Sec. 21. (a) Each school corporation and charter school shall enter into a memorandum of understanding with a community mental health center established under IC 12-29-2 or a provider certified or licensed by the state to provide appropriate and necessary mental or behavioral health services to students. The division of mental health and addiction shall develop a memorandum of understanding for referral and assist school corporations and charter schools in obtaining a memorandum of understanding with a community mental health center or an appropriate provider.

     (b) A school corporation and a charter school may not refer a student to a mental health care provider or a community mental health center for services unless the school corporation or charter school has received the written consent of the student’s parent or guardian.

     (c) If a school corporation or charter school refers a student to a mental health care provider, the school corporation or charter school may note the referral in the student’s cumulative record but may not include any possible diagnosis or information concerning the student’s mental health other than any medication that the student takes for the student’s mental health. A student record that contains medical information must be kept confidential.

     (d) A school counselor or other employee of a school corporation or a charter school may not diagnose a student as having a mental health condition unless the individual’s scope of practice includes diagnosing a mental health condition.

     (e) Before providing a referral under a memorandum of understanding, each school corporation and charter school shall comply with the following requirements:

(1) Develop a process for a teacher or school employee to notify a school official to contact a student’s parent if the student demonstrates a repeated pattern of aberrant or abnormal behavior. The parental notification process described in this subdivision must also include that the school will hold a conference with the student and the student’s parent.

(2) Require that the conference described in subdivision (1) must address the student’s potential need for and benefit from:

(A) mental or behavioral health services; or

(B) mental or behavioral health services provided by the community mental health center or appropriate provider that is contracted and paid for by the school corporation or charter school.

(3) Establish a procedure for a parent who chooses to seek services for the student to follow that includes granting written parental consent for the student to receive mental or behavioral health services by a community mental health center or appropriate provider described under subdivision (2).

(4) Ensure that a school maintains the confidentiality of any medical records that result from a student’s participation in any treatment described in subdivision (2). The school must adopt a policy that prohibits the school from:

(A) sharing any reports or notes resulting from the provision of mental or behavioral health services described in subdivision (2)(A) with other school officials; and

(B) maintaining any reports, notes, diagnosis, or appointments that result from a student’s participation in any treatment described in subdivision (2)(A) through (2)(B) in the student’s permanent educational file.

As added by P.L.185-2015, SEC.20. Amended by P.L.69-2020, SEC.2.