I 

114TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION H. R. 4716 

To amend the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 to support 

teacher and school professional training on awareness of student mental 

health conditions and suicide prevention efforts. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

MARCH 7, 2016 

Mrs. BEATTY introduced the following bill; which was referred to the 

Committee on Education and the Workforce 

A BILL 

To amend the Elementary and Secondary Education Act 

of 1965 to support teacher and school professional training on awareness of student mental health conditions 

and suicide prevention efforts. 

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 ‘‘Support Our Students 

5 Act of 2016’’ or the ‘‘S.O.S. Act of 2016’’. 

6 SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 

7 Congress finds the following: 


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1 (1) Approximately 1 in 5 children have a 

2 diagnosable mental illness. 

3 (2) Fifty percent of all lifetime cases of lived 

4 experience of mental illness begin by age 14, and 75 

5 percent by age 24. 

6 (3) Fifty percent of students with a mental ill7 ness, age 14 years and older, drop out of high 

8 school. 

9 (4) One in 10 children and adolescents suffer 

10 from mental illness severe enough to cause some 

11 level of impairment, but only 1 in 5 of such children 

12 receive specialty mental health services. 

13 (5) For youth between the ages of 10 and 24, 

14 suicide is the third leading cause of death, and an 

15 estimated 90 percent have a diagnosable mental 

16 health condition. 

17 (6) Annually, approximately 4,600 youth die as 

18 a result of suicide and another 156,000 youth ages 

19 10 to 24 are treated for self-inflicted injuries at 

20 emergency rooms. 

21 (7) The overwhelming majority of individuals 

22 including teens, who attempt suicide, have one or 

23 more psychiatric or mental health conditions. 


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1 (8) Suicide prevention and awareness efforts 

2 are key in combating this often preventable loss of 

3 life. 

4 SEC. 3. TRAINING TEACHERS AND SCHOOL PROFES5 SIONALS IN UNDERSTANDING MENTAL 

6 HEALTH CONDITIONS IN CHILDREN. 

7 (a) IN GENERAL.—Part A of title IV of the Elemen8 tary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 

9 7131 et seq.) is amended by adding at the end the fol10 lowing: 

11 ‘‘Subpart 3—Training Teachers and School Profes12 sionals in Understanding Mental Health Condi13 tions in Children 

14 ‘‘SEC. 4131. PROGRAM AUTHORIZED. 

15 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall award 

16 grants to eligible State educational agencies to enable such 

17 agencies to award subgrants to eligible local educational 

18 agencies to support an existing, or develop a new, program 

19 that will educate teachers, school personnel, and special20 ized instructional support personnel on mental health con21 ditions in children, including the causes, symptoms, and 

22 impact on learning. 

23 ‘‘(b) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 

24 ‘‘(1) ELIGIBLE LOCAL EDUCATIONAL AGEN25 CY.—The term ‘eligible local educational agency’ 


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1 means a local educational agency or a local edu2 cational agency in partnership with a mental health 

3 organization, family advocacy organization, or com4 munity nonprofit organization. 

5 ‘‘(2) ELIGIBLE STATE EDUCATIONAL AGEN6 CY.—The term ‘eligible State educational agency’ 

7 means a State educational agency or a State edu8 cational agency in partnership with a mental health 

9 organization, family advocacy organization, or com10 munity nonprofit organization. 

11 ‘‘(3) SCHOOL PERSONNEL.—The term ‘school 

12 personnel’ means administrators, administrative 

13 staff, custodial staff, cafeteria staff, transportation 

14 staff, and other school-employed staff who interact 

15 with students. 

16 ‘‘(4) SPECIALIZED INSTRUCTIONAL SUPPORT

17 PERSONNEL.—The term ‘specialized instructional 

18 support personnel’ means school counselors, school 

19 social workers, school psychologists, and other quali20 fied professional personnel involved in providing as21 sessment, diagnosis, counseling, educational, thera22 peutic, and other necessary services (including re23 lated services, as defined in section 602 of the Indi24 viduals with Disabilities Education Act) as part of 

25 a comprehensive program to meet student needs. 


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1 ‘‘SEC. 4132. GRANTS. 

2 ‘‘(a) APPLICATIONS.—An eligible State educational 

3 agency that desires to receive a grant under this section 

4 shall submit an application to the Secretary at such time, 

5 in such manner, and accompanied by such information as 

6 the Secretary may require. 

7 ‘‘(b) ACTIVITIES.—An eligible State educational 

8 agency that receives a grant under this section shall use 

9 the grant funds to award subgrants to eligible local edu10 cational agencies in accordance with subsection (c). 

11 ‘‘SEC. 4133. SUBGRANTS. 

