Texas State University, Other State Agencies Request $200M To Fund School Safety And Improve Mental Health

Other funding requested for school safety programs included the Office of Court administration with $30 million to create a case management system to help rural counties…

Texas agencies requested a total of $200 million in appropriations during the next two-year budget to fund improvements to school safety and access to mental health care.

The Texas Education Agency (TEA) asked members of the Texas House Appropriations Committee to approve $54 million in funding for grants to school districts to expand student access to counseling services and to employ telemedicine to improve access to mental health services.

TEA officials also asked for more funding to hire staff at the regional service centers and the agency to focus on school safety. Currently, the agency uses a part-time employee to focus on school safety. 

Texas State University officials requested $11 million to restore previous cuts to its School Safety Center and Law Enforcement Center to increase training for school districts and first responders.

Department of Public Safety officials are seeking $4 million to investigate and integrate information reported through iWatch Texas, an online application that was reinstated this summer.

Other funding requested for school safety programs included the Office of Court administration with $30 million to create a case management system to help rural counties share criminal data to perform accurate background checks.

Health and Human Services officials requested $120 million to provide mental health services for youth, expand community-based outpatient services and increase the number of juvenile beds at residential treatment centers to reduce the number of youths on its waiting list and fund substance abuse disorder treatment.

This article was originally published by Strategic Partnerships, Inc.