II 

118TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION S. 4041 

To support local educational agencies in addressing the student mental health 

crisis. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

MARCH 21, 2024 

Mr. CORNYN (for himself, Ms. SINEMA, Mr. TILLIS, Mr. TESTER, and Ms. 

HASSAN) introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred 

to the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions 

A BILL 

To support local educational agencies in addressing the 

student mental health crisis. 

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 ‘‘Creating Access and 

5 Resources in Education for Student Mental Health Act’’ 

6 or the ‘‘CARE for Student Mental Health Act’’. 

7 SEC. 2. PURPOSES. 

8 The purposes of this Act are to address the student 

9 mental health crisis by— 


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1 (1) increasing the number of, and diversifying, 

2 school-based mental health services providers; and 

3 (2) supporting local educational agencies in re4 cruiting, hiring, retaining, and diversifying school5 based mental health services providers to meet the 

6 mental health needs of students. 

7 SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS. 

8 In this Act: 

9 (1) ESEA DEFINITIONS.—The terms ‘‘child 

10 with a disability’’, ‘‘educational service agency’’, ‘‘el11 ementary school’’, ‘‘English learner’’, ‘‘evidence12 based’’, ‘‘institution of higher education’’, ‘‘local 

13 educational agency’’, ‘‘other staff’’, ‘‘outlying area’’, 

14 ‘‘paraprofessional’’, ‘‘professional development’’, 

15 ‘‘school leader’’, ‘‘secondary school’’, ‘‘specialized in16 structional support personnel’’, ‘‘Secretary’’, 

17 ‘‘State’’, and ‘‘State educational agency’’ have the 

18 meaning given those terms in section 8101 of the 

19 Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 

20 (20 U.S.C. 7801). 

21 (2) ELIGIBLE INSTITUTION.—The term ‘‘eligi22 ble institution’’ means an institution of higher edu23 cation that offers a program of study in— 


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1 (A) school psychology that prepares stu2 dents in such program for a State credential as 

3 a school psychologist; 

4 (B) school counseling that prepares stu5 dents in such program for a State credential as 

6 a school counselor; 

7 (C) school social work that prepares stu8 dents in such program for a State credential as 

9 a school social worker; 

10 (D) another school-based mental health 

11 field that prepares students in such program 

12 for a State license or credential as a school13 based mental health services provider under 

14 State law or regulation, as determined by the 

15 Secretary; or 

16 (E) any combination of study described in 

17 subparagraphs (A) through (D) that prepares 

18 students in such program for a State credential 

19 as a school based mental health services pro20 vider. 

21 (3) HIGH-NEED LOCAL EDUCATIONAL AGEN22 CY.— 

23 (A) IN GENERAL.—The term ‘‘high-need 

24 local educational agency’’ means a local edu25 cational agency that, as of the date on which an 


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1 application is submitted for a grant under this 

2 Act— 

3 (i)(I) has a locale code of 32, 33, 41, 

4 42, or 43, as determined by the Secretary; 

5 or 

6 (II) is in the highest quartile of local 

7 educational agencies, as determined by the 

8 State educational agency, in a ranking of 

9 all local educational agencies in the State, 

10 ranked in descending order by the number 

11 or percentage of children in each such 

12 agency counted under section 1124(c) of 

13 the Elementary and Secondary Education 

14 Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 6333(c)); and 

15 (ii) does not meet 2 or more of the 

16 following ratios: 

17 (I) A ratio of 1 full-time equiva18 lent school counselor for every 250 

19 students. 

20 (II) A ratio of 1 full-time equiva21 lent school psychologist for every 500 

22 students. 

23 (III) A ratio of 1 full-time equiv24 alent school social worker for every 

25 250 students. 


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1 (B) ESA.—The term ‘‘high-need local edu2 cational agency’’ includes an educational service 

3 agency acting on behalf of 1 or more local edu4 cational agencies described in subparagraph 

5 (A). 

