I 

118TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION H. R. 8981 

To amend the SUPPORT for Patients and Communities Act to improve 

trauma support services and mental health care for children and youth 

in educational settings, and for other purposes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

JULY 10, 2024 

Mrs. HAYES (for herself, Ms. BROWN, Ms. NORTON, Mrs. DINGELL, Mr. 

JOHNSON of Georgia, Mr. KRISHNAMOORTHI, Mr. MOULTON, Mrs. WATSON COLEMAN, Ms. SALINAS, Mr. THANEDAR, Ms. JACKSON LEE, Ms. 

WILLIAMS of Georgia, and Mrs. RAMIREZ) introduced the following bill; 

which was referred to the Committee on Education and the Workforce 

A BILL 

To amend the SUPPORT for Patients and Communities 

Act to improve trauma support services and mental 

health care for children and youth in educational settings, 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 ‘‘Supporting Trauma5 Informed Education Practices Act of 2024’’. 


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1 SEC. 2. AMENDMENT TO THE SUPPORT FOR PATIENTS AND 

2 COMMUNITIES ACT. 

3 Section 7134 of the SUPPORT for Patients and 

4 Communities Act (42 U.S.C. 280h–7) is amended to read 

5 as follows: 

6 ‘‘SEC. 7134. GRANTS TO IMPROVE TRAUMA SUPPORT SERV7 ICES AND MENTAL HEALTH CARE FOR CHIL8 DREN AND YOUTH IN EDUCATIONAL SET9 TINGS. 

10 ‘‘(a) AUTHORIZATION OF GRANTS.— 

11 ‘‘(1) GRANTS, CONTRACTS, AND COOPERATIVE

12 AGREEMENTS AUTHORIZED.—The Secretary, in co13 ordination with the Secretary of Health and Human 

14 Services, is authorized to award grants to, or enter 

15 into contracts or cooperative agreements with, an el16 igible entity for the purpose of increasing student, 

17 teacher, school leader, and other school personnel ac18 cess to evidence-based trauma support services and 

19 mental health services by developing innovative ini20 tiatives, activities, or programs to connect schools 

21 and local educational agencies, or tribal educational 

22 agencies, as applicable, with community trauma-in23 formed support and mental health systems, includ24 ing such systems under the Indian Health Service. 


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1 ‘‘(2) RESERVATIONS.—From the total amount 

2 appropriated under subsection (l) for a fiscal year, 

3 the Secretary shall reserve— 

4 ‘‘(A) not more than 3 percent to conduct 

5 the evaluation under subsection (f); and 

6 ‘‘(B) not more than 2 percent for technical 

7 assistance and administration. 

8 ‘‘(b) DURATION.—With respect to a grant, contract, 

9 or cooperative agreement awarded or entered into under 

10 this section, the period during which payments under such 

11 grant, contract or agreement are made to the recipient 

12 may not exceed 5 years. 

13 ‘‘(c) USE OF FUNDS.—An eligible entity that receives 

14 or enters into a grant, contract, or cooperative agreement 

15 under this section shall use amounts made available 

16 through such grant, contract, or cooperative agreement for 

17 evidence-based initiatives, activities, or programs, which 

18 shall include at least 1 of the following: 

19 ‘‘(1) Enhancing, improving, or developing col20 laborative efforts between schools, local educational 

21 agencies or tribal educational agencies, as applicable, 

22 and community mental health and trauma-informed 

23 service delivery systems to provide, develop, or im24 prove prevention, referral, treatment, and support 

25 services to students. 


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1 ‘‘(2) Implementing trauma-informed models of 

2 support, including positive behavioral interventions 

3 and supports in schools served by the eligible entity. 

4 ‘‘(3) Providing professional development to 

5 teachers, paraprofessionals, school leaders, school6 based mental health services providers, and other 

7 specialized instructional support personnel employed 

8 by local educational agencies or tribal educational 

9 agencies, as applicable or schools served by the eligi10 ble entity that— 

11 ‘‘(A) fosters safe and stable learning envi12 ronments that prevent and mitigate the effects 

13 of trauma, including through social and emo14 tional learning; 

15 ‘‘(B) improves school capacity to identify, 

16 refer, and provide services to students in need 

17 of trauma-informed support or mental health 

18 services, including by helping educators to iden19 tify the unique personal and contextual vari20 ables that influence the manifestation of trau21 ma; and 

22 ‘‘(C) reflects the best practices for trauma23 informed identification, referral, and support 

24 developed by the Interagency Task Force on 


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1 Trauma-Informed Care (as established by sec2 tion 7132). 

3 ‘‘(4) Providing trauma-informed support serv4 ices and mental health services to students at full5 service community schools served by the eligible enti6 ty. 

