S.O.S. Act of 2016

Summary: Support Our Students Act of 2016 or the S.O.S. Act of 2016 This bill amends the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 to direct the Department of Education (ED) to award grants to states and, through them, subgrants to local educational agencies (LEAs) to support or develop programs that will train teachers, school personnel, and specialized instructional support personnel regarding mental health conditions in children. To be&nbsp;eligible to receive such a&nbsp;grant or subgrant, a state or LEA must partner with a mental health organization, family advocacy organization, or community nonprofit organization. Subgrantees shall utilize school counselors, school psychologists, school social workers, or community organizations with experience in mental illness and suicide prevention to develop and conduct the training. The training program must include an annual in-service training component that enables teachers, school personnel, and specialized instructional support personnel to: (1) better understand mental health conditions and the early warning signs in children and adolescents; (2) effectively communicate their mental health concerns with families and consider family perspectives; (3) identify classroom strategies for working effectively with troubled children; and (4) understand school-specific information, including links to mental health services and supports in the school and community. ED shall&nbsp;develop outcome measures for in-depth evaluation of the effectiveness of the training programs.

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Support Our Students Act of 2016'' 
or the ``S.O.S. Act of 2016''.

SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

    Congress finds the following:
            (1) Approximately 1 in 5 children have a diagnosable mental 
        illness.
            (2) Fifty percent of all lifetime cases of lived experience 
        of mental illness begin by age 14, and 75 percent by age 24.
            (3) Fifty percent of students with a mental illness, age 14 
        years and older, drop out of high school.
            (4) One in 10 children and adolescents suffer from mental 
        illness severe enough to cause some level of impairment, but 
        only 1 in 5 of such children receive specialty mental health 
        services.
            (5) For youth between the ages of 10 and 24, suicide is the 
        third leading cause of death, and an estimated 90 percent have 
        a diagnosable mental health condition.
            (6) Annually, approximately 4,600 youth die as a result of 
        suicide and another 156,000 youth ages 10 to 24 are treated for 
        self-inflicted injuries at emergency rooms.
            (7) The overwhelming majority of individuals including 
        teens, who attempt suicide, have one or more psychiatric or 
        mental health conditions.
            (8) Suicide prevention and awareness efforts are key in 
        combating this often preventable loss of life.

SEC. 3. TRAINING TEACHERS AND SCHOOL PROFESSIONALS IN UNDERSTANDING 
              MENTAL HEALTH CONDITIONS IN CHILDREN.

    (a) In General.--Part A of title IV of the Elementary and Secondary 
Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 7131 et seq.) is amended by adding at 
the end the following:

      ``Subpart 3--Training Teachers and School Professionals in 
           Understanding Mental Health Conditions in Children

``SEC. 4131. PROGRAM AUTHORIZED.

    ``(a) In General.--The Secretary shall award grants to eligible 
State educational agencies to enable such agencies to award subgrants 
to eligible local educational agencies to support an existing, or 
develop a new, program that will educate teachers, school personnel, 
and specialized instructional support personnel on mental health 
conditions in children, including the causes, symptoms, and impact on 
learning.
    ``(b) Definitions.--In this section:
            ``(1) Eligible local educational agency.--The term 
        `eligible local educational agency' means a local educational 
        agency or a local educational agency in partnership with a 
        mental health organization, family advocacy organization, or 
        community nonprofit organization.
            ``(2) Eligible state educational agency.--The term 
        `eligible State educational agency' means a State educational 
        agency or a State educational agency in partnership with a 
        mental health organization, family advocacy organization, or 
        community nonprofit organization.
            ``(3) School personnel.--The term `school personnel' means 
        administrators, administrative staff, custodial staff, 
        cafeteria staff, transportation staff, and other school-
        employed staff who interact with students.
            ``(4) Specialized instructional support personnel.--The 
        term `specialized instructional support personnel' means school 
        counselors, school social workers, school psychologists, and 
        other qualified professional personnel involved in providing 
        assessment, diagnosis, counseling, educational, therapeutic, 
        and other necessary services (including related services, as 
        defined in section 602 of the Individuals with Disabilities 
        Education Act) as part of a comprehensive program to meet 
        student needs.

