The statute that governs universal mental health screening in Oregon schools.
Most people working in Oregon school suicide prevention have not read it, and several things commonly believed about screening law here come from Adi's Act, which is a different statute that says something different. See Module 1.4.
What it does
It permits universal mental health screening, and it constrains how.
The opt-out model
Screening operates on parental notice and the opportunity to decline, rather than affirmative consent. Families must be notified and given a mechanism to opt out.
That is what makes universal screening operationally possible. A consent model would produce participation rates that defeat the purpose, and the students least likely to return a signed form are frequently the students the screen is for.
✓ Take Action. Send notice at least two weeks ahead, by mail to the last known address and by email. A notice that arrives Friday for a Monday screening is technically compliant and practically a broken promise. See Module 3.6.
Individually targeted screening is different
Screening an individual student, outside a universal screen, carries a written parental consent requirement.
This distinction matters more than it looks, and it is the reason SAFER's substance use position is structured the way it is. Universal screening is opt-out. Individually targeted screening requires consent. Safety planning following a positive universal screen is arguably neither, and that question is with OHA legal. See Module 9.6.
The student's own right to decline
A student may decline on the day, orally or in writing, independently of their parent. That right belongs to the student and does not require a parent's agreement. It is why every student engages with a device and students who decline complete the feedback survey instead. See Module 4.4.
Subsection 4, which changes where your data lives
The statute provides that the results of a universal mental health screening may not be included in a student's education record.
This appears nowhere in most Oregon screening materials, and it is the single most consequential sentence in the statute for anyone building a program. See Module 1.2.
A federal letter you may hear about
In August 2026 the U.S. Department of Education issued guidance under the Protection of Pupil Rights Amendment stating that behavioural health screeners require prior written parental consent, and that opt-out provisions do not substitute for it.
SAFER's position is that this does not reach SAFER's screen, for two reasons. The screen is not required of students, and it is not funded by the Department of Education. The consent requirement in that statute attaches to surveys that are both. The guidance is also an interpretation rather than law.
Oregon law governs here, and Oregon law is an opt-out statute.
✓ Take Action. If your district's counsel raises this, give them both documents: the federal guidance and ORS 336.216. That is the conversation to have once, in writing, rather than three days before screening week.