7 ‘‘(5) Engaging families and communities to in8 crease awareness of child and youth trauma, which 

9 may include sharing best practices with law enforce10 ment regarding trauma-informed services and work11 ing with mental health professionals to provide inter12 ventions and longer term coordinated care within the 

13 community for children and youth who have experi14 enced trauma and the families of such children and 

15 youth. 

16 ‘‘(6) Evaluating the effectiveness of the initia17 tives, activities, or programs carried out under this 

18 section in increasing student access to evidence19 based trauma support services and mental health 

20 services. 

21 ‘‘(7) Establishing partnerships with or pro22 viding subgrants to early childhood education pro23 grams or other eligible entities, to include such enti24 ties in the evidence-based trauma-informed or men25 tal health initiatives, activities, and support services 


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1 established under this section in order to provide, 

2 develop, or improve prevention, referral, treatment, 

3 and support services to children and their families. 

4 ‘‘(8) Establishing new, or enhancing existing, 

5 evidence-based educational, awareness, and preven6 tion programs to improve mental health and resil7 iency among teachers, paraprofessionals, school lead8 ers, school-based mental health services providers, 

9 and other specialized instructional support personnel 

10 employed by local educational agencies or tribal edu11 cational agencies, as applicable, or schools served by 

12 the eligible entity. 

13 ‘‘(d) APPLICATIONS.—To be eligible to receive a 

14 grant, contract, or cooperative agreement under this sec15 tion, an eligible entity shall submit an application to the 

16 Secretary at such time, in such manner, and containing 

17 such information as the Secretary may reasonably require, 

18 which shall include the following: 

19 ‘‘(1) A description of the innovative initiatives, 

20 activities, or programs to be funded under the grant, 

21 contract, or cooperative agreement, including how 

22 such initiatives, activities, or programs will increase 

23 access to evidence-based trauma-informed support 

24 services and mental health services for students, 

25 and, as applicable, the families of such students. 


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1 ‘‘(2) A description of how the initiatives, activi2 ties, or programs will provide linguistically appro3 priate and culturally competent services. 

4 ‘‘(3) A description of how the initiatives, activi5 ties, or programs will support schools served by the 

6 eligible entity in improving school climate in order to 

7 support an environment conducive to learning. 

8 ‘‘(4) An assurance that— 

9 ‘‘(A) persons providing services under the 

10 initiative, activity, or program funded by the 

11 grant, contract, or cooperative agreement are 

12 fully licensed or certified to provide such serv13 ices; 

14 ‘‘(B) teachers, school leaders, administra15 tors, school-based mental health services pro16 viders and other specialized instructional sup17 port personnel, representatives of local Indian 

18 Tribes or tribal organizations as appropriate, 

19 other school personnel, individuals who have ex20 perience receiving mental health services as 

21 children, and parents of students participating 

22 in services under this section will be engaged 

23 and involved in the design and implementation 

24 of the services; and 


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1 ‘‘(C) the eligible entity will comply with the 

2 evaluation required under subsection (f). 

3 ‘‘(5) A description of how the eligible entity will 

4 support and integrate existing school-based services 

5 at schools served by the eligible entity with the ini6 tiatives, activities, or programs funded under this 

7 section in order to provide trauma-informed support 

8 services or mental health services for students, as 

9 appropriate. 

10 ‘‘(6) A description of how the eligible entity will 

11 incorporate peer support services into the initiatives, 

12 activities, or programs to be funded under this sec13 tion. 

14 ‘‘(7) A description of how the eligible entity will 

15 ensure that initiatives, activities, or programs fund16 ed under this section are accessible to and include 

17 students with disabilities. 

18 ‘‘(8) An assurance that the eligible entity will 

19 establish a local interagency agreement under sub20 section (e) and comply with such agreement. 

21 ‘‘(e) INTERAGENCY AGREEMENTS.— 

22 ‘‘(1) LOCAL INTERAGENCY AGREEMENTS.—In 

23 carrying out an evidence-based initiative, activity, or 

24 program described in subsection (c), an eligible enti25 ty that receives a grant, contract, or cooperative 


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1 agreement under this section, or a designee of such 

2 entity, shall establish an interagency agreement be3 tween local educational agencies, agencies respon4 sible for early childhood education programs, Head 

5 Start agencies (including Early Head Start agen6 cies), juvenile justice authorities, mental health 

7 agencies, child welfare agencies, and other relevant 

8 agencies, authorities, or entities in the community 

9 that will be involved in the provision of services 

10 under such initiative, activity, or program. 

11 ‘‘(2) CONTENTS.—The local interagency agree12 ment required under paragraph (1) shall specify, 

13 with respect to each agency, authority, or entity that 

14 is a party to such agreement— 

15 ‘‘(A) the financial responsibility for any 

16 services provided by such entity; 

17 ‘‘(B) the conditions and terms of responsi18 bility for such any services, including quality, 

19 accountability, and coordination of the services; 

20 and 

21 ‘‘(C) the conditions and terms of reim22 bursement of such agencies, authorities, or enti23 ties, including procedures for dispute resolution. 