``SEC. 4132. GRANTS.

    ``(a) Applications.--An eligible State educational agency that 
desires to receive a grant under this section shall submit an 
application to the Secretary at such time, in such manner, and 
accompanied by such information as the Secretary may require.
    ``(b) Activities.--An eligible State educational agency that 
receives a grant under this section shall use the grant funds to award 
subgrants to eligible local educational agencies in accordance with 
subsection (c).

``SEC. 4133. SUBGRANTS.

    ``(a) Application.--
            ``(1) In general.--An eligible local educational agency 
        that desires to receive a subgrant under this section shall 
        submit an application to the eligible State educational agency 
        at such time, in such manner, and accompanied by such 
        information as the eligible State educational agency may 
        require.
            ``(2) Description of utilization.--An application submitted 
        under subparagraph (A) shall include a description of how the 
        local educational agency will utilize school counselors, school 
        psychologists, school social workers, or community 
        organizations with expertise in the lived experience of mental 
        illness and suicide prevention efforts, in developing and 
        conducting the training described in paragraph (2).
    ``(b) Training.--
            ``(1) In general.--An eligible local educational agency 
        that receives a subgrant under this section shall support an 
        existing training program developed by either the school or a 
        community organization with expertise in the lived experience 
        of mental illness and suicide prevention, or develop a new 
        program, in which school counselors, school psychologists, and 
        school social workers develop and provide training to teachers, 
        school personnel, and specialized instructional support 
        personnel in understanding the mental health needs of children. 
        Such program shall include an annual in-service training 
        program to enable such teachers, school personnel, and 
        specialized instructional support personnel--
                    ``(A) to better understand mental health conditions 
                and the early warning signs in children and 
                adolescents;
                    ``(B) to best communicate with families about these 
                concerns;
                    ``(C) to identify classroom strategies for working 
                effectively with children with mental health 
                conditions; and
                    ``(D) to understand school specific information, 
                including, as appropriate, how schools are--
                            ``(i) assisting in linking students to 
                        supports and services; and
                            ``(ii) providing information on the 
                        school's mental health services and supports, 
                        including school social work and psychological 
                        services, as well as the school's referral 
                        process for additional school-linked services 
                        connecting to community mental health 
                        professionals.
            ``(2) Family perspective.--A training program described in 
        subparagraph (A) shall incorporate family and parent 
        perspectives.
            ``(3) Training program for all areas of the state and for 
        personnel serving indian children.--
                    ``(A) Urban and rural areas.--In awarding subgrants 
                under this section, a State educational agency shall 
                ensure training programs described under subparagraph 
                (A) are available for teachers, school personnel, and 
                specialized instructional support personnel in urban 
                and rural areas across the State.
                    ``(B) Indian children.--A State educational agency 
                that receives a grant under this section shall award 
                subgrants to eligible local educational agencies 
                described in section 6112(b)(1) and Indian tribes 
                described in section 6112(c).
            ``(4) School-based mental health services providers.--A 
        training program described in subparagraph (A) shall include a 
        school-based mental health service provider and a community 
        organization with expertise in the lived experience of mental 
        illness or suicide prevention, whenever possible, to maximize 
        training outcomes and facilitate coordinated referrals when 
        more intensive community services are needed.
    ``(c) Guidelines.--In carrying out a training program described in 
paragraph (2), an eligible local educational agency may--
            ``(1) report to the Secretary on the agency's commitment to 
        students with mental illness and suicide prevention efforts 
        through innovative programs, resource development, and the 
        development of a mental health curriculum and activities that 
        focus on raising awareness within schools of early onset mental 
        health conditions and linking students with effective mental 
        health services and supports;
            ``(2) describe existing school-community partnerships that 
        provide effective clinical services to students with severe 
        mental health needs;
            ``(3) describe how the agency will measure outcomes, as 
        described in subsection (d), specifically for students with 
        serious mental health needs;
            ``(4) describe how the training program will be effective 
        for teachers, school personnel, and specialized instructional 
        support personnel in culturally and linguistically diverse 
        school communities; and
            ``(5) describe any strong links to the community mental 
        health system and community mental health providers through 
        interagency collaboration, including documenting--
                    ``(A) the extent of the interagency collaboration 
                (including the engagement in joint activities); and
                    ``(B) the dates during which the collaboration has 
                been in effect and any outcomes that have been achieved 
                as a result of this activity.