6 (4) INDIAN TRIBE.—The term ‘‘Indian tribe’’ 

7 means any Indian tribe identified as such by the 

8 Secretary of the Interior under section 104 of the 

9 Federally Recognized Indian Tribe List Act of 1994 

10 (25 U.S.C. 5131). 

11 (5) MINORITY-SERVING INSTITUTION.—The 

12 term ‘‘minority-serving institution’’ means an insti13 tution of higher education that is an eligible institu14 tion under section 371(a) of the Higher Education 

15 Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1067q(a)). 

16 (6) SCHOOL-BASED MENTAL HEALTH PARTNER17 SHIP.—The term ‘‘school-based mental health part18 nership’’ means a partnership that— 

19 (A) is between an eligible institution and 1 

20 or more local educational agencies; 

21 (B) prepares students enrolled in the eligi22 ble institution to obtain a State credential as a 

23 school-based mental health services provider; 

24 and 


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1 (C) is designed to increase the number or 

2 diversity of school-based mental health services 

3 providers in schools served by local educational 

4 agencies in order to meet recommended ratios 

5 of students to full-time equivalent school-based 

6 mental health services providers in those 

7 schools, such as by— 

8 (i) recruiting, preparing, or respecial9 izing students enrolled in the eligible insti10 tution’s school-based mental health pro11 vider program of study to obtain a State 

12 credential as, and to be employed as, a 

13 school-based mental health services pro14 vider; 

15 (ii) expanding supervised opportuni16 ties for students enrolled in such program 

17 of study to complete required field work, 

18 credit hours, internships, or related train19 ing in order to meet State credentialing re20 quirements as a school-based mental health 

21 services provider in schools served by a 

22 local educational agency; and 

23 (iii) recruiting and retaining grad24 uates of eligible institutions who have ob25 tained a State credential as a school-based 


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1 mental health services provider, to provide 

2 school-based mental health services related 

3 to prevention, early identification, and in4 dividualized intervention in schools served 

5 by a local educational agency. 

6 (7) SCHOOL-BASED MENTAL HEALTH SERVICES

7 PROVIDER.—The term ‘‘school-based mental health 

8 services provider’’ has the meaning given the term in 

9 section 4102 of the Elementary and Secondary Edu10 cation Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 7112). 

11 SEC. 4. STRENGTHENING THE PIPELINE OF SCHOOL-BASED 

12 MENTAL HEALTH SERVICES PROVIDERS. 

13 (a) PURPOSE.—The purpose of this section is to in14 crease the number or diversity of school counselors, school 

15 social workers, school psychologists, and other school16 based mental health services providers to serve students 

17 enrolled in schools served by local educational agencies. 

18 (b) AUTHORIZATION OF GRANTS.— 

19 (1) IN GENERAL.—From amounts made avail20 able to carry out this section and not reserved under 

21 paragraph (2), the Secretary shall award grants, on 

22 a competitive basis, to eligible institutions to support 

23 school-based mental health partnerships, in accord24 ance with subsection (d). 


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1 (2) RESERVATIONS.—From the total amount 

2 made available to carry out this section for any fis3 cal year, the Secretary shall reserve not more than 

4 2 percent to support program administration, tech5 nical assistance, data collection, and dissemination 

6 of best practices under this section. 

7 (3) DURATION AND RENEWALS.— 

8 (A) DURATION.—A grant awarded under 

9 this section shall be for a period of not more 

10 than 5 years. 

11 (B) RENEWAL.—The Secretary may renew 

12 a grant awarded under this section if the eligi13 ble institution demonstrates to the Secretary 

14 that the eligible institution is effectively using 

15 funds to significantly expand the pipeline of 

16 school counselors, school social workers, school 

17 psychologists, and other mental health profes18 sionals who meet State credentialing standards 

19 as a school-based mental health services pro20 vider. 

