HB 1562 — Summary (North Dakota, 69th Legislative Assembly / Act 941)
Status and key dates
- Bill number: HB 1562
- Subject: Training for mandated reporters and youth behavioral health professional development in schools
- Filed: December 10, 2024
- Signed by Governor: June 20, 2025
- Effective date: September 1, 2025
- Enacted as: Act 941
- Statutory change: Amends and reenacts NDCC § 15.1‑07‑34; repeals NDCC § 15.1‑19‑29.
Purpose / intent
- To consolidate and update statutory requirements and guidance for school‑based professional development in youth behavioral health and for mandated‑reporter training related to suspected child abuse or neglect. The law both creates school duties (resource coordinator) and standardizes the mandated‑reporter training pathway.
Major provisions
1. Professional development (PD) on youth behavioral health
- Every two years, each school district may provide a minimum of eight hours of professional development for elementary, middle and high school teachers and administrators on youth behavioral health (the statute uses permissive language — “may” provide). Ancillary and support staff are encouraged to participate.
- PD topics may be chosen from enumerated categories, including: trauma; social and emotional learning (including resiliency); suicide prevention; bullying; prevalence/impact of youth behavioral health; behavioral health symptoms and risks; referral sources and evidence‑based intervention strategies; child protective services; other evidence‑based risk‑reduction strategies; and current/new evidence‑based behavior prevention/mitigation techniques.
- The Superintendent of Public Instruction must collaborate with regional education associations to disseminate information, training materials, and notices of training opportunities. PD must qualify for continuing education (CE) credits that count toward license renewal.
School behavioral health coordinator
- Each school shall designate an individual to serve as the behavioral health resource coordinator. The Superintendent must maintain contact information for each school’s coordinator.
Mandated‑reporter training for suspected child abuse/neglect
- Before initial licensure, public and nonpublic school teachers, administrators, librarians, and counselors must 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 (DHHS) is directed to develop and provide an online interactive training module that may be used by teacher education programs, individual educators, and educational institutions to meet the training requirement.
- Colleges, schools, and regional education associations may offer mandated‑reporter training that satisfies the statutory requirements for subsequent district‑level trainings.
Repeal
- NDCC § 15.1‑19‑29 (previous law relating to mandated‑reporter training) is repealed, consolidating training direction in § 15.1‑07‑34.
Who is affected
- Public and nonpublic K–12 teachers, administrators, librarians, counselors (must complete mandated‑reporter training before initial licensure).
- Ancillary/support school staff (encouraged to attend PD).
- School districts and individual schools (must designate behavioral health coordinators; may provide PD).
- Superintendent of Public Instruction, DHHS, regional education associations, and the Education Standards and Practices Board (implementation, dissemination, training development, recordkeeping).
Practical impact and considerations
- Mandated‑reporter training is standardized by statute and supported by a DHHS online module; the change centralizes training resources.
- The eight‑hour PD requirement is permissive for districts (not mandatory), but designation of a behavioral health coordinator is mandatory at each school.
- Training counted for CE credits may facilitate teacher participation and licensure compliance.
- The repeal of the prior section removes potential duplication; the bill leaves funding, specifics of DHHS module content, and district implementation logistics to agencies and local districts.
