Mental Health Services in California IEPs
What mental health services are available through an IEP in California?
California uniquely funds and delivers mental health services for students with disabilities through a system reshaped by Assembly Bill 114 (Chapter 43, 2011). Before AB 114, county mental health agencies were mandated to provide mental health services to special education students under a cost-sharing arrangement; AB 114 repealed that mandate and transferred full responsibility for Educationally Related Mental Health Services (ERMHS) to Local Educational Agencies (LEAs) and SELPAs, funded through a block grant. ERMHS are defined as mental health services that are necessary for a student to benefit from their special education program—they must be documented in the IEP as a related service (Designated Instruction and Service) under EC 56363(b)(10) (psychological services) and EC 56363(b)(13) (social worker services), consistent with 34 CFR 300.34. Any student with an active IEP—regardless of disability category—may qualify for ERMHS if a direct relationship exists between their socio-emotional or behavioral needs and their inability to benefit from special education. Services can include individual and group counseling, parent counseling and training, social work services, crisis intervention, day treatment, and residential placement when educationally necessary.
What California Requires
Since AB 114 (2011), LEAs (not county mental health agencies) are solely responsible for providing educationally related mental health services (ERMHS) as part of FAPE for eligible students with IEPs (AB 114, Ch. 43, Stats. 2011; EC 56363).
ERMHS must be included in the student's IEP as a Designated Instruction and Service (DIS); services are governed by EC 56363(b)(10) (psychological services) and EC 56363(b)(13) (social worker services) and federal related services definitions (34 CFR 300.34).
Eligibility for ERMHS requires a direct relationship between the student's socio-emotional or behavioral needs and the student's inability to benefit from their special education program—any IEP disability category qualifies.
ERMHS services can include: individual counseling, group counseling, parent counseling and training, social work services, crisis intervention, assessment, case management, day treatment, and residential placement when educationally necessary (EC 56363(b)(10)–(13)).
The IEP team—not county mental health—determines the need for ERMHS and specifies the type, frequency, location, and duration in the IEP (EC 56345(a)(4), (a)(7)).
SELPA local plans must describe how ERMHS will be provided within the SELPA; LEAs may contract with mental health providers but retain responsibility for FAPE (EC 56195–56208).
Key Timelines
ERMHS determination is made at each IEP meeting or at an interim IEP; services must be provided without undue delay once included in the IEP (EC 56345; 34 CFR 300.323).
Annual IEP review must evaluate the continuing need for and effectiveness of ERMHS (EC 56343(d); 34 CFR 300.324(b)).
AB 114 took effect July 1, 2011, shifting all ERMHS funding and responsibility to LEAs/SELPAs.