or law enforcement by implementing evidence-based interventions that meet student needs.

(c) Consultation In carrying out subsection (a), the Secretary shall consult with—

(1) the Secretary of Education;

(2) the Director of the National Threat Assessment Center of the United States Secret Service;

(3) the Attorney General;

(4) teachers (which shall include special education teachers), principals and other school leaders, school board members, behavioral and mental health professionals (including school-based mental health professionals), and parents of students;

(5) local law enforcement agencies and campus law enforcement administrators;

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

(7) other education and mental health professionals as the Secretary deems appropriate.

(d) Publication The Secretary shall publish the report under subsection (a) in an accessible format on the internet website of the Department of Health and Human Services.

(e) Definitions In this section:

(1) The term “behavioral and mental health intervention team” means a multidisciplinary team of trained individuals who—

(A) are trained to identify and assess the behavioral health needs of children and youth and who are responsible for identifying, supporting, and connecting students exhibiting behaviors interfering with learning at school, or who are at risk of harm to self or others, with appropriate behavioral health services; and

(B) develop and facilitate implementation of evidence-based interventions to—

(i) mitigate the threat of harm to self or others posed by a student described in subparagraph (A);

(ii) meet the mental and behavioral health needs of such students; and

(iii) support positive, safe, and supportive learning environments.

(2) The terms “elementary school”, “parent”, and “secondary school” have the meanings given to such terms in section 7801 of title 20.

(3) The term “institution of higher education” has the meaning given to such term in section 1002 of title 20.

(July 1, 1944, ch. 373, title V, § 520H–1, as added Pub. L. 117–328, div. FF, title I, § 1404, Dec. 29, 2022, 136 Stat. 5700.)