21 (4) GEOGRAPHIC DIVERSITY.—In awarding 

22 grants under paragraph (1), the Secretary shall en23 sure that, to the extent practicable and in accord24 ance with paragraph (6), grants are distributed 

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1 cally diverse areas, including urban, suburban, and 

2 rural areas. 

3 (5) SUFFICIENT SIZE AND SCOPE.—Each grant 

4 awarded under this section shall be of sufficient size 

5 and scope to allow the grantee to carry out the pur6 pose of this section. 

7 (6) PRIORITIES.—In awarding grants under 

8 paragraph (1), the Secretary shall give priority to— 

9 (A) minority-serving institutions, including 

10 historically Black colleges and universities (de11 fined as ‘‘part B institutions’’ under section 

12 322 of the Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 

13 U.S.C. 1061) and Tribal Colleges or Univer14 sities (as defined in section 316 of such Act (20 

15 U.S.C. 1059c)); and 

16 (B) eligible institutions that seek to form 

17 a school-based mental health partnership with a 

18 high need local educational agency. 

19 (7) TIMELINE.—In carrying out the competitive 

20 process described in paragraph (1), the Secretary 

21 shall— 

22 (A) to the greatest extent practicable, en23 sure that an eligible institution receives not less 

24 than 90 days to submit an application described 

25 in subsection (c); and 


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1 (B) to the greatest extent practicable, pro2 vide technical assistance to eligible institutions 

3 and to local educational agencies that are or 

4 may be part of a school-based mental health 

5 partnership, in applying for grants under this 

6 section, including by— 

7 (i) disseminating the application 

8 under this section to all State educational 

9 agencies and providing guidance, to the ex10 tent practicable, to ensure accurate identi11 fication of local educational agencies that 

12 may participate in a school-based mental 

13 health partnership; 

14 (ii) supporting eligible institutions in 

15 identifying prospective local educational 

16 agencies with whom to partner in a school17 based mental health partnership that may 

18 be supported by a grant under this section; 

19 (iii) provide timely notice about the 

20 competitive process under this section, on 

21 the same day that a notice inviting applica22 tions is published in the Federal Register; 

23 (iv) making publicly available tem24 plates for sample letters of intent described 

25 in subsection (c)(5) and model application 


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1 materials on the same day that a notice in2 viting applications is published in the Fed3 eral Register; and 

4 (v) addressing questions or concerns 

5 from the field in a timely manner, as well 

6 as offering multiple opportunities, 

7 webinars, or other efforts to engage eligible 

8 institutions and local educational agencies 

9 that are or may be part of a school-based 

10 mental health partnership with an eligible 

11 institution. 

12 (c) APPLICATION.—An eligible institution applying 

13 for a grant under subsection (b)(1) shall submit an appli14 cation to the Secretary at such time, in such manner, and 

15 accompanied by such information as the Secretary may 

16 require, which shall include— 

17 (1) a description of the prevalent mental health 

18 or substance use and misuse concerns facing stu19 dents enrolled in schools served by local educational 

20 agencies that will be part of the school-based mental 

21 health partnership (referred to in this section as 

22 ‘‘participating local educational agencies’’), and, if 

23 applicable, challenges related to high rates of chronic 

24 absenteeism in those schools; 


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1 (2) the extent to which the proposed school2 based mental health partnership will address the 

3 challenges described in paragraph (1); 

4 (3) a description of how the eligible institution 

5 will increase the number or diversity of school-based 

6 mental health services providers in participating 

7 local educational agencies through the establishment 

8 and operation of a school-based mental health part9 nership, including a description of such partnership’s 

10 strategies to— 

11 (A) recruit, prepare, respecialize, retrain, 

12 or diversify the students enrolled in school13 based mental health programs of study in order 

14 to help such students to obtain a State creden15 tial and be employed as school-based mental 

