II 

118TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION S. 4407 

To effectively staff the high-need public elementary schools and secondary 

schools of the United States with school-based mental health services 

providers. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

MAY 23, 2024 

Mr. MERKLEY (for himself, Mr. BENNET, Mr. BLUMENTHAL, Mr. BOOKER, 

Mr. BROWN, Ms. BUTLER, Mr. CASEY, Mr. COONS, Mr. DURBIN, Mr. 

FETTERMAN, Mr. HEINRICH, Ms. HIRONO, Mr. KAINE, Mr. KING, Ms. 

KLOBUCHAR, Mr. MURPHY, Mr. PADILLA, Mr. REED, Mrs. SHAHEEN, 

Ms. SMITH, Mr. VAN HOLLEN, and Mr. WYDEN) introduced the following 

bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions 

A BILL 

To effectively staff the high-need public elementary schools 

and secondary schools of the United States with schoolbased mental health services providers. 

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 ‘‘Elementary and Sec5 ondary School Counseling Act’’. 

6 SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 

7 Congress finds the following: 


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1 (1) One in 5 children ages 13 through 18 has, 

2 or will have, a serious mental illness. 

3 (2) 11 percent of youth have a mood disorder, 

4 10 percent of youth have a behavior or conduct dis5 order, and 8 percent of youth have an anxiety dis6 order. 

7 (3) 50 percent of all lifetime cases of mental ill8 ness begin by age 14. 37 percent of students with 

9 a mental health condition age 14 and older drop out 

10 of school, which is the highest school dropout rate 

11 of any disability group. 

12 (4) 70 percent of youth in State and local juve13 nile systems have a mental illness. 

14 (5) Youth with access to mental health services 

15 in school-based health centers are 10 times more 

16 likely to seek care for mental health or substance 

17 abuse than youth without access. 

18 (6) The leading counseling, guidance, and men19 tal health organizations, including the American 

20 School Counselor Association, the National Associa21 tion of School Psychologists, the National Associa22 tion of Social Workers, and the School Social Work 

23 Association of America, recommend that schools 

24 maintain— 


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1 (A) a maximum student to school coun2 selor ratio of 250 to 1; 

3 (B) a maximum student to school psychol4 ogist ratio of 500 to 1; and 

5 (C) a maximum student to school social 

6 worker ratio of 250 to 1. 

7 SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS. 

8 In this Act: 

9 (1) ESEA DEFINITIONS.—The terms ‘‘elemen10 tary school’’, ‘‘local educational agency’’, ‘‘secondary 

11 school’’, ‘‘State’’, and ‘‘State educational agency’’ 

12 have the meanings given the terms in section 8101 

13 of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 

14 1965 (20 U.S.C. 7801). 

15 (2) HIGH-NEED SCHOOL.—The term ‘‘high-need 

16 school’’ has the meaning given the term in section 

17 2211(b) of the Elementary and Secondary Edu18 cation Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 6631(b)). 

19 (3) OUTLYING AREA.—The term ‘‘outlying 

20 area’’ means an outlying area specified in section 

21 8101(36)(A) of the Elementary and Secondary Edu22 cation Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 7801(36)(A)). 

23 (4) SCHOOL-BASED MENTAL HEALTH SERVICES

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

25 services provider’’ includes a State-icensed or State 


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1 certified school counselor, school psychologist, school 

2 social worker, community-based mental health pro3 vider organization, or other State licensed or cer4 tified mental health professional qualified under 

5 State law to provide mental health services to chil6 dren and adolescents. 

7 (5) SECRETARY.—The term ‘‘Secretary’’ means 

8 the Secretary of Education. 

