I 

116TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 5204 

To direct the Secretary of Education to study student mental health at 

institutions of higher education and to issue guidance on compliance 

with the Americans with Disabilities Act for mental health and substance 

use disorder policies of institutions of higher education, and for other 

purposes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

NOVEMBER 20, 2019 

Ms. PORTER (for herself, Mr. COURTNEY, and Ms. MUCARSEL-POWELL) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Education and Labor 

A BILL 

To direct the Secretary of Education to study student mental 

health at institutions of higher education and to issue 

guidance on compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act for mental health and substance use disorder 

policies of institutions of higher education, and for other 

purposes. 

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Student Mental Health 

5 Rights Act’’. 


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1 SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 

2 Congress finds the following: 

3 (1) Nearly all institutions of higher education 

4 are subject to— 

5 (A) the Americans with Disabilities Act 

6 (42 U.S.C. 12101 et seq.); 

7 (B) section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act 

8 of 1973 (29 U.S.C. 794); or 

9 (C) the Fair Housing Act (42 U.S.C. 3601 

10 et seq.). 

11 (2) The laws described in paragraph (1) pro12 hibit discrimination on the basis of disability, de13 fined as ‘‘with respect to an individual, a physical or 

14 mental impairment that substantially limits one or 

15 more major life activities of such individual, a record 

16 of such an impairment, or being regarded as having 

17 such an impairment’’ under section 3(1) of the 

18 Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 (42 U.S.C. 

19 12102(1)). 

20 (3) Under section 2(a)(3) of the Americans 

21 with Disabilities Act of 1990 (42 U.S.C. 

22 12101(a)(3)), Congress found that ‘‘discrimination 

23 against individuals with disabilities persists in such 

24 critical areas as employment, housing, public accom25 modations, education, transportation, communicaVerDate Sep 11 2014 23:10 Nov 29, 2019 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H5204.IH H5204

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1 tion, recreation, institutionalization, health services, 

2 voting, and access to public services’’. 

3 (4) The laws described in paragraph (1) pro4 hibit institutions of higher education from discrimi5 nating against students with disabilities, including 

6 by failing to provide reasonable accommodations or 

7 reasonable modifications to such students so that 

8 such students are able to fully participate in univer9 sity life. 

10 (5) The laws described in paragraph (1) pro11 hibit institutions of higher education from discrimi12 nating against students with a mental health disabil13 ities, including by failing to provide the reasonable 

14 accommodations or reasonable modifications to such 

15 a student. 

16 (6) The vast majority of institutions of higher 

17 education lack a comprehensive plan for addressing 

18 and preventing discrimination against students with 

19 mental health disabilities or who are experiencing 

20 crises, in many cases— 

21 (A) requiring such students to leave the in22 stitution of higher education; 

23 (B) evicting such students from on-campus 

24 housing; and 


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1 (C) establishing excessive and unnecessary 

2 impediments to the return of such students to 

3 the institution of higher education. 

4 SEC. 3. STUDY. 

5 (a) REQUIREMENT.—Not later than June 30, 2021, 

6 the Secretary shall complete a study on mental health con7 ditions and substance use conditions including— 

8 (1) the prevalence of such conditions among 

9 students at institutions of higher education and poli10 cies to support students with respect to such condi11 tions; 

12 (2) the policies of institutions of higher edu13 cation with respect to students considering a leave of 

14 absence or return from absence due to such condi15 tions; and 

16 (3) best practices for supporting students at in17 stitutions of higher education in making decisions 

18 regarding the management of such conditions, in19 cluding the effect such practices have on graduation 

20 rates and degree completion. 

21 (b) REPORT.—The Secretary shall submit to the 

22 House Committee on Education and Labor a report on 

23 the findings of the study required by subsection (a). 


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1 SEC. 4. GUIDANCE. 

2 Not later than June 30, 2021, the Secretary shall, 

3 in consultation with the Assistant Attorney General of the 

4 Civil Rights Division of the Department of Justice, issue 

5 guidance on— 

6 (1) the compliance of institutions of higher edu7 cation with the Americans with Disabilities Act of 

8 1990 (42 U.S.C. 12101 et seq.) with respect to stu9 dents with mental health conditions; 

10 (2) the legal obligations of institutions of higher 

11 education with respect to accommodating students 

12 with mental health conditions and students with sub13 stance use conditions; and 

14 (3) policies of institutions of higher education 

15 which may have a disparate impact on students with 

16 mental health conditions and students with sub17 stance use conditions. 

18 SEC. 5. DEFINITIONS. 

19 (a) INSTITUTION OF HIGHER EDUCATION.—The 

20 term ‘‘institution of higher education’’ has the meaning 

21 given that term in section 101(a) of the Higher Education 

22 Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1001(a)). 

23 (b) SECRETARY.—The term ‘‘Secretary’’ means the 

24 Secretary of Education. 

Æ 


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