16 health services providers in schools served by 

17 local educational agencies; and 

18 (B) provide supervised opportunities to 

19 place students enrolled in the eligible institution 

20 in schools served by a participating local edu21 cational agency to complete required field work, 

22 credit hours, internships, or related training to 

23 meet State credentialing requirements as a 

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1 ship will consider when determining the schools 

2 in which to place those students; 

3 (4) a description of how the school-based men4 tal health partnership will increase the capacity of 

5 participating local educational agencies to provide 

6 evidence-based comprehensive school-based mental 

7 health services, accessible to all students, to address 

8 the concerns described in paragraph (1), and, if ap9 plicable, how such services will best meet the diverse 

10 population of students to be served; 

11 (5) if applicable, a description of how the 

12 school-based mental health partnership will collabo13 rate with State, regional, and local public health 

14 agencies (including mental health agencies), the 

15 State Medicaid agency, child welfare agencies, or 

16 other related public and private agencies that pro17 vide mental health services to support the activities 

18 of the school-based mental health partnership; and 

19 (6) a preliminary letter of intent, signed by 

20 each eligible institution and each participating local 

21 educational agency in the school-based mental health 

22 partnership described in paragraph (3), that details 

23 the financial, programmatic, and long-term commit24 ment of the institution or agency, with respect to the 

25 strategies described in the application. 


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1 (d) USE OF FUNDS.—An eligible institution that re2 ceives a grant under subsection (b)(1) shall use such funds 

3 to establish and operate the school-based mental health 

4 partnership described in subsection (c)(3) to increase the 

5 number or diversity of school-based mental health services 

6 providers and support the recruitment, preparation, respe7 cialization, retraining, or diversification of students en8 rolled in school-based mental health programs of study, 

9 in order to help such students to obtain a State credential 

10 and be employed as school-based mental health services 

11 providers in schools served by local educational agencies, 

12 by engaging in 1 or more of the following: 

13 (1) Establishing a new, or expanding an exist14 ing, program of study in school psychology, school 

15 counseling, school social work, or another school16 based mental health field that prepares students to 

17 obtain a State credential and be employed as a 

18 school-based mental health services provider. Funds 

19 may be used to— 

20 (A) support recruitment and retention of 

21 new or additional faculty; 

22 (B) purchase training materials; 

23 (C) develop and disseminate materials to 

24 recruit potential students; 


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1 (D) offer financial support to enrolled stu2 dents; or 

3 (E) carry out any other activity necessary 

4 to establish or expand such a program of study. 

5 (2) Expanding supervised opportunities for stu6 dents enrolled in school-based mental health pro7 grams of study to be placed in schools served by a 

8 participating local educational agency in order to 

9 complete required field work, credit hours, intern10 ships, or related training required to obtain a State 

11 credential as a school-based mental health service 

12 provider. 

13 (3) Developing pathways for staff, particularly 

14 diverse and multilingual staff, of local educational 

15 agencies to receive necessary education and training 

16 to obtain a credential as a school-based mental 

17 health services provider. 

18 (4) Supporting activities to diversify the school19 based mental health services provider workforce, in20 cluding multilingual school-based mental health serv21 ices providers. 

22 (5) Providing stipends or other financial assist23 ance for students enrolled in school-based mental 

24 health programs of study, and supporting required 


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1 field work, credit hours, internships, or related train2 ing in local educational agencies. 

3 (6) Supporting collaborations with State, re4 gional, and local public health agencies (such as 

5 State substance abuse agencies and State mental 

6 health agencies), State Medicaid agencies, commu7 nity health centers, child welfare agencies, and other 

8 related public and private agencies that provide 

9 mental health services to support activities under 

10 this subsection. 