``SEC. 4134. EVALUATIONS AND MEASURES OF OUTCOMES.

    ``(a) In General.--The Secretary shall develop measures of outcomes 
for eligible local educational agencies that receive subgrants under 
this section, in order to evaluate the effectiveness of programs 
carried out under the subgrant.
    ``(b) Outcomes.--The measures of outcomes described in paragraph 
(1) shall include, at a minimum, provisions to evaluate--
            ``(1) the effectiveness of comprehensive school mental 
        health training and suicide prevention programs established 
        under this section;
            ``(2) the effectiveness of formal partnership linkages 
        among child and family serving institutions, community support 
        systems, and the educational system, if applicable;
            ``(3) the effectiveness of the training program in 
        culturally and linguistically diverse school communities;
            ``(4) the improvement in understanding mental health 
        conditions with the purpose of providing a safe and supportive 
        learning environment among school staff, students, and parents;
            ``(5) the improvement in--
                    ``(A) case-finding of students in need of more 
                intensive services;
                    ``(B) effective communication with families; and
                    ``(C) referral of identified students with mental 
                health related concerns for an evaluation for services 
                and supports;
            ``(6) the reduction in the number of students with mental 
        health conditions and those identified as children with 
        disabilities under the emotional disturbance and other health 
        impairment categories of the Individuals with Disabilities 
        Education Act who are suspended and an increase in the number 
        of such students who graduate from high school; and
            ``(7) the increased successful matriculation to 
        postsecondary school.

``SEC. 4135. DATA COLLECTION COMPONENT.

    ``(a) Annual Data Submissions and Reports.--
            ``(1) Data submission.--
                    ``(A) Local educational agencies.--An eligible 
                local educational agency that receives a subgrant under 
                this section shall annually submit to the eligible 
                State educational agency a report that includes data to 
                evaluate the success of the program carried out by the 
                eligible local educational agency. Such reports shall 
                utilize the measures of outcomes described in 
                subsection (d).
                    ``(B) State educational agencies.--An eligible 
                State educational agency that receives a grant under 
                this section shall annually submit to the Secretary a 
                report that includes data from the reports submitted to 
                the agency from eligible local educational agencies 
                pursuant to clause (i).
            ``(2) Report to congress.--Not later than 6 months after 
        the date the Secretary receives reports under subparagraph 
        (A)(ii), the Secretary shall compile the data in the reports 
        and conduct a general analysis of the success of the programs 
        carried out by the local educational agencies involved with 
        subgrant funds received under this section. The Secretary shall 
        prepare a report containing the compilation and general 
        analysis, and submit the report to the Committee on Health, 
        Education, Labor, and Pensions of the Senate and the Committee 
        on Education and the Workforce of the House of Representatives.
    ``(b) Evaluation and Report.--
            ``(1) Evaluation.--Not later than 12 months after the end 
        of the initial subgrant period for eligible local educational 
        agencies under this section, the Secretary shall conduct an in-
        depth evaluation of the success of the programs carried out by 
        the local educational agencies with subgrant funds received 
        under this section.
            ``(2) Report to congress.--The Secretary shall prepare a 
        report containing the in-depth evaluation, and submit the 
        report to the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and 
        Pensions of the Senate and the Committee on Education and the 
        Workforce of the House of Representatives.

``SEC. 4136. TERMS AND COST OF THE GRANT.

    ``There are authorized to be appropriated to carry out this section 
such sums as may be necessary for fiscal year 2017 and each of the 4 
succeeding fiscal years.''.
    (b) Table of Contents.--The table of contents in section 2 of the 
Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 is amended by inserting 
after the item relating to subpart 2 of part A of title IV the 
following:

      ``subpart 3--training teachers and school professionals in 
           understanding mental health conditions in children

``Sec. 4131. Program authorized.
``Sec. 4132. Grants.
``Sec. 4133. Subgrants.
``Sec. 4134. Evaluations and measures of outcome.
``Sec. 4135. Data collection component.
``Sec. 4136. Terms and cost of the grant.''.