I 

116TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 3778 

To amend the Public Health Service Act to authorize certain grants (for 

youth suicide early intervention and prevention strategies) to be used 

for school personnel in elementary and secondary schools and students 

in secondary schools to receive student suicide awareness and prevention 

training, and for other purposes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

JULY 16, 2019 

Mr. CLEAVER (for himself, Mr. LONG, Mrs. WATSON COLEMAN, Mr. CUMMINGS, Ms. WILSON of Florida, Mr. HASTINGS, Mr. THOMPSON of Mississippi, Ms. JOHNSON of Texas, Ms. LEE of California, Mrs. MCBATH, 

Mr. FITZPATRICK, Ms. KELLY of Illinois, Ms. WILD, Mr. HORSFORD, Mr. 

BUTTERFIELD, Ms. CLARKE of New York, Mr. ROSE of New York, and 

Mr. MEEKS) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Energy and Commerce, and in addition to the Committee on 

Education and Labor, for a period to be subsequently determined by the 

Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within 

the jurisdiction of the committee concerned 

A BILL 

To amend the Public Health Service Act to authorize certain 

grants (for youth suicide early intervention and prevention strategies) to be used for school personnel in elementary and secondary schools and students in secondary 

schools to receive student suicide awareness and prevention training, 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, 


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1 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

2 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Cady Housh and 

3 Gemesha Thomas Student Suicide Prevention Act of 

4 2019’’. 

5 SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 

6 Congress finds the following: 

7 (1) In the last 12 years, suicide has been on the 

8 increase, moving up to the second leading cause of 

9 death for young people between the ages of 10 and 

10 24 with about 157,000 youth treated at emergency 

11 departments for self-inflicted injuries. 

12 (2) According to the 2017 Youth Risk Behav13 iors Survey of the Centers for Disease Control and 

14 Prevention, 16 percent of high school students re15 ported seriously considering suicide, and 8 percent 

16 reporting attempting to take their lives during that 

17 period. 

18 (3) Eighty percent of students show warning 

19 signs before attempting suicide. 

20 (4) Prevention and awareness training will 

21 equip individuals to become aware of the warning 

22 signs of suicide, identify students in crisis, and pro23 vide resources for help. 

24 (5) Research shows that inquiring about suicide 

25 ideation, or discussing suicide in terms of recog26 nizing risk factors and prevention methods— 


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1 (A) does not increase the chance of suicide; 

2 and 

3 (B) in fact, can lower the risk of suicide. 

4 (6) Sexual minority youth (LGBTQ) are almost 

5 five times more likely to have attempted suicide com6 pared to their heterosexual peers. 

7 SEC. 3. SENSE OF CONGRESS. 

8 It is the sense of the Congress that— 

9 (1) student suicide awareness, prevention train10 ing, and response materials should be available to all 

11 school personnel, including administrative personnel, 

12 teachers, counselors, and other school leaders; 

13 (2) States should give autonomy to each local 

14 educational agency to— 

15 (A) adopt a policy with respect to student 

16 suicide awareness and prevention; and 

17 (B) work collaboratively with local organi18 zations, youth mental health experts, health 

19 care providers, and the Secretary of Health and 

20 Human Services to implement training for 

21 school personnel and students, including by 

22 sharing and disseminating— 

23 (i) training materials and resources; 

24 and 


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1 (ii) information that is evidence-based 

2 or promising on student suicide prevention; 

3 (3) the Secretary of Health and Human Serv4 ices should identify the highest unmet needs, specifi5 cally with students of color; 

6 (4) schools should offer to students in grades 9 

7 through 12, with the support of organizations with 

8 demonstrated expertise in cultural competency, sui9 cide awareness, response, and prevention training 

10 with an ‘‘opt out’’ component to be signed by par11 ents, guardians, or students over the age of 18; 

12 (5) students who receive such training should 

13 not be taught to be counselors, but rather should be 

14 educated on how to— 

15 (A) recognize signs of suicide and depres16 sion; 

17 (B) report these signs to appropriate staff; 

18 and 

19 (C) identify sources of care and support; 

20 and 

21 (6) schools should utilize school-based mental 

22 health professionals and other community partner23 ships. 


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1 SEC. 4. STUDENT SUICIDE AWARENESS AND PREVENTION 

2 TRAINING. 

3 (a) ADDITIONAL AUTHORIZED USE OF GRANT

4 FUNDS.—Section 520E(a) of the Public Health Service 

5 Act (42 U.S.C. 290bb–36(a)) is amended— 

6 (1) in paragraph (4), by striking ‘‘and’’ at the 

7 end; 

8 (2) in paragraph (5), by striking the period at 

9 the end and inserting ‘‘; and’’; and 

10 (3) by adding at the end the following: 

11 ‘‘(6) establish and implement a statewide policy 

12 requiring school personnel in elementary and sec13 ondary schools and students in secondary schools to 

14 complete student emotional well-being, mental 

15 health, and suicide awareness and prevention train16 ing in accordance with subsection (d).’’. 