11 (e) REPORTING REQUIREMENTS.— 

12 (1) ANNUAL REPORT.—Each eligible institution 

13 that receives a grant under subsection (b)(1) shall 

14 submit a public report to the Secretary on an annual 

15 basis and publish such report in a clear and easily 

16 accessible format on the website of the eligible insti17 tution. Such report shall contain, at a minimum, the 

18 following information: 

19 (A) The number of postsecondary students 

20 enrolled in relevant programs of study operated 

21 by the eligible institution and any increases in 

22 student enrollment or faculty in such programs 

23 of study from the prior year. 

24 (B) The number of such postsecondary 

25 students supported under the grant. 


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1 (C) If applicable, the number of such eligi2 ble institutions that met their goal of increasing 

3 the diversity of school-based mental health serv4 ices providers. 

5 (D) The number of such postsecondary 

6 students supported under the grant who were 

7 placed in a school served by a participating 

8 local educational agency— 

9 (i) for training; or 

10 (ii) for employment. 

11 (E) The ratios of students to full-time 

12 equivalent school-based mental health services 

13 providers, disaggregated by profession to the 

14 extent practicable, at schools served by a par15 ticipating local educational agency in the school 

16 year immediately preceding the first year of the 

17 grant and in the most recent year of the grant. 

18 (F) The number of school-based mental 

19 health services providers employed by partici20 pating local educational agencies, disaggregated 

21 by the number of such employees who grad22 uated from an eligible institution and obtained 

23 a credential as and were placed into employ24 ment as a school-based mental health services 

25 provider. 


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1 (2) SECRETARY’S REPORT.—Not later than 3 

2 years after receiving the reports described in para3 graph (1), and every 2 years thereafter, the Sec4 retary shall submit a report to the Committee on 

5 Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions of the Sen6 ate and the Committee on Education and the Work7 force of the House of Representatives and make the 

8 report publicly available in a clear and easily acces9 sible format on the website of the Department of 

10 Education. Such report shall include a summary of 

11 the reports submitted by eligible institutions and 

12 identify best practices related to— 

13 (A) improving, expanding, and diversifying 

14 preparation programs for school counselors, 

15 school psychologists, school social workers, and 

16 other school-based mental health services pro17 viders; and 

18 (B) supporting the recruitment and prepa19 ration of school-based mental health services 

20 providers, including effective respecialization 

21 and retraining programs. 

22 (f) DISAGGREGATION OF DATA.—Disaggregation of 

23 data shall not be required under this section when the 

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1 mation or the results would reveal personally identifiable 

2 information about an individual. 

3 (g) SUPPLEMENT NOT SUPPLANT.—Funds made 

4 available to an eligible institution through a grant under 

5 this section shall be used only to supplement and not sup6 plant, any State, local, or non-Federal funds that would 

7 otherwise be used to carry out the activities described 

8 under this section. 

9 (h) MULTIPLE GRANTS TO SINGLE INSTITUTION.— 

10 In awarding grants under subsection (b)(1), the Secretary 

11 may award multiple grants to a single eligible institution 

12 if the Secretary determines that— 

13 (1) the eligible institution submitted a high14 quality application for each distinct program of 

15 study, such as a program related to school psy16 chology or school social work; and 

17 (2) each award would support students enrolled 

18 in distinct programs of study in related school-based 

19 mental health services fields. 

20 (i) PROHIBITION.—A local educational agency that 

21 enters a school-based mental health partnership with an 

22 eligible institution that receives funds under this section 

23 shall not be eligible to participate in another school-based 

24 mental health partnership with another eligible institution 


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1 that receives funds under this section until the original 

2 grant period has ended. 

3 (j) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There 

4 are authorized to be appropriated to carry out this section 

5 such sums as may be necessary for each of fiscal years 

6 2025 through 2029. 

7 SEC. 5. SCHOOL-BASED MENTAL HEALTH SERVICES GRANT 

8 PROGRAM. 

9 (a) PURPOSE.—The purpose of this section is to sup10 port high-need local educational agencies in recruiting, 

11 hiring, retaining, and diversifying school-based mental 

12 health services providers to expand access to school-based 

13 mental health services for students enrolled in schools 

14 served by such agencies. 

