The Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration of the United States Department of Health and Human Services defines "behavioral health" as the promotion of mental health, resilience, and wellbeing; the treatment of mental and substance use disorders; and the support of those who experience and/or are in recovery from these conditions, along with their families and communities.
 
The Office of the Superintendent of Public Instruction maintains resources and programs intended to support the mental, social, and behavioral health needs of students, including programs on:  youth suicide prevention, intervention, and postvention; substance use prevention and intervention; and lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and questioning youth.
 
Behavioral health issues have also been addressed through recent legislation.  For example, legislation enacted in 2016  established the Children's Mental Health Work Group (work group) and directed it to identify barriers to accessing mental health services for children and families, and advise the Legislature on statewide mental health services for this population.  Recommendations from the work group resulted in a two-year regional behavioral health pilot project between June 2017 and June 2019.  The 2019 pilot project final report included recommendations focused on increasing student access to behavioral health services.
 
Additionally, legislation enacted in 2020 addressed behavioral health issues by requiring public schools and institutions of higher education to include contact information for suicide prevention organizations on identification cards for students and staff.

Within existing resources, every public school that maintains a website must publish on the website home page the following information:

• the website address and phone number for one or more national suicide prevention organizations;
• the website address and phone number for one or more local, state, or national organizations specializing in suicide prevention or crisis intervention;
• the website address and phone number for one or more local, state, or national organizations specializing in depression, anxiety, or counseling for adolescents;
• the website address and phone number for one or more local, state, or national organizations specializing in eating disorders for adolescents;
• the website address and phone number for one or more local, state, or national organizations specializing in substance abuse for adolescents; and
• the website address and phone number for a mental health referral service that meets specified criteria.

 
Public schools may meet the website publishing requirements by posting a prominent link on their home pages to a behavioral and emotional health website that contains the required information.
 
Public schools must also post information on social media websites used by the school district for the purpose of notifying students, families, and the public of the behavioral health resources published on their website home pages.  The social media postings must occur multiple times each year and no less than quarterly.