1| HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES - FLOOR VERSION | | | 2| STATE OF OKLAHOMA | | | 3| 1st Session of the 59th Legislature (2023) | | | 4|COMMITTEE SUBSTITUTE | |FOR | 5|HOUSE BILL NO. 2513 By: Pittman and Waldron | | | 6| | | | 7| | | | 8| COMMITTEE SUBSTITUTE | | | 9| An Act relating to schools; describing the problem of | | unaddressed trauma in children; providing program | 10| purpose; directing legislature to appropriate funds | | to implement and operate a Handle With Care Oklahoma | 11| program; providing for program coordination between | | certain public agencies and community coalitions; | 12| enabling law enforcement to notify program; listing | | applicable traumatic events for notification; | 13| requiring administration of a hotline, email, or | | other method to provide notification; prescribing | 14| information to be included in notification; | | prohibiting inclusion of certain information; | 15| directing notification to designated representatives; | | including specified statement in notification; | 16| directing Oklahoma School Security Institute to | | provide model protocol and training for certain | 17| agencies; requiring Department of Mental Health and | | Substance Abuse Services to provide model protocol | 18| and training; specifying information to be included | | in training; authorizing rule promulgation; providing | 19| exception for notification that could compromise an | | ongoing investigation; requiring program to apply for | 20| additional funding sources; directing program to | | submit annual report to certain elected officials; | 21| providing for noncodification; providing for | | codification; and providing an effective date. | 22| | | | 23| | | | 24|BE IT ENACTED BY THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF OKLAHOMA: | | | arsid7536663 HB2513 HFLR Page 1 ___________________________________________________________________________
1| SECTION 1. NEW LAW A new section of law not to be | | | 2|codified in the Oklahoma Statutes reads as follows: | | | 3| A. The Problem. | | | 4| Research shows that unaddressed trauma can undermine children's | | | 5|ability to learn, form relationships, and function appropriately in | | | 6|the classroom. In the past, calling the Oklahoma Department of | | | 7|Human Services statewide centralized hotline to make a mandated | | | 8|child welfare report was one of the only tools in the first | | | 9|responder's toolbox, but most children and teens do not meet the | | | 10|criteria for a child welfare report. Consequently, the children and | | | 11|teens are never identified, nor do they receive services, and they | | | 12|linger in traumatic situations without adequate support. These | | | 13|students have an increased risk for negative outcomes such as poor | | | 14|academic performance, truancy, dropping out of school, and | | | 15|delinquency. | | | 16| B. The Handle With Care Oklahoma Program Purpose. | | | 17| Handle With Care (HWC) Oklahoma is a program designed to enhance | | | 18|existing cross-agency communication and partnership between local | | | 19|law enforcement, community mental health services and supports, and | | | 20|schools regarding children's exposure to traumatic events. The | | | 21|"Handle With Care" approach enables first responders to start | | | 22|building trust and positive connections with children and teens they | | | 23|encounter at a traumatic scene and through a HWC notification, local | | | 24|schools and mental health providers can provide trauma-sensitive | | | arsid7536663 HB2513 HFLR Page 2 ___________________________________________________________________________
1|support immediately as needed. HWC is aimed at ensuring that | | | 2|children who are exposed to crime, violence, and abuse receive | | | 3|appropriate interventions so they can succeed in school to the best | | | 4|of their ability. Children must feel safe in order to learn. | | | 5| SECTION 2. NEW LAW A new section of law to be codified | | | 6|in the Oklahoma Statutes as Section 1210.164 of Title 70, unless | | | 7|there is created a duplication in numbering, reads as follows: | | | 8| A. The Legislature shall appropriate funds to support the | | | 9|implementation and operation of the Handle With Care (HWC) Oklahoma | | | 10|program, coordinated through the Oklahoma School Security Institute, | | | 11|a division of the Oklahoma Office of Homeland Security. HWC | | | 12|Oklahoma efforts shall enhance existing partnerships and | | | 13|collaborations with key partners such as, but not limited to, other | | | 14|state and local first responder agencies, school districts, | | | 15|community coalitions, the State Department of Education, the | | | 16|Department of Mental Health and Substance Abuse Services, the | | | 17|Department of Human Services, and the State Department of Health. | | | 18|The statewide HWC Oklahoma program shall enhance planning, training, | | | 19|implementation, and sustainability in all counties in the state. | | | 20|The program shall give opportunities for local HWC initiatives to | | | 21|receive support from the state as needed. | | | 22| B. The HWC program shall enable a law enforcement officer or | | | 23|employee of a law enforcement agency to notify the program when a | | | 24|child, who may attend a public school or childcare agency in the | | | arsid7536663 HB2513 HFLR Page 3 ___________________________________________________________________________
