II 

117TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. 2730 

To direct the Secretary of Education to establish a pilot grant program 

to develop, implement, and evaluate comprehensive mental health services 

programs in elementary schools and secondary schools, and for other 

purposes. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

SEPTEMBER 14, 2021 

Mr. PADILLA (for himself and Ms. WARREN) introduced the following bill; 

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

A BILL 

To direct the Secretary of Education to establish a pilot 

grant program to develop, implement, and evaluate comprehensive mental health services programs in elementary 

schools and secondary schools, 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 ‘‘Comprehensive Mental 

5 Health in Schools Pilot Program Act of 2021’’. 


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1 SEC. 2. MENTAL HEALTH PILOT GRANT PROGRAM. 

2 (a) PURPOSES.—The purposes of the program estab3 lished under this section are to— 

4 (1) prioritize, with respect to all elementary 

5 school and secondary school students— 

6 (A) academic, cognitive, social-emotional, 

7 and identity development; 

8 (B) mental and behavioral health; and 

9 (C) physical health; 

10 (2) meet the priorities described in paragraph 

11 (1) by intervening with equitable multi-tier systems 

12 of support; 

13 (3) support measurable outcomes, which focus 

14 on continuous improvement instead of punitive 

15 measures; 

16 (4) ensure equitable access to high-quality, safe, 

17 and supportive learning environments; 

18 (5) integrate the teaching of social, emotional, 

19 and cognitive learning skills and competencies 

20 throughout all aspects of the elementary school and 

21 secondary school environments, including through 

22 standalone measures; 

23 (6) use evidence-based instructional materials, 

24 practices, programs, and resources to implement the 

25 practices described in paragraph (5); 


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1 (7) build expertise among trusted adults with 

2 respect to responding to the mental and behavioral 

3 health needs of students in elementary school and 

4 secondary school communities, including teachers, 

5 administrators, specialized instructional support per6 sonnel, paraprofessionals, other staff, parents, and 

7 caregivers; and 

8 (8) hire a full complement of mental and behav9 ioral health professionals to ensure an appropriate 

10 ratio of students to such professionals. 

11 (b) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 90 days after the 

12 date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary shall es13 tablish a pilot grant program to award grants, on a com14 petitive basis, to local educational agencies to— 

15 (1) establish, develop, implement, and evaluate 

16 a comprehensive, multi-tier system of support with 

17 respect to mental and behavioral health services pro18 grams in elementary schools and secondary schools 

19 served by such local educational agencies; and 

20 (2) fully fund comprehensive mental and behav21 ioral health services in such elementary schools and 

22 secondary schools. 

23 (c) CONSULTATION AND ASSISTANCE.—In estab24 lishing the program under subsection (b), the Secretary 

25 shall— 


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1 (1) consult with nationally recognized organiza2 tions that identify, support, and advocate for evi3 dence-based social-emotional learning policy and 

4 practices and multi-tier systems of support within el5 ementary schools and secondary schools; 

6 (2) consult with nationally recognized organiza7 tions— 

8 (A) with expertise in child, adolescent, and 

9 developmental mental health; and 

10 (B) that identify, support, and advocate 

11 for evidence-based prevention of, and interven12 tion for, child trauma; and 

13 (3) provide technical assistance to grant recipi14 ents with respect to implementation and execution of 

15 activities under this section. 

16 (d) APPLICATION.— 

17 (1) IN GENERAL.—To be eligible for a grant 

18 under this section, a local educational agency shall 

19 submit to the Secretary an application at such time, 

20 in such manner, and containing such information as 

21 the Secretary may require, including— 

22 (A) a needs assessment; 

23 (B) a plan to— 


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1 (i) during the grant period described 

2 in subsection (f), implement the activities 

3 described under subsection (h); and 

4 (ii) after the conclusion of the grant 

5 period described in subsection (f), maintain 

6 such activities; and 

7 (C) a cost assessment with respect to im8 plementing the plan described in subparagraph 

9 (B). 

10 (2) TIMING.—A local educational agency may 

11 only submit an application during the period— 

12 (A) beginning on the date that the Sec13 retary establishes the program under subsection 

14 (b); and 

15 (B) ending on the date that is 120 days 

16 after the date described in subparagraph (A). 

17 (3) NOTIFICATION PERIOD.—The Secretary 

18 shall notify each local educational agency that sub19 mits an application under this subsection of the deci20 sion to award, or not award, a grant to such agency 

21 not later than 90 days after the date that is the 

22 final day of the period described in paragraph 

23 (2)(B). 