17 (b) TRAINING REQUIREMENTS.—Section 520E of the 

18 Public Health Service Act (42 U.S.C. 290bb–36(a)), as 

19 amended by subsection (a), is further amended— 

20 (1) by redesignating subsections (d) through 

21 (m) as subsections (e) through (n), respectively; and 

22 (2) by inserting after subsection (c) the fol23 lowing: 

24 ‘‘(d) REQUIREMENTS FOR STUDENT SUICIDE

25 AWARENESS AND TRAINING PROGRAMS.— 


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1 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—As a condition on receipt of 

2 funds under subsection (a)(6), an applicant shall 

3 agree to use the funds to establish or implement a 

4 statewide policy— 

5 ‘‘(A) requiring school personnel in elemen6 tary and secondary schools and students in sec7 ondary schools to complete student emotional 

8 well-being, mental health, and suicide awareness 

9 and prevention training that— 

10 ‘‘(i) includes at least one classroom 

11 session each school year; 

12 ‘‘(ii) is evidence-based or evidence-in13 formed; and 

14 ‘‘(iii) includes training on— 

15 ‘‘(I) the warning signs of, and 

16 elevated risk factors for, poor emo17 tional well-being, mental health issues, 

18 and suicide of oneself and of others; 

19 ‘‘(II) suggested responses to such 

20 warning signs; 

21 ‘‘(III) further suicide awareness 

22 and prevention resources; and 

23 ‘‘(IV) the method and manner of 

24 making an appropriate referral to a 


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1 school-based mental health services 

2 provider; and 

3 ‘‘(B) requiring, with respect to such school 

4 personnel, that such training include training 

5 on— 

6 ‘‘(i) cultural competency and intersec7 tionality sensitivity; and 

8 ‘‘(ii) an overview of applicable Fed9 eral, State, and local law concerning re10 porting requirements. 

11 ‘‘(2) DEFINITIONS.—As used in subsection 

12 (a)(6) and this subsection: 

13 ‘‘(A) The term ‘evidence-based’ means— 

14 ‘‘(i) demonstrating a rationale based 

15 on high-quality research findings or posi16 tive evaluation that the program or train17 ing— 

18 ‘‘(I) is likely to improve relevant 

19 outcomes; and 

20 ‘‘(II) includes ongoing efforts to 

21 examine the effects of the program or 

22 training; or 

23 ‘‘(ii) supported by documentation 

24 showing that the program or training— 


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1 ‘‘(I) has been effectively imple2 mented in the past, multiple times, in 

3 accordance with scientific standards of 

4 evidence; and 

5 ‘‘(II) demonstrates a consistent 

6 pattern of credible and positive ef7 fects. 

8 ‘‘(B) The term ‘school-based mental health 

9 services provider’ includes a State-licensed or 

10 State-certified school counselor, school psycholo11 gist, school social worker, or other State-li12 censed or certified mental health professional 

13 qualified under State law to provide mental 

14 health services to children and adolescents. 

15 ‘‘(C) The term ‘school personnel’ means— 

16 ‘‘(i) principals or other heads of a 

17 school; other professional instructional 

18 staff (such as staff involved in curriculum 

19 development, staff development, or oper20 ating library, media, and computer cen21 ters); specialized instructional support per22 sonnel such as school counselors, school so23 cial workers, and school psychologists; and 

24 other qualified professional personnel, such 

25 as school nurses, speech language patholoVerDate Sep 11 2014 03:13 Jul 25, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3778.IH H3778

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1 gists, and school librarians, involved in 

2 providing assessment, diagnosis, coun3 seling, and educational, therapeutic, and 

4 other necessary services; and 

5 ‘‘(ii) other school employees and con6 tractors who interact with students, includ7 ing bus drivers, cafeteria workers, coaches, 

8 janitorial staff, and after-school program 

9 employees.’’. 

10 (c) FUNDING.—Subsection (n) of section 520E of the 

11 Public Health Service Act (42 U.S.C. 290bb–36), as re12 designated by subsection (b)(2), is amended— 

13 (1) by striking ‘‘For the purpose’’ and inserting 

14 the following: 

15 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—For the purpose’’; 

16 (2) by striking ‘‘2022’’ and inserting ‘‘2025’’; 

17 and 

18 (3) by adding at the end the following: 

19 ‘‘(2) ALLOCATION.—Of the amounts made 

20 available to carry out this section for a fiscal year, 

21 not less than 15 percent of such amounts shall be 

22 used for grants or cooperative agreements to carry 

23 out subsection (a)(6) (to establish and implement a 

24 statewide policy requiring school personnel in ele25 mentary and secondary schools and students in secVerDate Sep 11 2014 03:13 Jul 25, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00009 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3778.IH H3778

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1 ondary schools to complete student emotional well2 being, mental health, and suicide awareness and pre3 vention training).’’. 

Æ 


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