Per-pupil mental health and student safety payments to districts, intermediate districts, nonpublic schools, and the Michigan Schools for the Deaf and Blind; allowable expenditures; school resource officers and safety dogs; final expense report; comprehensive investigation.

Sec. 31aa. (1) From the state school aid fund money appropriated in section 11, there is allocated $300,000,000.00 for 2026-2027 only, and from the general fund money appropriated in section 11, there is allocated $10,000,000.00 for 2026-2027 only, to support school safety and mental health. (2) From the state school aid fund money allocated in subsection (1), an amount not to exceed $100,000,000.00, and from the general fund money allocated in subsection (1), the amount necessary to provide payments to nonpublic schools as calculated under this subsection may be used to provide payments to districts, intermediate districts, nonpublic schools, and the Michigan Schools for the Deaf and Blind, as applicable, for activities to improve student mental health. The department shall make payments under this subsection to districts, intermediate districts, nonpublic schools, and the Michigan Schools for the Deaf and Blind in an amount not to exceed $73.53 per pupil. The total amount allocated for nonpublic schools under this subsection must not exceed $7,000,000.00. The allowable expenditures of funds under this subsection are as follows: (a) Hiring or contracting for support staff for student mental health needs, including, but not limited to, school psychologists, social workers, counselors, and school nurses. (b) Purchasing and implementing mental health screening tools. (c) Purchasing a statewide, integrated technology platform that streamlines behavioral health documentation and care coordination. (d) Providing school-based mental health personnel access to consultation with behavioral health clinicians to respond to complex student mental health needs. (e) Purchasing and implementing an online behavioral health tool moderated and led by licensed behavioral health professionals. (f) Hiring or contracting a behavioral health coordinator. (g) Evidence-based trainings to support mental health. (h) Costs associated with collaboration between school employees, families, and community partners to address the academic, behavioral, and social needs of all students through collaborative partnerships, resource coordination, data collection, and data sharing. (i) Costs associated with conducting a systematic school mental health needs assessment and resource mapping that identifies programmatic and systemic needs and helps staff determine priorities and create action plans. (j) Implementing cell-phone-free school policies. As used in this subdivision, "cell-phone-free school policy" means a policy that prohibits students from accessing or using a personal communication device capable of telecommunication or digital communication during instructional time, as determined by the school. (k) Purchasing and implementing an evidence-based character- and relationship-building education program that includes family engagement, service learning, and project-based character development, and that fosters positive student-educator relationships and whole-school culture. (3) From the state school aid fund money allocated in subsection (1), an amount not to exceed $200,000,000.00 and from the general fund money allocated in subsection (1), the amount necessary to provide payments to nonpublic schools as calculated under this subsection may be used to provide payments to districts, intermediate districts, nonpublic schools, and the Michigan Schools for the Deaf and Blind, as applicable, for activities to improve student safety. Subject to eligibility requirements in subsection (6), the department shall make payments to eligible districts, intermediate districts, nonpublic schools, and the Michigan Schools for the Deaf and Blind in an amount not to exceed $147.06 per pupil. The total amount allocated for nonpublic schools under this subsection must not exceed $14,000,000.00. The allowable expenditures of funds under this subsection are as follows: (a) Coordination with local law enforcement. (b) Training for school staff on threat assessment. (c) Training for school staff and students on threat response. (d) Training for school staff on crisis communication. (e) Safety infrastructure, including, but not limited to, cameras, door blocks, hardened vestibules, window screening, and technology necessary to operate buzzer systems. This may also include firearm detection software that integrates to existing security cameras to detect and alert school personnel and first responders to visible firearms on school property. (f) Age-appropriate training for students and families on responsible firearm ownership, including safe handling and safe storage of firearms. (g) School resource officers and safety dogs. School resource officers hired under this subsection must be properly licensed and in good standing with the Michigan commission on law enforcement standards, and must be in compliance with all applicable laws. (h) Student Safety Management System, the information technology platform and related services to improve student safety by mitigating cyberbullying, school violence, human trafficking, and self-harm that supports students from grades K to 12. (i) A secure platform, administered by the department of state police, for school officials, emergency responders, and emergency management coordinators to house all school safety-related items, including, but not limited to, EOP templates, EOP guidance, reference documents, and security assessments. The platform should use existing password-protected access control methods schools currently utilize and, to the extent possible, be capable of integrating with existing platforms or technologies