An act to amend and reenact section 15.1-07-34 of the North Dakota Century Code, relating to training for mandated reporters of suspected child abuse or neglect; and to repeal section 15.1-19-29 of the North Dakota Centu, the official text

Sixty-ninth Legislative Assembly of North Dakota In Regular Session Commencing Tuesday, January 7, 2025
HOUSE BILL NO. 1562 (Representatives Osowski, Hauck, Heilman, Maki, Morton)
AN ACT to amend and reenact section 15.1-07-34 of the North Dakota Century Code, relating to training for mandated reporters of suspected child abuse or neglect; and to repeal section 15.1-19-29 of the North Dakota Century Code, relating to training for mandated reporters of suspected child abuse or neglect.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATIVE ASSEMBLY OF NORTH DAKOTA: SECTION 1. AMENDMENT. Section 15.1-07-34 of the North Dakota Century Code is amended and
reenacted as follows: 15.1-07-34. Youth behavioral health and child abuse and neglect training tofor teachers,
administrators, and ancillary staff. 1. Every two years, eacha school district may provide a minimum of eight hours of professional development on youth behavioral health, child abuse, and child neglect to elementary, middle, and high school teachers, and administrators. EachA school district may encourage ancillary and support staff to participate in the professional development. Based on the annual needs assessment of the school district, these hours may be designated from the following categories: a. Trauma; b. Social and emotional learning, including resiliency; c. Suicide prevention; d. Bullying; e. Understanding of the prevalence and impact of youth behavioral health wellness on family structure, education, juvenile services, law enforcement, and health care and treatment providers; f. Knowledge of behavioral health symptoms, and risks; g. Awareness of referral sources and evidence-based strategies for appropriate interventions; h. Child protective services; i. Other evidence-based strategies to reduce risk factors for students; or i.j. Current or new evidence-based behavior prevention or mitigation techniques. 2. Each school within a district shall designate an individual as a behavioral health resource coordinator. 3. The superintendent of public instruction shall collaborate with regional education associations to disseminate information, training and instructional materials, and notice of training opportunities to school districts and nonpublic schools. ThisThe training must qualify for continuing education credits that count toward license renewal.

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4. The superintendent of public instruction shall maintain the contact information of the behavioral health resource coordinator in each school.
5. Before initial licensure, a public or nonpublic school teacher, administrator, librarian, and counselor shall submit documentation to the education standards and practices board verifying completion of a mandated reporter training program for suspected child abuse or neglect. The department of health and human services shall develop and provide an online interactive training module that may be used by a college of teacher education, an individual educator, and an educational institution to fulfill the training requirement. A college, school, and regional education association may offer a mandated reporter training program that satisfy the requirements outlined in this section for subsequent trainings at the district level.
SECTION 2. REPEAL. Section 15.1-19-29 of the North Dakota Century Code is repealed.

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____________________________ Speaker of the House

____________________________ President of the Senate

____________________________ Chief Clerk of the House

____________________________ Secretary of the Senate

This certifies that the within bill originated in the House of Representatives of the Sixty-ninth Legislative Assembly of North Dakota and is known on the records of that body as House Bill No. 1562.

House Vote: Senate Vote:

Yeas 90 Yeas 46

Nays 1 Nays 0

Absent 3 Absent 1

____________________________ Chief Clerk of the House
Received by the Governor at ________M. on _____________________________________, 2025. Approved at ________M. on __________________________________________________, 2025.

____________________________ Governor
Filed in this office this ___________day of _______________________________________, 2025, at ________ o’clock ________M.

____________________________ Secretary of State