12 ‘‘(a) APPLICATION.— 

13 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—An eligible local edu14 cational agency that desires to receive a subgrant 

15 under this section shall submit an application to the 

16 eligible State educational agency at such time, in 

17 such manner, and accompanied by such information 

18 as the eligible State educational agency may require. 

19 ‘‘(2) DESCRIPTION OF UTILIZATION.—An appli20 cation submitted under subparagraph (A) shall in21 clude a description of how the local educational 

22 agency will utilize school counselors, school psycholo23 gists, school social workers, or community organiza24 tions with expertise in the lived experience of mental 

25 illness and suicide prevention efforts, in developing 


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1 and conducting the training described in paragraph 

2 (2). 

3 ‘‘(b) TRAINING.— 

4 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—An eligible local edu5 cational agency that receives a subgrant under this 

6 section shall support an existing training program 

7 developed by either the school or a community orga8 nization with expertise in the lived experience of 

9 mental illness and suicide prevention, or develop a 

10 new program, in which school counselors, school psy11 chologists, and school social workers develop and 

12 provide training to teachers, school personnel, and 

13 specialized instructional support personnel in under14 standing the mental health needs of children. Such 

15 program shall include an annual in-service training 

16 program to enable such teachers, school personnel, 

17 and specialized instructional support personnel— 

18 ‘‘(A) to better understand mental health 

19 conditions and the early warning signs in chil20 dren and adolescents; 

21 ‘‘(B) to best communicate with families 

22 about these concerns; 

23 ‘‘(C) to identify classroom strategies for 

24 working effectively with children with mental 

25 health conditions; and 


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1 ‘‘(D) to understand school specific infor2 mation, including, as appropriate, how schools 

3 are— 

4 ‘‘(i) assisting in linking students to 

5 supports and services; and 

6 ‘‘(ii) providing information on the 

7 school’s mental health services and sup8 ports, including school social work and 

9 psychological services, as well as the 

10 school’s referral process for additional 

11 school-linked services connecting to com12 munity mental health professionals. 

13 ‘‘(2) FAMILY PERSPECTIVE.—A training pro14 gram described in subparagraph (A) shall incor15 porate family and parent perspectives. 

16 ‘‘(3) TRAINING PROGRAM FOR ALL AREAS OF

17 THE STATE AND FOR PERSONNEL SERVING INDIAN

18 CHILDREN.— 

19 ‘‘(A) URBAN AND RURAL AREAS.—In 

20 awarding subgrants under this section, a State 

21 educational agency shall ensure training pro22 grams described under subparagraph (A) are 

23 available for teachers, school personnel, and 

24 specialized instructional support personnel in 

25 urban and rural areas across the State. 


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1 ‘‘(B) INDIAN CHILDREN.—A State edu2 cational agency that receives a grant under this 

3 section shall award subgrants to eligible local 

4 educational agencies described in section 

5 6112(b)(1) and Indian tribes described in sec6 tion 6112(c). 

7 ‘‘(4) SCHOOL-BASED MENTAL HEALTH SERV8 ICES PROVIDERS.—A training program described in 

9 subparagraph (A) shall include a school-based men10 tal health service provider and a community organi11 zation with expertise in the lived experience of men12 tal illness or suicide prevention, whenever possible, 

13 to maximize training outcomes and facilitate coordi14 nated referrals when more intensive community serv15 ices are needed. 

16 ‘‘(c) GUIDELINES.—In carrying out a training pro17 gram described in paragraph (2), an eligible local edu18 cational agency may— 

19 ‘‘(1) report to the Secretary on the agency’s 

20 commitment to students with mental illness and sui21 cide prevention efforts through innovative programs, 

22 resource development, and the development of a 

23 mental health curriculum and activities that focus on 

24 raising awareness within schools of early onset menVerDate Sep 11 2014 23:37 Mar 08, 2016 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H4716.IH H4716

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1 tal health conditions and linking students with effec2 tive mental health services and supports; 

3 ‘‘(2) describe existing school-community part4 nerships that provide effective clinical services to 

5 students with severe mental health needs; 

6 ‘‘(3) describe how the agency will measure out7 comes, as described in subsection (d), specifically for 

8 students with serious mental health needs; 

9 ‘‘(4) describe how the training program will be 

10 effective for teachers, school personnel, and special11 ized instructional support personnel in culturally and 

12 linguistically diverse school communities; and 

13 ‘‘(5) describe any strong links to the community 

14 mental health system and community mental health 

15 providers through interagency collaboration, includ16 ing documenting— 

17 ‘‘(A) the extent of the interagency collabo18 ration (including the engagement in joint activi19 ties); and 

20 ‘‘(B) the dates during which the collabora21 tion has been in effect and any outcomes that 

22 have been achieved as a result of this activity. 

23 ‘‘SEC. 4134. EVALUATIONS AND MEASURES OF OUTCOMES. 

