Mental Health

Program Overview
Mental health services in schools include a broad range of services, settings, and strategies.

Social Isolation
Social isolation is the state of complete or near-complete lack of contact between an individual and other individuals and/or society. Social isolation occurs for long periods of time and impacts the social and emotional wellness of individuals.

Youth Behavioral Health Training Programs
These programs have been identified to meet the legislative requirements of Education Code 49428.15.

Senate Bill 224: Mental Health Instruction Expansion Plan (DOCX)
Senate Bill 224 passed in October 2021 and was codified as Education Code Section 51925. This law requires each school district, county office of education, state special school, and charter school, that offers one or more courses in health education to middle or high school students, to include in mental health instruction as part of the curriculum.

Telehealth Guidance (DOCX)
Assembly Bill (AB) 2315 (Chapter 759, Statutes of 2018) as amended by AB 167 (Chapter 252, Statutes of 2021), led the CDE to initiate the writing of this telehealth guidance document. The guidance is a resource for our school communities to support the mental wellness of our students.

Angst
Angst is an iNDIEFLIX Original documentary designed to raise awareness around anxiety.

Model Youth Suicide Prevention Policy (DOCX)
This sample policy document is meant to serve as a model for local educational agencies (LEA). Following the passage of Assembly Bill 2246 (Chapter 642, Statutes of 2016), LEAs that serve pupils in grades seven to twelve, inclusive, must adopt a policy on pupil suicide prevention, intervention, and postvention before the beginning of the 2017-18 school year. Assembly Bill 2639, amended EC Section 215 in 2018, requires the governing board or body of an LEA that serves students in grades seven to twelve, to review their suicide prevention policies at least every five years and update them, as needed.

Student Mental Health Policy Workgroup
The Student Mental Health Policy Workgroup (SMHPW) will assess the current mental health needs of California students and gather evidence to support its policy recommendations to the State Superintendent of Public Instruction and the California Legislature.

The upcoming meeting dates for the SMHPW are:

• Wednesday, January 22, 2025, 3-5 p.m. Register for the January 23, 3-5 p.m. webinar

School-based Health Programs
School-based Health Programs provide resources, supports and information to address the physical, mental and/or behavioral health needs of school communities, including students, staff.

Project Cal-Well
A project to promote mental health awareness and wellness among California's kindergarten through twelfth grade students.

Project Cal-STOP
Project Cal-STOP (Student, Teachers, and Officers Preventing) School Violence is a violence prevention and mental health training program for students and staff in California schools.

Mental Health Services Act (MHSA)
The California Department of Health Care Services is the primary resource for accessing information about the Act, including updates and activities related to local planning efforts.

• Mental Health Services Act -CalEdFacts
  This content is part of California Department of Education's information and media guide about education in the State of California. For similar information on other topics, visit the full CalEdFacts.

California Health Education
This website provides support for educators teaching health education, which includes the content area of mental and social emotional health. Resources include asynchronous professional learning opportunities, instructional materials, and guidance on teaching health education standards that build student knowledge and skills. Administrator resources also include guidance related to key initiative and legislation, assessment tools, instructional materials evaluation toolkit, and relevant data sources.

Model Mental Health Posters

We are pleased to introduce the model mental health posters, developed in response to Assembly Bill 748. This bill requires each school site in California serving pupils in grades 6 to 12 to create a poster that identifies approaches and shares resources regarding pupil mental health. The poster must be prominently and conspicuously displayed in appropriate public areas that are accessible to, and commonly frequented by, pupils at each local educational agency (LEA) school site. The California Department of Education would like to express our sincere gratitude and appreciation to the San Diego County Office of Education and their statewide youth group for their invaluable collaboration in the development, revision, and creation of these life-saving mental health resources. Please download these posters and follow the instructions provided to customize them for your school site or community.

• Bad Days and Good Days Poster (PDF)
• Friendships & Mental Health Poster (PDF)
• Your Mental Health is as Important as your Physical Health Poster (PDF)

Webinars

Senate Bill 224 Student Mental Health Instruction Webinar Series

Senate Bill (SB) 224 passed in October 2021 and was codified as Education Code Section 51925. This law requires each school district, county office of education, state special school, and charter school, that offers one or more courses in health education to middle or high school students, to include in mental health instruction as part of the curriculum. Mental health education is one of the best ways to increase awareness, empower students to recognize signs in themselves and their peers, seek help, and reduce the stigma associated with mental health issues. In the SB 224 webinar series, we share resources and provide guidance and support as you implement this critical law.

• Student Mental Health Education Implementation: Why, What, & How Webinar (Video; 56:25)
• Senate Bill 224 Informational Webinar 1: Mental Health Expansion Plan (Video; 1:26:36)
• Senate Bill 224 Informational Webinar 2: Implementing Mental Health Education (Video; 1:41:10)

Individual & Collective Well-Being Among School Staff, Educators & Administrators Webinar Series

This webinar series addresses staff social-emotional health as fundamental to the success in educating youth, engaging families, and collaborating with colleagues. It teaches how stress management and supportive relationships create a workplace where we can prioritize our own health while serving others.

• Session 1: Commit to Forming Transformative Relationships (Video; 56:17)
• Session 2: Promote Staff Connections and Relationships (Video; 59:15)
• Session 3: Practice Self-Regulation for Stressful Situation (Video; 1:00:00)
• Session 4: Map Strengths to Improve Team Culture (Video; 52:19)
• Session 5: Identify Your "Why" to Increase Impact (Video; 55:24)
• Session 6: Create Consistent Structure and Clarity (Video; 59:48)
• Session 7: Build Dependability and Trust (Video; 55:49)

School Safety Webinar Series

• School Safety Webinar: Suicide Prevention & Awareness (Video; 2:13:41)
• All Things Back to School: Physical, Mental, Social and Emotional Wellbeing (Video; 1:58:03)
• School Safety Webinar: Fentanyl Crisis (Video; 1:15:28)
• Post Election Reflections: Supporting Mental Health and Community (Video; 1:11:17)
• CDPH/CDE Behavioral Health Resources: Building Trauma Informed and Responsive Schools (Video; 1:32:45)

K12MH Listserv

To receive information about the K-12 Mental Health (K12MH) Services Act Prevention and Early Intervention planning and implementation process, send a blank message to join-k12mh@mlist.cde.ca.gov. To unsubscribe, send a blank message to unsubscribe-k12mh@mlist.cde.ca.gov.

Supporting Resilience in Schools
Provides information and resources for educators, parents, and communities working with those who have experienced trauma.

Resources
Resources for psychological and mental health issues, including coping with tragedy, crisis intervention and prevention, school psychology, and suicide prevention.