(a) District boards of education shall establish and implement in each school building in which general education students are served a coordinated system for planning and delivering intervention and referral services designed to assist students who are experiencing learning, behavior, or health difficulties, and to assist staff who have difficulties in addressing students' learning, behavior, or health needs. District boards of education shall choose the appropriate multidisciplinary team approach for planning and delivering the services required under this subchapter.

• 1. The intervention and referral services shall be provided to aid students in the general education program; and
• 2. The intervention and referral services may be provided for students who have been determined to need special education programs and services.
• i. The intervention and referral services provided for students determined to need special education programs and services shall be coordinated with the student's individualized education program team, as appropriate.
• 3. Child study team members and, to the extent appropriate, specialists in the area of disability may participate on intervention and referral services teams, pursuant to N.J.A.C. 6A:14-3.1(d)6.

(a) The functions of the system of intervention and referral services in each school building shall be to:

• 1. Identify learning, behavior and health difficulties of students;
• 2. Collect information on the identified learning, behavior, and health difficulties;
• 3. Develop and implement action plans that provide for appropriate school or community interventions or referrals to school and community resources, based on the collected data and desired outcomes for the identified learning, behavior, and health difficulties;
• 4. Provide support, guidance and professional development to school staff who identify learning, behavior and health difficulties;
• 5. Provide support, guidance and professional development to school staff who participate in each building's system for planning and providing intervention and referral services;
• 6. Actively involve parents or guardians in the development and implementation of intervention and referral services action plans;
• 7. Coordinate the access to and delivery of school resources and services for achieving outcomes identified in intervention and referral services action plans;
• 8. Coordinate the services of community-based social and health provider agencies and other community resources for achieving outcomes identified in intervention and referral services action plans;
• 9. Maintain records of all requests for assistance and all intervention and referral services action plans and all related student information, according to the requirements of 20 U.S.C. § 1232g, Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act; 34 CFR Part 99, Family Educational Rights and Privacy; 20 U.S.C. § 1232h, Protection of Pupil Rights; 34 CFR Part 98, Student Rights in Research, Experimental Programs, and Testing; P.L. 104-191, Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act; 45 CFR Part 160, General Administrative Requirements; 20 U.S.C. § 7165, Transfer of school disciplinary records; 42 CFR Part 2, Confidentiality of Alcohol and Drug Abuse Patient Records; N.J.S.A. 18A:40A-7.1, Confidentiality of certain information provided by pupils, exceptions; N.J.A.C. 6A:16-3.2, Confidentiality of student alcohol and other drug information; N.J.S.A. 18A:36-19, Pupil records, creation, maintenance and retention, security and access, regulations, nonliability; N.J.S.A. 2A:4A-60, Disclosure of juvenile information, penalties for disclosure; N.J.A.C. 6A:32-7, Student Records; N.J.A.C. 6A:14-2.9, Student records; as well as other existing Federal and State laws and rules pertaining to student records and confidentiality.
• 10. Review and assess the effectiveness of each intervention and referral services action plan in achieving the identified outcomes, and modify each action plan to achieve the outcomes, as appropriate; and
• 11. At a minimum, annually review intervention and referral services action plans and the actions taken as a result of the building's system of intervention and referral services, and make recommendations to the principal for improving school programs and services, as appropriate.

Document addresses school nurse's role in addressing student mental health needs in collaboration with other members of the school health team.

Document addresses school-based mental health services.