15 (b) AUTHORIZATION OF GRANTS.— 

16 (1) IN GENERAL.—From amounts made avail17 able to carry out this section and not reserved under 

18 paragraph (2), the Secretary shall award grants, on 

19 a competitive basis, to high-need local educational 

20 agencies, in accordance with this section. 

21 (2) RESERVATIONS.—From the total amount 

22 made available to carry out this section for a fiscal 

23 year, the Secretary shall— 


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1 (A) reserve not more than 2 percent of 

2 such amount for program administration, tech3 nical assistance, and data collection; 

4 (B) reserve 1 percent for the Secretary of 

5 the Interior for schools operated or funded by 

6 the Bureau of Indian Education, in accordance 

7 with the purpose of this section; and 

8 (C) reserve 1 percent for allotments for 

9 payments to the outlying areas, to be distrib10 uted among those outlying areas on the basis of 

11 their relative need, as determined by the Sec12 retary, in accordance with the purpose of this 

13 section. 

14 (3) DURATION AND RENEWALS.— 

15 (A) DURATION.—A grant awarded under 

16 this section shall be for a period of not more 

17 than 5 years. 

18 (B) RENEWAL.—The Secretary may renew 

19 a grant awarded under this section for a period 

20 of not more than 2 years. 

21 (4) DIVERSITY OF PROJECTS.— 

22 (A) IN GENERAL.—Subject to subpara23 graph (B), in awarding grants under paragraph 

24 (1), the Secretary shall ensure that, to the ex25 tent practicable, grants are distributed among 


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1 high-need local educational agencies that will 

2 serve geographically diverse areas, including 

3 urban, suburban, and rural areas. 

4 (B) RURAL LOCAL EDUCATIONAL AGEN5 CIES.—In awarding grants under paragraph 

6 (1), the Secretary shall ensure that, to the 

7 greatest extent practicable, not less than 30 

8 percent of the amounts made available to carry 

9 out this section that remain after making res10 ervations under paragraph (2) are awarded to 

11 high-quality applications submitted by high12 need local educational agencies to support rural 

13 high-need local educational agencies described 

14 in section 3(3)(A)(i)(I). 

15 (5) SUFFICIENT SIZE AND SCOPE.—Each grant 

16 awarded under paragraph (1) shall be of sufficient 

17 size and scope to allow the high-need local edu18 cational agency receiving the grant to carry out the 

19 purpose of this section. 

20 (6) TIMELINE.—In carrying out the competitive 

21 process under this subsection, the Secretary shall— 

22 (A) to the greatest extent practicable, en23 sure that high-need local educational agencies 

24 have not less 90 days to submit an application; 


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1 (B) to the greatest extent practicable, send 

2 a communication to every high-need local edu3 cational agency containing notice of the applica4 tion and the award deadline; and 

5 (C) to the greatest extent practicable, pro6 vide technical assistance to high-need local edu7 cational agencies, including by— 

8 (i) addressing questions or concerns 

9 from the field in a timely manner, as well 

10 as offering multiple opportunities, 

11 webinars, or other efforts to engage local 

12 educational agencies about the application 

13 process; and 

14 (ii) publishing not less than 3 exam15 ples of grant applications from geographi16 cally diverse locales, including not less than 

17 1 such example from a rural high-need 

18 local educational agency described in sec19 tion 3(3)(A)(i)(I). 

