An Act relative to mental health counselors in schools, the official text

	Chapter 71 of the General Laws, as amended by section 219 of chapter 238 of the acts of 2024, is here by further amended by adding the following section:
	Section 102. (a) For the purpose of this section, the following terms shall, unless the context clearly requires otherwise, have the following meanings:
	“School mental health counselor”, a person licensed or eligible for licensure as a mental health counselor under section 165 of chapter 112.
	“School psychologist”, a person licensed or eligible for licensure as a licensed educational psychologist under section 165 of chapter 112 who has been certified as a school psychologist by the department of education.
	(b) Subject to appropriation, each public school shall employ school mental health counselors or school psychologist that have been granted by the commissioner a provisional or standard certificate of employment, pursuant to section 38G, for grades 3 to 12. During the school year, a school mental health counselor or school psychologist shall have at least 1 meeting with each student to ensure that the student: (i) is aware the counselor or psychologist is available to them; (ii) becomes familiar with the counselor or psychologist; and (iii) understands that the counselor or psychologist is accessible to them for whenever they may need.