9 SEC. 4. GRANTS AND SUBGRANTS TO INCREASE ACCESS TO 

10 SCHOOL-BASED MENTAL HEALTH SERVICES 

11 PROVIDERS AT HIGH-NEED SCHOOLS. 

12 (a) RESERVATIONS AND GRANTS.— 

13 (1) RESERVATIONS.—From the total amount 

14 made available under section 5 for a fiscal year, the 

15 Secretary shall reserve— 

16 (A) one-half of 1 percent for the Secretary 

17 of the Interior for the activities described in 

18 subsection (e)(1) in schools operated or funded 

19 by the Bureau of Indian Education; 

20 (B) one-half of 1 percent for allotments for 

21 the outlying areas to be distributed among the 

22 outlying areas on the basis of their relative need 

23 for assistance in carrying out the activities de24 scribed in subsection (e)(1), as determined by 

25 the Secretary; and 


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1 (C) not more than 2 percent for the ad2 ministration of this Act, and to provide tech3 nical assistance relating to this Act. 

4 (2) GRANTS.— 

5 (A) IN GENERAL.—From the total amount 

6 made available under section 5 for a fiscal year 

7 and remaining after funds are reserved under 

8 paragraph (1) of this subsection, the Secretary 

9 shall award grants to States in accordance with 

10 subparagraph (B) to enable the States to award 

11 subgrants to local educational agencies in order 

12 to increase access to school-based mental health 

13 services providers at high-need schools served 

14 by the local educational agencies. 

15 (B) FORMULA.—Subject to subparagraph 

16 (C), the Secretary shall award a grant to each 

17 State with an approved application under sub18 section (d) in an amount that bears the same 

19 relationship to the remaining amount described 

20 in subparagraph (A) as the amount such State 

21 received under part A of title I of the Elemen22 tary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (20 

23 U.S.C. 6311 et seq.), as determined on the 

24 basis of the most recent fiscal year for which 

25 data are available, bears to the amount received 


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1 under such part (20 U.S.C. 6311 et seq.) by all 

2 States with such an approved application, as so 

3 determined. 

4 (C) SMALL STATE MINIMUM.—No State re5 ceiving a grant under this paragraph shall re6 ceive less than one-half of 1 percent of the total 

7 grant amount awarded under this paragraph. 

8 (b) DURATION.—An allotment awarded under this 

9 section shall be for a 5-year period and may be renewed 

10 for additional 5-year periods upon a showing of adequate 

11 progress on meeting the goals of the allotment, as deter12 mined by the Secretary. 

13 (c) MATCHING REQUIREMENTS.—In order to receive 

14 a grant under this Act, a State shall agree to provide 

15 matching funds, in an amount equal to 20 percent of the 

16 amount of the grant amount, toward the costs of the ac17 tivities carried out under the grant. 

18 (d) APPLICATION.—For any State desiring to receive 

19 a grant under this Act, the State educational agency shall 

20 submit an application at such time, in such manner, and 

21 containing such information as the Secretary may require. 

22 Each application shall include, at a minimum— 

23 (1) an assurance that the State will use the al24 lotment only for the activities described in sub25 section (e)(1); 


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1 (2) a description of how the State will award 

2 subgrants to local educational agencies under sub3 section (e); 

4 (3) a description of how the State will dissemi5 nate, in a timely manner, information regarding the 

6 subgrants and the application process for such sub7 grants to local educational agencies; and 

8 (4) the ratios, as of the date of application, of 

9 students to school-based mental health services pro10 viders in each public elementary school and sec11 ondary school in the State, in the aggregate and 

12 disaggregated to include— 

13 (A) the ratios of students to school coun14 selors, school psychologists, and school social 

15 workers; and 

16 (B) as applicable, the ratios of students to 

17 other school-based mental health services pro18 viders not described in subparagraph (A), in the 

19 aggregate and disaggregated by type of pro20 vider. 

21 (e) SUBGRANTS.— 

22 (1) IN GENERAL.—A State receiving a grant 

23 under this Act shall use such grant to award sub24 grants, on a competitive basis, to local educational 


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1 agencies in the State, to enable the local educational 

2 agencies to— 

3 (A) recruit and retain school-based mental 

4 health services providers or contract with com5 munity mental health centers to work at high6 need schools served by the local educational 

7 agency; and 

8 (B) work toward effectively staffing the 

9 high-need schools served by the local edu10 cational agency with school-based mental health 

11 services providers, including by meeting the rec12 ommended maximum ratios of— 

13 (i) 250 students per school counselor; 

14 (ii) 500 students per school psycholo15 gist; and 

16 (iii) 250 students per school social 

17 worker. 

