A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT TO PROVIDE GRANTS FOR STUDENTS IN CRISIS.
The General Assembly of North Carolina enacts:
SECTION 1.  Article 8 of Chapter 115C of the General Statutes is amended by adding a new section to read:
"§ 115C‑105.59.  Students in crisis grants.
(a)	Definitions. – For purposes of this section, the following definitions shall apply:
(1)	Community partner. – A public or private entity, including, but not limited to, a nonprofit corporation or a local management entity/managed care organization (LME/MCO), that partners with a public school unit to provide services or pay for the provision of services for the unit.
(2)	Public school unit. – A local school administrative unit, regional school, innovative school, laboratory school, or charter school.
(b)	Program; Purpose. – The Superintendent of Public Instruction shall establish the Students in Crisis Grant Program (Program). The purpose of the Program is to improve safety in public school units by providing grants for services for students in crisis.
(c)	Grant Applications. – A public school unit or community partner, as appropriate, may submit an application to the Superintendent of Public Instruction for a grant pursuant to this section. The application shall include an assessment, to be performed in conjunction with a local law enforcement agency, of the need for improving school safety within the public school unit that would receive the funding or services. The application shall identify current and ongoing needs and estimated costs associated with those needs.
(d)	Criteria and Guidelines. – By August 1, 2019, the Superintendent of Public Instruction shall develop criteria and guidelines for the administration and use of the grants pursuant to this section, including any documentation required to be submitted by applicants. In assessing grant applications, the Superintendent of Public Instruction shall consider at least all of the following factors:
(1)	The level of resources available to the public school unit that would receive the funding or services.
(2)	Whether the public school unit has received other grants of funding for school safety.
(3)	The overall impact on student safety in the public school unit if the identified needs are funded.
(e)	Award of Funds. – From funds made available for the Program, the Superintendent of Public Instruction, in consultation with the Department of Health and Human Services, shall award grants to community partners to provide or pay for the provision of any of the following crisis services:
(1)	Crisis respite services for parents or guardians of an individual student to prevent more intensive or costly levels of care.
(2)	Training and expanded services for therapeutic foster care families and licensed child placement agencies that provide services to students who (i) need support to manage their health, welfare, and safety and (ii) have any of the following:
a.	Cognitive or behavioral problems.
b.	Developmental delays.
c.	Aggressive behavior.
(3)	Evidence‑based therapy services aligned with targeted training for students and their parents or guardians, including any of the following:
a.	Parent‑child interaction therapy.
b.	Trauma‑focused cognitive behavioral therapy.
c.	Dialectical behavior therapy.
d.	Child‑parent psychotherapy.
(4)	Any other crisis service, including peer‑to‑peer mentoring, that is likely to increase school safety. Of the funds allocated to the Superintendent for grants pursuant to this section, the Superintendent shall not use more than ten percent (10%) for the services identified in this subdivision.
(f)	Allocation of Funds for Certain Community Partners. – From funds made available for the Program, the Department may award up to one million dollars ($1,000,000) each year to any community partner that works with at‑risk youth, including juveniles in the court system, to (i) provide tutoring in reading, writing, and mathematics and (ii) improve post‑secondary preparedness.
(g)	Supplement Not Supplant. – Grants provided to public school units or community partners pursuant to the Program shall be used to supplement and not to supplant State or non‑State funds already provided for these services.
(h)	Administrative Costs. – Of the funds appropriated to the Department of Public Instruction for the Program, the Superintendent of Public Instruction may retain up to one hundred thousand dollars ($100,000) each year for administrative costs.
(i)	Report. – No later than April 1, 2020, and annually thereafter, the Superintendent of Public Instruction shall report on the program to the Joint Legislative Education Oversight Committee, the Joint Legislative Oversight Committee on Health and Human Services, the Joint Legislative Oversight Committee on Justice and Public Safety, the Joint Legislative Commission on Governmental Operations, and the Fiscal Research Division. The report shall include the identity of each entity that received a grant through the Program, the amount of funding provided to each entity that received a grant, the use of funds by each entity that received a grant, and recommendations for the implementation of additional effective school safety measures."
SECTION 2.  There is appropriated from the General Fund to the Department of Public Instruction the sum of two million five hundred thousand dollars ($2,500,000) in recurring funds for the 2019‑2020 fiscal year to implement the students in crisis grants established by this act.
SECTION 3.  This act becomes effective July 1, 2019.