24 ‘‘(f) EVALUATION.—The Secretary shall conduct a 

25 rigorous and independent evaluation of the initiatives, acVerDate Sep 11 2014 07:08 Aug 14, 2024 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00009 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H8981.IH H8981

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1 tivities, and programs carried out by an eligible entity 

2 under this section and disseminate evidence-based prac3 tices regarding trauma-informed support services and 

4 mental health services. 

5 ‘‘(g) DISTRIBUTION OF AWARDS.—The Secretary 

6 shall ensure that grants, contracts, and cooperative agree7 ments awarded or entered into under this section are equi8 tably distributed among the geographical regions of the 

9 United States and among tribal, urban, suburban, and 

10 rural populations. 

11 ‘‘(h) RULE OF CONSTRUCTION.—Nothing in this sec12 tion shall be construed— 

13 ‘‘(1) to prohibit an entity involved with an ini14 tiative, activity, or program carried out under this 

15 section from reporting a crime that is committed by 

16 a student to appropriate authorities; or 

17 ‘‘(2) to prevent Federal, State, local, and tribal 

18 law enforcement and judicial authorities from exer19 cising their responsibilities with regard to the appli20 cation of Federal, State, local, and tribal law to 

21 crimes committed by a student. 

22 ‘‘(i) SUPPLEMENT, NOT SUPPLANT.—Federal funds 

23 provided under this section shall be used to supplement, 

24 and not supplant, other Federal, State, or local funds 


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1 available to carry out the initiatives, activities, and pro2 grams described in this section. 

3 ‘‘(j) CONSULTATION REQUIRED.—In awarding or en4 tering into grants, contracts, and cooperative agreements 

5 under this section, the Secretary shall, in a timely manner, 

6 meaningfully consult with Indian Tribes, Regional Cor7 porations, Native Hawaiian Educational Organizations, 

8 and their representatives to ensure notice of eligibility. 

9 ‘‘(k) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 

10 ‘‘(1) EARLY CHILDHOOD EDUCATION PRO11 GRAM.—The term ‘early childhood education pro12 gram’ has the meaning given such term in section 

13 103 of the Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 

14 U.S.C. 1003). 

15 ‘‘(2) ELIGIBLE ENTITY.—The term ‘eligible en16 tity’ means— 

17 ‘‘(A) a State educational agency; 

18 ‘‘(B) a local educational agency; 

19 ‘‘(C) an Indian Tribe (as defined in section 

20 4 of the Indian Self-Determination and Edu21 cation Assistance Act) or their tribal edu22 cational agency; 

23 ‘‘(D) the Bureau of Indian Education; 

24 ‘‘(E) a Regional Corporation; 


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1 ‘‘(F) a Native Hawaiian educational orga2 nization; and 

3 ‘‘(G) State, Territory, and Tribal Lead 

4 Agencies administering the Child Care and De5 velopment Fund as described in section 

6 658D(a) of the Child Care and Development 

7 Block Grant Act (42 U.S.C. 9858b(a)). 

8 ‘‘(3) ESEA TERMS.— 

9 ‘‘(A) The terms ‘elementary school’, ‘evi10 dence-based’, ‘local educational agency’, ‘para11 professional’, ‘parent’, ‘professional develop12 ment’, ‘school leader’, ‘secondary school’, ‘Sec13 retary’, ‘specialized instructional support per14 sonnel’, and ‘State educational agency’ have the 

15 meanings given such terms in section 8101 of 

16 the Elementary and Secondary Education Act 

17 of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 7801). 

18 ‘‘(B) The term ‘full-service community 

19 school’ has the meaning given such term in sec20 tion 4622 of the Elementary and Secondary 

21 Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 7272). 

22 ‘‘(C) The term ‘Native Hawaiian edu23 cational organization’ has the meaning given 

24 such term in section 6207 of the Elementary 


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1 and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (20 

2 U.S.C. 7517). 

3 ‘‘(D) The term ‘school-based mental health 

4 services provider’ has the meaning given the 

5 term in section 4102 of the Elementary and 

6 Secondary Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 

7 7112). 

8 ‘‘(4) REGIONAL CORPORATION.—The term ‘Re9 gional Corporation’ has the meaning given the term 

10 in section 3 of the Alaska Native Claims Settlement 

11 Act (43 U.S.C. 1602). 

12 ‘‘(5) SCHOOL.—The term ‘school’ means a pub13 lic elementary school or public secondary school. 

14 ‘‘(l) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There 

15 are authorized to be appropriated to carry out this section, 

16 $50,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2025 through 2029.’’. 

Æ 


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