Iowa Code r. 281-14.21 - Behavioral health screenings in school settings
(1) A school district, an accredited
nonpublic school, or an AEA may contract with a mental health professional or a
nationally accredited behavioral health care organization in order to provide
universal behavioral health screenings to students. If the school district,
accredited nonpublic school, or area education agency contracts with mental
health professionals to conduct behavioral health screenings, the following
paragraphs apply:
a. The screenings will be
administered with the contracted mental health professional present, using a
screener approved by the department, in consultation with the department of
health and human services.
b. The
school district, accredited nonpublic school, or AEA that contracts for on-site
student behavioral health screenings will obtain written parent or guardian
consent or, in the case of a student who has reached the age of majority, the
student's written consent prior to the student's participating in each
screening.
c. At any point before
or during the screening, a student may opt out or discontinue participation in
the screening without retribution.
(2) The parental consent is to allow for the
mental health professional to disclose the screening results to the school or
AEA if there is a credible threat to the health and safety of the student or
others and provide the appropriate emergency contact. The parental consent may
allow for the mental health professional to disclose screening information to
the school or AEA in order to support the student(s) who may need intervention
that could be provided through the school.
(3) The school district or AEA will ensure
that the mental health professionals contracted to administer the screeners are
qualified to administer the selected behavioral health screener.
(4) The school district or AEA will have
procedures to secure and limit the access to health information to comply with
the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA), effective
February 7, 2024, in accordance with parental consent.
(5) If a mental health professional conducts
the screening and determines that a student needs additional behavioral health
services, the mental health professional:
a.
Notifies the parent or guardian of the student of the results of the
screening.
b. May notify the
student's primary care provider, with parent or guardian consent, or the
consent of the student who has reached the age of majority.
c. May provide a list of local primary care
providers to the parent or guardian if the student does not have a primary care
provider.
Notes
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