20 (c) APPLICATION.—A high-need local educational 

21 agency applying for a grant under subsection (b)(1) shall 

22 submit an application to the Secretary at such time, in 

23 such manner, and accompanied by such information as the 

24 Secretary may require, which may include— 


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1 (1) a description of the prevalent mental health 

2 or substance use and misuse concerns facing stu3 dents enrolled in schools served by the high-need 

4 local educational agency, and, if applicable, chal5 lenges related to high rates of chronic absenteeism 

6 in those schools; 

7 (2) a description of the current shortage of 

8 school-based mental health services providers in 

9 schools served by the high-need local educational 

10 agency that will be served under the grant; 

11 (3) a description of the applicant’s plan to sup12 port recruiting, hiring, retaining, or diversifying 

13 school-based mental health services providers in 

14 schools served by the high-need local educational 

15 agency to be served under the grant; 

16 (4) if applicable, a description of the high-need 

17 local educational agency’s plan to increase the capac18 ity of educators, school leaders, school-based mental 

19 health services providers, and other relevant staff to 

20 address the needs described in paragraph (1); and 

21 (5) an assurance that any school-based mental 

22 health services provider, including any provider of23 fering telehealth services, provides services in a man24 ner consistent with section 444 of the General Edu25 cation Provisions Act (20 U.S.C. 1232g; commonly 


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1 known as the ‘‘Family Educational Rights and Pri2 vacy Act of 1974’’) and the Individuals with Disabil3 ities Education Act (20 U.S.C. 1400 et seq.), as well 

4 as all applicable Federal, State, and local laws. 

5 (d) USE OF FUNDS.— 

6 (1) RECRUITING, HIRING, AND RETAINING

7 SCHOOL-BASED MENTAL HEALTH SERVICES PRO8 VIDERS.—A high-need local educational agency that 

9 receives a grant under subsection (b)(1) shall use 

10 such funds to carry out 1 or more of the following: 

11 (A) Implementing strategies to recruit 

12 school-based mental health services providers in 

13 schools served by high-need local educational 

14 agencies to help mitigate shortages of such pro15 viders, such as— 

16 (i) salary stipends or other financial 

17 incentives; 

18 (ii) relocation benefits; and 

19 (iii) opportunities for continuing pro20 fessional development. 

21 (B) Hiring school-based mental health 

22 services providers to— 

23 (i) provide school-based mental health 

24 services to students enrolled in schools 


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1 served by high-need local educational agen2 cies; and 

3 (ii) implement evidence-based prac4 tices to improve school climate to support 

5 positive student mental health. 

6 (C) Implementing strategies to retain 

7 school-based mental health services providers in 

8 schools served by high-need local educational 

9 agencies, which may include providing— 

10 (i) incentives described in subpara11 graph (A); and 

12 (ii) ongoing professional development, 

13 induction, mentorship, or peer support for 

14 school-based mental health services pro15 viders. 

16 (2) ADDITIONAL USES.—In addition to the ac17 tivities described in paragraph (1), a high-need local 

18 educational agency that receives a grant under sub19 section (b)(1) may also use such funds to increase 

20 the capacity of the high-need local educational agen21 cy to address student needs described in subsection 

22 (c)(1), through activities that may include— 

23 (A) providing professional development to 

24 school-based mental health services providers, 

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1 cialized instructional support personnel, para2 professionals, other staff employed by each 

3 high-need local educational agency, and to the 

4 extent practicable, families, related to— 

5 (i) meeting the needs of students at 

6 elevated risk of suicide, mental health con7 cerns, or substance use and misuse; 

8 (ii) implementation of evidence-based 

9 school-based mental health services with 

10 high fidelity, including such services re11 lated to— 

12 (I) prevention, early identifica13 tion, and individualized intervention; 

14 (II) addressing substance use 

15 and misuse; and 

16 (III) preventing and eliminating 

17 any existing stigma in accessing such 

18 services; 

19 (iii) mitigating indirect or secondary 

20 trauma experienced by staff employed by 

21 the high-need local educational agency and 

22 implementing evidence-based programs to 

23 promote mental health among such staff; 

24 (iv) supporting school-based mental 

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1 port students in languages other than 

2 English and children with disabilities; 

3 (v) understanding when and how to 

4 refer a student to a school-based mental 

5 health services provider; 

