Summary:

 Senate Bill 238 (SB 238) appropriates one million four hundred fifty thousand dollars ($1,450,000) for a youth behavioral health prevention project for public school students.


 

Legislation Overview:

 Senate Bill 238 (SB 238) appropriates one million four hundred fifty thousand dollars ($1,450,000) from the General Fund (GF) to Public Education Department for expenditure in Fiscal Year (FY) 2026 for a youth behavioral health prevention project offered through a multi-component digital platform.
It requires the PED’s request for proposal to include a proposed platform that provides online behavioral health education resources, pre-moderated peer-to-peer support services, and online private sessions with state-licensed behavioral health professionals; and the provider must show experience in providing these types of service to public school students in other states.
Any unexpended or unencumbered balance remaining at the end of FY 2026 reverts to the GF.

 

Current Law:

 The Office of School and Adolescent Health (OSAH) works to improve student and adolescent health through integrated school-based or school-linked health services in collaboration with public and private agencies across New Mexico. OSAH staff guide policy development on school and adolescent health issues and are involved in workforce development and trainings for those providing services to New Mexico youth. 
OSAH provides on-going technical assistance and training to school health personnel and other partners including pandemic flu preparedness, chronic disease management, traumatic loss in the school or community, suicide prevention and response, asthma and diabetes support systems, state immunization policy, and the New Mexico School Health Manual which it is transitioning from hard copies to the Web-based version and Compact Disc version. OSHA distributes one updated Compact Disc copy annually to each New Mexico school district and can be replicated by the district as needed. 
The School-Based Health Centers are a collaborative partnership among the NM Department of Health (SOH), the PED, Human Services Division (HSD) and Children, Youth and Families Department. There are more than eighty (80) SBHCs in schools with access to behavioral health services at fifty-two (52) of these centers.  There are statewide suicide hotlines for youth that provide bilingual services to callers in crisis and act as back-up responders to calls unanswered by the other hotlines, acting as a 24 hour network of response.  https://www.nmhealth.org/about/phd/pchb/osah/#overview