used by districts for school safety. Through permissions-based access control, the platform should be able to relay information clearly and in real time to each person or entity necessary to provide a unified response to a safety incident, or to take appropriate action in response to an anticipated disruption to the normal functions of the surrounding community. (j) Emergency infrastructure needs to respond to an immediate threat to the health or safety of students and staff in the district, intermediate district, nonpublic school, or the Michigan Schools for the Deaf and Blind. A district, intermediate district, nonpublic school, or the Michigan Schools for the Deaf and Blind shall not expend funds for this purpose without first obtaining approval from the department. In making a determination of approval, the department shall, at a minimum, assess whether the district, intermediate district, nonpublic school, or the Michigan Schools for the Deaf and Blind is responding to an immediate threat to the health or safety of students and staff, and whether the district, intermediate district, nonpublic school, or the Michigan Schools for the Deaf and Blind has other sources of funding that should be utilized first. (k) A contract with a vendor for a comprehensive safety and security assessment or a comprehensive safety and security event assessment in schools operated by the district, intermediate district, nonpublic school, or the Michigan Schools for the Deaf and Blind. (l) An emergency response system. (4) Recipients of funding under this section must provide a final expense report to the department by July 1 of each fiscal year. If the department determines that the eligible recipient has misused the funds allocated under this section, the eligible recipient shall reimburse the department for the amount of state funding misused. (5) Districts receiving funds under this section must coordinate with intermediate districts to avoid duplication of services and to streamline delivery of services to students. (6) To receive funding under subsection (3), a district, an intermediate district, a nonpublic school, or the Michigan Schools for the Deaf and Blind must agree to be subject to a comprehensive investigation after a mass casualty event, must agree to comply with a comprehensive investigation into the mass casualty event and, for the purpose of that investigation, must affirmatively agree to waive any privilege held by the district, intermediate district, nonpublic school, or Michigan School for the Deaf and Blind that may otherwise protect information from disclosure in the event of a mass casualty event, and must agree to comply with a comprehensive investigation. All of the following apply to a comprehensive investigation described in this subsection: (a) The comprehensive investigation will assess the circumstances surrounding the mass casualty event, including, but not limited to: (i) Emergency response effectiveness. (ii) Compliance with safety protocols. (iii) Communication procedures. (iv) Any factors contributing to the incident. (b) The governor shall designate an appropriate person or investigative entity to conduct the comprehensive investigation. This person or investigative entity may include, but is not limited to, state law enforcement agencies, independent review boards, or specially appointed task forces. The person or designated investigative entity has the authority to do all of the following: (i) Access relevant records and data from the district. (ii) Interview witnesses and district personnel involved. (iii) Issue findings and recommendations based on the investigation. (c) The person or investigative entity designated in subdivision (b) shall prepare a detailed report of its findings and submit the report to the governor and relevant legislative committees within 90 days following the conclusion of the investigation. The report must include recommendations for preventing future incidents and improving school safety protocols. (7) In addition to the appropriations in section 11, if the general fund money allocated in subsection (1) is insufficient to fully fund awards to nonpublic schools under subsections (2) and (3), there is appropriated from the general pupil support reserve fund created in section 22s the amount necessary, not to exceed $11,000,000.00, to fund these reimbursements. (8) As used in this section: (a) "Mass casualty event" means any of the following that occur on school grounds or at a school-sponsored event: (i) An incident resulting in significant physical injuries to not fewer than 3 individuals. As used in this subparagraph, "significant physical injury" means an injury that involves a risk of death, significant physical pain, protracted and obvious disfigurement, or a protracted loss or impairment of the function of a bodily member, organ, or mental or sensory faculty. (ii) An incident resulting in 2 or more fatalities. (iii) An incident of such scope that the emergency response resources in the jurisdiction where the incident takes place are not sufficient and resources from surrounding jurisdictions are required. (iv) An incident that results in a sudden surge of injured individuals necessitating emergency services. (b) "Safety dog" means a dog that is contracted by a law enforcement agency of this state, a local unit of government of this state, or a district or an intermediate district and that is trained for detection of firearms, explosives, narcotics, or vape substances. (c) "School grounds" means all properties owned or operated by the district, including transportation vehicles owned or operated by the district. (d) "School-sponsored event" means any activity organized or sanctioned by the district. (9) Notwithstanding section 17b, the department shall make payments under this section on a schedule determined by the department.