CSBA seeks to restore mental health funding
AB 3632 services funds were vetoed by governor
Published: December 1, 2010
CSBA and its Education Legal Alliance, in collaboration with Los Angeles Unified School District and Manhattan Beach Unified School District, filed suit in the 2nd District Court of Appeal in Los Angeles Nov. 9 against Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger’s move a month earlier to gut county mental health services provided to children with severe emotional disabilities, leaving the services—and their costs—to school districts.
Schwarzenegger vetoed $133 million intended to reimburse counties for the cost of providing the mandated mental health services through June 2009 and to continue the mandate through the 2010-11 school year. The governor said he was suspending the mandate to provide the so-called AB 3632 services, named for the 1984 Assembly Bill that first authorized them, but the lawsuit argues that only the state Legislature, not the governor, has that authority.
“The result has been chaos,” Alliance Director Richard Hamilton said. “Many county mental health agencies have informed local educational agencies that due to the governor’s actions they are immediately ceasing to provide the services unless [local educational agencies] contract and pay for the services out of their own funding.”
“The governor’s decision to use his veto authority to deny millions of dollars in child mental health services is appalling,” CSBA President Frank Pugh said. “Cuts to our schools and students have reached an all-time high. Students already face larger class sizes, fewer counselors and less support staff on campus. It is unthinkable to now eliminate the very services that provide assistance to students struggling with mental health issues.”
Schwarzenegger signaled his intentions in his revised budget proposal last May, when he omitted the funding and called on the Legislature to suspend the mandate. The nonpartisan Legislative Analyst’s Office advised lawmakers to reject the proposal, going on to note that eliminating the funding as proposed by the governor could potentially violate federal maintenance of effort requirements.
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