RCW 28A.210.405: Student behavioral health—Technical assistance and training framework.

(1)(a) To support students' readiness to learn, school districts and public schools must have access to the prevention, early identification, early intervention, and crisis intervention assistance, resources, and training necessary for schools to utilize and integrate with a statewide system of coordinated care for children and youth and their families.

(b)(i) The office of the superintendent of public instruction, including the state school safety center established in RCW 28A.300.630, and the educational service districts, including the regional school safety centers established in RCW 28A.310.510, must collaborate and coordinate with state, regional, and local agencies and community partners involved in behavioral health services for children and youth to develop a technical assistance and training framework to provide school districts and public schools with assistance in supporting student behavioral health, including identifying systems' needs, mapping resources, accessing available funding, and connecting to community-based behavioral health services and supports.

(ii) The purpose of the technical assistance and training framework is to improve coordination, reduce duplication, and increase access to prevention, early identification, early intervention, and crisis intervention behavioral health services and supports.

(2) The technical assistance and training framework must, at a minimum:

(a) Align with the behavioral health goals and guiding principles outlined in the strategic plan adopted by the children and youth behavioral health work group in November 2025, as required by RCW 74.09.4951;

(b) Incorporate evidence-based and evidence-informed practices for equipping school districts and public schools with tools, resources, and guidance for prevention, early identification, early intervention, and crisis intervention behavioral health services and supports to students and their families;

(c) Include best practices and procedures for engaging state, regional, and local agency and community partners involved in behavioral health services for children and youth, and for enabling school districts and public schools to access any technical assistance, resources, training, and services made available through those partners;

(d) Establish roles, processes, and delivery methods for the office of the superintendent of public instruction, the educational service districts, and participating agency and community partners to optimize the statewide and regional delivery of technical assistance, resources, and training to school districts and public schools;

(e) Identify and incorporate strategies to braid and coordinate state, federal, local, and private resources to support prevention, early identification, early intervention, and crisis intervention activities that promote student behavioral health;

(f) Support school district and public school application of the Washington integrated student supports protocol, established under RCW 28A.300.139;

(g) Include strategies and tools for engaging families, parent advocacy groups, and community partners in the planning, implementation, and evaluation of school district and public school wellness initiatives, with the goal of promoting a holistic approach to student wellness supports;

(h) Include strategies and procedures to support school districts and public schools in accessing training, technical assistance, and community resources that support student behavioral health through the technical assistance and training framework; and

(i) Include mechanisms for continuous improvement, including procedures for updating technical assistance and training based on emerging best practices, data, and feedback from school districts and public schools.

(3) In developing the technical assistance and training framework, the office of the superintendent of public instruction and the educational service districts must consult and collaborate with, at a minimum: Large and small, and rural and urban school districts; the health care authority; the department of health; the tribal leaders congress on education; an association representing Washington's federally recognized tribes; representatives of associations representing behavioral health professionals working in public schools; representatives of organizations advocating for and supporting parents and families with students in public schools; and state and local agencies, institutions of higher education, and community-based organizations involved in behavioral health services for children and youth.

(4) The office of the superintendent of public instruction and the educational service districts must design the technical assistance and training framework to support braiding and coordinating of current and future state, federal, and private funding streams to support development, implementation, and ongoing delivery of the technical assistance and training framework and related guidance and assistance to school districts and public schools.

(5)(a) The office of the superintendent of public instruction, the educational service districts, school districts, and public schools must continue to comply with all responsibilities to promote student behavioral health required by law, including RCW 28A.310.510, 28A.320.127, and 28A.415.445(1), while the technical assistance and training framework is developed.

(b) After the technical assistance and training framework is developed, the office of the superintendent of public instruction and the educational service districts must use the framework to optimize delivery and coordination of behavioral health technical assistance, resources, training, and supports, including by improving identification of and access to available behavioral health services, supports, and funding streams.

(6) The office of the superintendent of public instruction must provide an update on the development of the technical assistance and training framework to the appropriate committees of the legislature by November 1, 2027, and in compliance with RCW 43.01.036.

(7) This section does not impose additional duties on school districts or public schools beyond those otherwise required by law.

(8) For purposes of this section, "public schools" has the same meaning as in RCW 28A.150.010.