24 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall develop 

25 measures of outcomes for eligible local educational agenVerDate Sep 11 2014 23:46 Mar 07, 2016 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00009 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H4716.IH H4716

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1 cies that receive subgrants under this section, in order to 

2 evaluate the effectiveness of programs carried out under 

3 the subgrant. 

4 ‘‘(b) OUTCOMES.—The measures of outcomes de5 scribed in paragraph (1) shall include, at a minimum, pro6 visions to evaluate— 

7 ‘‘(1) the effectiveness of comprehensive school 

8 mental health training and suicide prevention pro9 grams established under this section; 

10 ‘‘(2) the effectiveness of formal partnership 

11 linkages among child and family serving institutions, 

12 community support systems, and the educational 

13 system, if applicable; 

14 ‘‘(3) the effectiveness of the training program 

15 in culturally and linguistically diverse school commu16 nities; 

17 ‘‘(4) the improvement in understanding mental 

18 health conditions with the purpose of providing a 

19 safe and supportive learning environment among 

20 school staff, students, and parents; 

21 ‘‘(5) the improvement in— 

22 ‘‘(A) case-finding of students in need of 

23 more intensive services; 

24 ‘‘(B) effective communication with fami25 lies; and 


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1 ‘‘(C) referral of identified students with 

2 mental health related concerns for an evalua3 tion for services and supports; 

4 ‘‘(6) the reduction in the number of students 

5 with mental health conditions and those identified as 

6 children with disabilities under the emotional dis7 turbance and other health impairment categories of 

8 the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act who 

9 are suspended and an increase in the number of 

10 such students who graduate from high school; and 

11 ‘‘(7) the increased successful matriculation to 

12 postsecondary school. 

13 ‘‘SEC. 4135. DATA COLLECTION COMPONENT. 

14 ‘‘(a) ANNUAL DATA SUBMISSIONS AND REPORTS.— 

15 ‘‘(1) DATA SUBMISSION.— 

16 ‘‘(A) LOCAL EDUCATIONAL AGENCIES.— 

17 An eligible local educational agency that re18 ceives a subgrant under this section shall annu19 ally submit to the eligible State educational 

20 agency a report that includes data to evaluate 

21 the success of the program carried out by the 

22 eligible local educational agency. Such reports 

23 shall utilize the measures of outcomes described 

24 in subsection (d). 


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1 ‘‘(B) STATE EDUCATIONAL AGENCIES.—An 

2 eligible State educational agency that receives a 

3 grant under this section shall annually submit 

4 to the Secretary a report that includes data 

5 from the reports submitted to the agency from 

6 eligible local educational agencies pursuant to 

7 clause (i). 

8 ‘‘(2) REPORT TO CONGRESS.—Not later than 6 

9 months after the date the Secretary receives reports 

10 under subparagraph (A)(ii), the Secretary shall com11 pile the data in the reports and conduct a general 

12 analysis of the success of the programs carried out 

13 by the local educational agencies involved with 

14 subgrant funds received under this section. The Sec15 retary shall prepare a report containing the compila16 tion and general analysis, and submit the report to 

17 the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and 

18 Pensions of the Senate and the Committee on Edu19 cation and the Workforce of the House of Rep20 resentatives. 

21 ‘‘(b) EVALUATION AND REPORT.— 

22 ‘‘(1) EVALUATION.—Not later than 12 months 

23 after the end of the initial subgrant period for eligi24 ble local educational agencies under this section, the 

25 Secretary shall conduct an in-depth evaluation of the 


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1 success of the programs carried out by the local edu2 cational agencies with subgrant funds received under 

3 this section. 

4 ‘‘(2) REPORT TO CONGRESS.—The Secretary 

5 shall prepare a report containing the in-depth eval6 uation, and submit the report to the Committee on 

7 Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions of the Sen8 ate and the Committee on Education and the Work9 force of the House of Representatives. 

10 ‘‘SEC. 4136. TERMS AND COST OF THE GRANT. 

11 ‘‘There are authorized to be appropriated to carry out 

12 this section such sums as may be necessary for fiscal year 

13 2017 and each of the 4 succeeding fiscal years.’’. 

14 (b) TABLE OF CONTENTS.—The table of contents in 

15 section 2 of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act 

16 of 1965 is amended by inserting after the item relating 

17 to subpart 2 of part A of title IV the following: 

‘‘SUBPART 3—TRAINING TEACHERS AND SCHOOL PROFESSIONALS IN

UNDERSTANDING MENTAL HEALTH CONDITIONS IN CHILDREN

‘‘Sec. 4131. Program authorized. 

‘‘Sec. 4132. Grants. 

‘‘Sec. 4133. Subgrants. 

‘‘Sec. 4134. Evaluations and measures of outcome. 

‘‘Sec. 4135. Data collection component. 

‘‘Sec. 4136. Terms and cost of the grant.’’. 

Æ 


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