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1 (e) PRIORITY.—In awarding grants under this sec2 tion, the Secretary shall give priority to local educational 

3 agencies that— 

4 (1) serve high-poverty elementary schools and 

5 secondary schools; and 

6 (2) with respect to the services described in 

7 paragraphs (3) and (4) of subsection (h)— 

8 (A) provide such services within such ele9 mentary schools and secondary schools; or 

10 (B) provide an assurance, in the applica11 tion submitted under subsection (d), that such 

12 local educational agency will use grant funds 

13 awarded under this section to implement such 

14 services within such elementary schools and sec15 ondary schools. 

16 (f) GRANT PERIOD.— 

17 (1) DURATION.—A grant awarded under this 

18 section shall be for a period of 4 consecutive aca19 demic years. 

20 (2) BEGINNING OF GRANT PERIOD.—The grant 

21 period described in paragraph (1) shall begin on the 

22 date that is the first day of the first academic year 

23 beginning after the Secretary notifies each local edu24 cational agency under subsection (d)(3). 


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1 (g) SUPPLEMENT NOT SUPPLANT.—Grant funds 

2 provided under this section shall be used to supplement, 

3 not supplant, other Federal, State, or local funds available 

4 to carry out the activities described in subsection (h). 

5 (h) GRANT USES.—A local educational agency shall 

6 use grant funds awarded under this section for the fol7 lowing activities: 

8 (1) Evaluating the needs of the elementary 

9 schools and secondary schools served by such local 

10 educational agency with respect to the activities de11 scribed in paragraphs (2) through (4). 

12 (2) Implementing, in consultation with teachers 

13 and school mental and behavioral health profes14 sionals, evidence-based universal social-emotional 

15 learning programs, approaches, and supports, in16 cluding by— 

17 (A) incorporating principles of motivation 

18 and engagement and resiliency training into 

19 class instruction; 

20 (B) promoting connections by establishing 

21 regular collaboration and communication be22 tween and among students, parents, caregivers, 

23 and staff; 

24 (C) promoting a safe, equitable, sup25 portive, and healthy school climate that is raVerDate Sep 11 2014 03:13 Sep 16, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S2730.IS S2730

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1 cially, culturally, developmentally, and linguis2 tically responsive to encourage positive behavior 

3 and academic engagement; 

4 (D) establishing racially, culturally, devel5 opmentally, and linguistically appropriate evi6 dence-based trauma-informed and trauma-com7 petent practices to support students and staff; 

8 (E) establishing evidence-informed psycho9 logical supports for students and staff to pro10 mote a sense of agency, safety, calmness, self11 efficacy, mindfulness, and coping skills; and 

12 (F) adopting positive, non-punitive, restor13 ative policies to address challenging behaviors, 

14 discipline, and de-escalation, focused on devel15 oping, maintaining, and repairing relationships 

16 in place of utilizing retributive and exclusionary 

17 practices. 

18 (3) Implementing targeted interventions that 

19 are equitable for all students and that support emo20 tional management, goal setting, and establishing 

21 routines and consistency, including— 

22 (A) evidence-based and trauma-informed 

23 screening and referral to mental and behavioral 

24 health services; 


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1 (B) small groups for support, problem-solv2 ing, and strengthening collaborations; 

3 (C) peer support groups; 

4 (D) parent and caregiver engagement; 

5 (E) periodic check-in meetings with stu6 dents during the regular school day; 

7 (F) by monitoring for evidence of food in8 security, homelessness, neglect, and abuse, in9 cluding with respect to disadvantaged students; 

10 and 

11 (G) personalized learning experiences, ac12 commodations, modifications, and technical sup13 ports as appropriate for students. 

14 (4) Implementing intensive supports, includ15 ing— 

16 (A) individualized intervention and support 

17 from school-based professionals; 

18 (B) by hiring such school-based profes19 sionals; and 

20 (C) ongoing evidence-based and trauma-in21 formed progress monitoring of students and 

22 intervention based on such monitoring. 