6 (vi) supporting the use of evidence7 based practices to address student mental 

8 health needs; and 

9 (vii) addressing chronic absenteeism; 

10 (B) supporting high-need local educational 

11 agencies in billing and accessing reimburse12 ments under the Medicaid program under title 

13 XIX of the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 1396 

14 et seq.) and the Children’s Health Insurance 

15 Program under title XXI of the Social Security 

16 Act (42 U.S.C. 1397aa et seq.); or 

17 (C) other activities that support the devel18 opment and implementation of innovative strat19 egies to increase access to school-based mental 

20 health services in schools served by high-need 

21 local educational agencies, which may include 

22 increasing access to school-based mental health 

23 services provided through telehealth, including 

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1 health are accessible for children with disabil2 ities. 

3 (e) DISAGGREGATION OF DATA.—Disaggregation of 

4 data shall not be required under this section when the 

5 number is insufficient to yield statistically reliable infor6 mation or the results would reveal personally identifiable 

7 information about an individual. 

8 (f) REPORTING REQUIREMENTS.— 

9 (1) REPORTING.—Each high-need local edu10 cational agency that receives a grant under sub11 section (b)(1) shall submit a report to the Secretary 

12 on an annual basis and publish such report in a 

13 clear and easily accessible format on the website of 

14 the high-need local educational agency. Such report 

15 shall contain any information required by the Sec16 retary and, at a minimum, the following: 

17 (A) The number of school-based mental 

18 health services providers employed by high-need 

19 local educational agencies served under the 

20 grant and any increases from the prior year, 

21 disaggregated by— 

22 (i) the number of each type of such 

23 providers who was recruited, hired, or re24 tained, with support under this grant; and 


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1 (ii) the demographics of such pro2 viders. 

3 (B) The ratio of students to school-based 

4 mental health services providers in schools 

5 served by high-need local educational agencies 

6 served under the grant and the extent to which 

7 such ratio has decreased since the start of the 

8 grant period. 

9 (C) The reduction in the annual attrition 

10 rate of school-based mental health services pro11 viders employed by high-need local educational 

12 agencies served under the grant and the extent 

13 to which such attrition rate has decreased since 

14 the start of the grant period. 

15 (D) A description of the strategies used by 

16 high-need local educational agencies served 

17 under the grant to implement innovative evi18 denced-based strategies to increase access to 

19 school-based mental health services and to im20 prove school climate for students enrolled in 

21 schools served by such agencies. 

22 (2) SECRETARY’S REPORTS.— 

23 (A) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 3 years 

24 after receiving the reports described in para25 graph (1), and every 2 years thereafter, the 


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1 Secretary shall submit a report to the Com2 mittee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pen3 sions of the Senate and the Committee on Edu4 cation and the Workforce of the House of Rep5 resentatives that— 

6 (i) includes a summary of the reports 

7 submitted by grant recipients under para8 graph (1); 

9 (ii) identifies effective practices re10 lated to the activities supported by the 

11 grant program under this section; and 

12 (iii) includes an analysis of whether 

13 the recipient carried out its plan described 

14 in subsection (c)(3). 

15 (B) PUBLICLY AVAILABLE.—Not later 

16 than 1 month after submitting a report de17 scribed in subparagraph (A), the Secretary shall 

18 publish such report in a clear and easily acces19 sible format on the website of the Department 

20 of Education. 

21 (g) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There 

22 are authorized to be appropriated to carry out this section 

23 such sums as may be necessary for each of fiscal years 

24 2025 through 2029. 


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1 SEC. 6. RULE. 

2 The requirements of section 4001 of the Elementary 

3 and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 7101) 

4 shall apply to an eligible institution, local educational 

5 agency, or educational service agency receiving a grant 

6 under this Act, or participating in a program that receives 

7 funds under this Act, in the same manner as those re8 quirements apply to an entity receiving an award under 

9 title IV of such Act. 

Æ 


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