18 (2) PRIORITY.—In awarding subgrants under 

19 this subsection, a State shall give priority to local 

20 educational agencies that serve a significant number 

21 of high-need schools. 

22 (3) APPLICATION.—A local educational agency 

23 desiring a subgrant under this subsection shall sub24 mit an application to the applicable State at such 

25 time, in such manner, and containing such informaVerDate Sep 11 2014 03:16 Jul 10, 2024 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S4407.IS S4407

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1 tion as the State may require, including information 

2 on how the local educational agency will prioritize 

3 assisting high-need schools with the largest numbers 

4 or percentages of students from low-income families. 

5 (f) ALLOTMENT AND SUBGRANT REQUIREMENTS.— 

6 (1) SUPPLEMENT, NOT SUPPLANT.—Amounts 

7 provided as a grant to a State or as a subgrant to 

8 a local educational agency under this section shall 

9 supplement, and not supplant, any other funds avail10 able to such State or local educational agency for 

11 school-based mental health services. 

12 (2) COMBINING FUNDS ALLOWED.—A State re13 ceiving a grant under this section may combine 

14 funds made available under this section with State 

15 or local funds to carry out the activities described in 

16 subsection (e)(1). 

17 (g) REPORTS.— 

18 (1) LOCAL EDUCATIONAL AGENCIES.—A local 

19 educational agency that receives a subgrant under 

20 this section shall submit an annual report to the 

21 State that awarded such subgrant on the activities 

22 carried out with the subgrant funds. Each such re23 port shall— 

24 (A) describe the activities carried out using 

25 subgrant funds; 


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1 (B) enumerate the number of school-based 

2 mental health services providers (in the aggre3 gate and disaggregated by each type of provider 

4 listed in subsection (d)(4)) who— 

5 (i) were employed by or otherwise 

6 served in high-need public elementary and 

7 secondary schools under the jurisdiction of 

8 the local educational agency for the year 

9 covered by the report; and 

10 (ii) were supported with funds from 

11 the subgrant or matching funds during 

12 such year; and 

13 (C) include the most recent student to 

14 school-based mental health services provider ra15 tios listed in subsection (d)(4) for each high16 need school under the jurisdiction of the local 

17 educational agency that was supported with the 

18 subgrant. 

19 (2) STATE EDUCATIONAL AGENCIES.—A State 

20 receiving a grant under this section shall annually 

21 prepare and submit a report to the Secretary that— 

22 (A) evaluates the progress made in achiev23 ing the recommended maximum student to 

24 school-based mental health services provider ra25 tios described in subsection (e)(1)(B); 


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1 (B) includes the most recent student to 

2 provider ratios, in the aggregate and 

3 disaggregated as provided in subsection (d)(4), 

4 for public elementary schools and secondary 

5 schools in the State that were assisted with 

6 such allotment; and 

7 (C) describes any other resources needed 

8 to meet the recommended maximum student to 

9 school-based mental health services provider ra10 tios described in subsection (e)(1)(B). 

11 (3) PUBLIC AVAILABILITY.—The Secretary 

12 shall— 

13 (A) submit to the Committee on Health, 

14 Education, Labor, and Pensions of the Senate 

15 and the Committee on Education and the 

16 Workforce of the House of Representatives, 

17 each report received under paragraph (2); and 

18 (B) make such reports available to the 

19 public, including through the website of the De20 partment. 

21 SEC. 5. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS. 

22 There are authorized to be appropriated to carry out 

23 this Act— 

24 (1) $5,000,000,000 for fiscal year 2025; and 


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1 (2) such sums as may be necessary for each 

2 succeeding fiscal year. 

Æ 


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