Sec. 5. (a) School corporations shall provide student assistance services at the elementary and secondary school levels. (b) Student assistance services shall be coordinated by a:

• (1) certified school counselor;
• (2) certified school psychologist; or
• (3) certified school social worker (master's level). (c) Student assistance services shall include, but are not limited to, the following:
• (1) Prevention, which includes:
• (A) assisting teachers and parents in delivering the health and social studies proficiencies of the school curricula;
• (B) collaborating with community resources to develop summer and extended school programs to meet the social and recreational needs of students; and
• (C) educating school staff and parents on the developmental needs and behavioral management of students.
• (2) Assessment, which includes:
• (A) educating school staff and parents to identify and refer students who are experiencing problems that interfere with student learning;
• (B) obtaining and interpreting data on student needs; and
• (C) implementing the school's policies and procedures with regard to identifying and referring students with their families who are in need of special services.
• (3) Intervention, which includes:
• (A) providing brief individual and group counseling to students and families who need help with personal concerns or developmental problems; and
• (B) providing consultation services to school staff and parents regarding strategies for helping students cope with personal and social concerns.
• (4) Referral, which includes:
• (A) implementing policies and procedures for referring students and families to student assistance services and to community agencies for intensive counseling or other specialized services not available from the school;
• (B) disseminating a directory of community services and resources; and
• (C) creating a system to monitor referrals to ensure that students and families receive services in a timely and appropriate manner.

(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.

Model job description to comply with indiana law having a designated counselor.