1|state, is exposed to a traumatic event, is at the scene with a first | | | 2|responder, or another event occurs that may affect his or her | | | 3|ability to succeed at school including, but not limited to: | | | 4| 1. Domestic violence in the presence of the child; | | | 5| 2. Death of a member of the family or household of the child; | | | 6| 3. Arrest of a parent or guardian of the child affecting the | | | 7|welfare of the child; | | | 8| 4. Search warrant is served in the residence of the child; | | | 9| 5. Drug or alcohol overdose of a child's family member; | | | 10| 6. Violence or mass shootings in the neighborhood where the | | | 11|child resides; | | | 12| 7. Forced displacement from the residence; | | | 13| 8. House fire; | | | 14| 9. Child maltreatment; or | | | 15| 10. Child is present at a first responder encounter. | | | 16| C. The HWC program shall work with local communities and key | | | 17|partners to administer a telephone hotline, email, or other | | | 18|appropriate method to allow a law enforcement officer or first | | | 19|responder agency to provide the notification described in subsection | | | 20|B of this section. | | | 21| D. Information submitted to the HWC program in the notification | | | 22|shall comply with the Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigation's | | | 23|dissemination laws and Victim's Bill of Rights. It shall only | | | 24|include, to the extent that it is available: | | | arsid7536663 HB2513 HFLR Page 4 ___________________________________________________________________________
1| 1. The first, middle, and last name of the child; | | | 2| 2. The grade and school or childcare agency where the child is | | | 3|enrolled; and | | | 4| 3. The date of birth and age of the child. | | | 5|The HWC notification shall not include any details about the | | | 6|traumatic event unless there is an imminent threat to the safety of | | | 7|the child or school safety. | | | 8| E. Upon receiving notification as provided in subsection D of | | | 9|this section, the local HWC multi-disciplinary team (MDT) shall | | | 10|determine if the child attends a public school or childcare agency | | | 11|in this state. If the child attends a public school or childcare | | | 12|agency in the state, the local HWC MDT shall notify designated | | | 13|representatives where the child attends. The notice shall include | | | 14|that "the child referenced has been exposed to a traumatic event in | | | 15|the last twenty-four (24) hours and could exhibit academic, | | | 16|emotional, and behavioral problems because of exposure to a | | | 17|traumatic event. Please handle the child with care." | | | 18| F. 1. The Oklahoma School Security Institute, in coordination | | | 19|with community coalitions and partner state and local first | | | 20|responder agencies, shall provide model protocol and training for | | | 21|the HWC Oklahoma program to first responder agencies and their | | | 22|employees who may respond to a traumatic event involving a child. | | | 23| 2. The Department of Mental Health and Substance Abuse | | | 24|Services, in coordination with the State Department of Education and | | | arsid7536663 HB2513 HFLR Page 5 ___________________________________________________________________________
1|community coalitions, shall include model protocol and training for | | | 2|the HWC Oklahoma program in existing efforts which promotes | | | 3|universal trauma-informed practices in school settings. | | | 4| G. The training required in subsection F of this section shall | | | 5|include, at a minimum: | | | 6| 1. The criteria for sending a HWC notice; | | | 7| 2. The procedure for notifying the HWC program when a child who | | | 8|may attend a public school or childcare agency is exposed to an | | | 9|event listed in subsection B of this section that may affect his or | | | 10|her ability to succeed at school and the information to include in | | | 11|the notification; | | | 12| 3. Proper response to a notification received from the program, | | | 13|including, without limitation, the manner in which to respond to | | | 14|notification through early interventions; and | | | 15| 4. Collaboration with teachers and other members of the staff | | | 16|of a school, students, family members of students, | | | 17|multi-disciplinary teams, other persons, and behavioral, social, and | | | 18|health providers, as appropriate, to reduce the negative impact of | | | 19|the traumatic event on the affected student, appropriate | | | 20|interventions that may be available to assist the student, and the | | | 21|overall well-being of the student. Community coalitions shall be | | | 22|engaged to increase coordination of community services. | | | 23| | | | 24| | | | arsid7536663 HB2513 HFLR Page 6 ___________________________________________________________________________
1| H. The Oklahoma School Security Institute may promulgate rules | | | 2|to implement the provisions of this section with feedback from local | | | 3|first responder agencies, schools, and community coalitions. | | | 4| I. Nothing in this section shall be construed to require a law | | | 5|enforcement officer or employee of a law enforcement agency to | | | 6|provide notification pursuant to this section if the disclosure of | | | 7|information may compromise an ongoing investigation. | | | 8| J. In addition to funds appropriated by the legislature | | | 9|pursuant to subsection A of this section, the HWC Oklahoma program | | | 10|shall apply for additional federal, state, local, and private funds | | | 11|to support the HWC Oklahoma program. | | | 12| K. The HWC Oklahoma program shall submit an annual report of | | | 13|the program's progress, outcomes, and impact on students and | | | 14|communities to the Speaker of the Oklahoma House of Representatives, | | | 15|President Pro Tempore of the Oklahoma State Senate, and the | | | 16|Governor. | | | 17| SECTION 3. This act shall become effective November 1, 2023. | | | 18| | | | 19|COMMITTEE REPORT BY: COMMITTEE ON COMMON EDUCATION, dated 03/02/2023 | |- DO PASS, As Amended and Coauthored. | 20| | | | 21| | | | 22| | | | 23| | | | 24| | | | arsid7536663 HB2513 HFLR Page 7