23 (5) Providing professional development for 

24 teachers and other school staff with respect to— 


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1 (A) developing a healthy learning climate, 

2 including through positive classroom manage3 ment, enhancing empathy and respect, and pro4 moting a sense of belonging for students; 

5 (B) integrating social and emotional learn6 ing, motivation and engagement, and resiliency 

7 training into classroom instruction and prac8 tices; 

9 (C) the impact of adverse childhood experi10 ences and traumatic experiences on the health 

11 and development of students; 

12 (D) evidence-based and trauma-informed 

13 approaches to teaching and managing student 

14 behavior; 

15 (E) racially, culturally, developmentally, 

16 and linguistically appropriate techniques for 

17 providing more agency to students; 

18 (F) implicit bias and restorative justice 

19 practices; and 

20 (G) racially, culturally, developmentally, 

21 and linguistically responsive teaching. 

22 (i) EVALUATION.— 

23 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall— 

24 (A) not later than 1 year before the last 

25 day of the grant period described in subsection 


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1 (f), enter into a contract with a nationally-rec2 ognized educational evaluation institution or or3 ganization; and 

4 (B) not later than 1 year after the conclu5 sion of the grant period described in subsection 

6 (f), coordinate with such institution or organi7 zation to provide an evaluation of the pilot 

8 grant program, including— 

9 (i) a determination with respect to the 

10 sufficient ratio of school-based profes11 sionals to students; 

12 (ii) information with respect to the 

13 practices used by local educational agencies 

14 to improve the mental and behavioral well15 being of students; 

16 (iii) information with respect to in17 creased competencies among teachers and 

18 other school staff on social and emotional 

19 learning and trauma-informed practices; 

20 (iv) data on the mental and behavioral 

21 health outcomes of students, in the aggre22 gate and disaggregated by— 

23 (I) race and ethnicity; 

24 (II) gender; 

25 (III) sexual orientation; 


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1 (IV) status as an English learn2 er; and 

3 (V) status as a student with a 

4 disability; and 

5 (v) a recommendation as to whether 

6 such program should be continued or ex7 panded. 

8 (2) PUBLICATION.—The Secretary shall make 

9 the evaluation required under paragraph (1) publicly 

10 available on the website of the Department. 

11 (3) REPORT.—Not later than 60 days after the 

12 completion of the evaluation required under para13 graph (1), the Secretary shall submit to Congress a 

14 report on the outcome of the pilot grant program, 

15 including a recommendation with respect to con16 tinuing or expanding the program. 

17 (j) CONTINUATION OF PROGRAM.— 

18 (1) APPLICATIONS.—If the evaluation required 

19 under subsection (i)(1) contains a recommendation 

20 that the pilot grant program should be continued or 

21 expanded, the Secretary— 

22 (A) may continue or expand such program; 

23 and 

24 (B) if such program is expanded or contin25 ued— 


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1 (i) shall allow a local educational 

2 agency that did not receive a grant under 

3 the pilot program established under this 

4 section to apply for a grant in accordance 

5 with subsection (d)(1); and 

6 (ii) shall allow a local educational 

7 agency that received a grant under the 

8 pilot program established under this sec9 tion to apply for a renewal of such grant 

10 for an additional period of 4 consecutive 

11 academic years. 

12 (2) EVALUATION.—Not later than 1 year after 

13 the first grant is awarded or renewed after the con14 tinuation or expansion of the program, the Secretary 

15 shall coordinate with the institution or organization 

16 described in subsection (i)(1)(A) to provide an eval17 uation of the renewal of the pilot grant program. 

18 (3) PUBLICATION.—The Secretary shall make 

19 the evaluation required under paragraph (2) publicly 

20 available on the website of the Department. 

21 (4) REPORT.—Not later than 60 days after the 

22 completion of the evaluation required under para23 graph (2), the Secretary shall submit to Congress a 

24 report on the progress of the renewal or expansion 

25 of the program. 


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1 (k) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There is 

2 authorized to be appropriated to carry out this section 

3 $20,000,000, for fiscal year 2022, to be available until ex4 pended. 

5 (l) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 

6 (1) ESEA TERMS.—The terms ‘‘Department’’, 

7 ‘‘elementary school’’, ‘‘local educational agency’’, 

8 ‘‘multi-tier system of supports’’, ‘‘secondary school’’, 

9 and ‘‘Secretary’’ have the meanings given such 

10 terms in section 8101 of the Elementary and Sec11 ondary Education Act (20 U.S.C. 7801). 

12 (2) SCHOOL-BASED PROFESSIONAL.—The term 

13 ‘‘school-based professional’’ means a behavioral spe14 cialist or mental health specialist. 

Æ 


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