I 

117TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 6214 

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 HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

DECEMBER 9, 2021 

Ms. CLARK of Massachusetts (for herself, Mrs. HAYES, Mr. LIEU, Ms. 

SA ́NCHEZ, and Ms. UNDERWOOD) introduced the following bill; which was 

referred to the Committee on Education and Labor 

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: 

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

9 or will have, a serious mental illness. 


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1 (2) 11 percent of youth have a mood disorder, 

2 10 percent of youth have a behavior or conduct dis3 order, and 8 percent of youth have an anxiety dis4 order. 

5 (3) 50 percent of all lifetime cases of mental ill6 ness begin by age 14. 37 percent of students with 

7 a mental health condition age 14 and older drop out 

8 of school, which is the highest school dropout rate 

9 of any disability group. 

10 (4) 70 percent of youth in State and local juve11 nile systems have a mental illness. 

12 (5) Youth with access to mental health services 

13 in school-based health centers are 10 times more 

14 likely to seek care for mental health or substance 

15 abuse than youth without access. 

16 (6) The leading counseling, guidance, and men17 tal health organizations, including the American 

18 School Counselor Association, the National Associa19 tion of School Psychologists, the National Associa20 tion of Social Workers, and the School Social Work 

21 Association of America, recommend that schools 

22 maintain— 

23 (A) a maximum student to school coun24 selor ratio of 250 to 1; 


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1 (B) a maximum student to school psychol2 ogist ratio of 500 to 1; and 

3 (C) a maximum student to school social 

4 worker ratio of 250 to 1. 

5 SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS. 

6 In this Act: 

7 (1) ESEA DEFINITIONS.—The terms ‘‘elemen8 tary school’’, ‘‘local educational agency’’, ‘‘secondary 

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

10 have the meanings given the terms in section 8101 

11 of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 

12 1965 (20 U.S.C. 7801). 

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

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

15 2211(b) of the Elementary and Secondary Edu16 cation Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 6631(b)). 

17 (3) SCHOOL-BASED MENTAL HEALTH SERVICES

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

19 services provider’’ includes a State-licensed or State 

20 certified school counselor, school psychologist, school 

21 social worker, community-based mental health pro22 vider organization, or other State licensed or cer23 tified mental health professional qualified under 

24 State law to provide mental health services to chil25 dren and adolescents. 


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1 (4) SECRETARY.—The term ‘‘Secretary’’ means 

2 the Secretary of Education. 

3 SEC. 4. GRANTS AND SUBGRANTS. 

4 (a) PROGRAM AUTHORIZED.— 

5 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall award 

6 formula grants, from allotments made under sub7 section (b), to State educational agencies to enable 

8 the State educational agencies to award subgrants to 

9 local educational agencies in order to increase access 

10 to school-based mental health services providers at 

11 high-need schools served by the local educational 

12 agencies. 

13 (2) DURATION.—A grant awarded under this 

14 section shall be for a 5-year period and may be re15 newed for additional 5-year periods upon a showing 

16 of adequate progress on meeting the goals of the 

17 grant, as determined by the Secretary. 

18 (b) FORMULA GRANTS.— 

19 (1) IN GENERAL.— 

20 (A) FORMULA.—From the total amount 

21 made available under section 5 for a fiscal year, 

22 the Secretary shall allot to each such State that 

23 submits a complete application an amount that 

24 bears the same relationship to such total 

25 amount as the amount received under part A of 


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1 title I of the Elementary and Secondary Edu2 cation Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 6311 et seq.) by 

3 such State for such fiscal year bears to the 

4 amount received under such part for such fiscal 

5 year by all States. 

6 (B) SMALL STATE MINIMUM.—No State 

7 receiving an allotment under this paragraph 

8 shall receive less than one-half of 1 percent of 

9 the total amount allotted under this paragraph. 

10 (2) MATCHING REQUIREMENTS.—In order to 

11 receive an allotment under this paragraph, a State 

12 shall agree to provide matching funds, in an amount 

13 equal to 20 percent of the amount of the allotment, 

14 toward the costs of the activities carried out under 

15 the grant. 

16 (c) APPLICATION.—A State educational agency desir17 ing a grant under this section shall submit an application 

18 at such time, in such manner, and containing such infor19 mation as the Secretary may require. Each application 

20 shall include, at a minimum— 

21 (1) a description of how the State educational 

22 agency will award subgrants to local educational 

23 agencies under subsection (d); 

24 (2) a description of how the State educational 

25 agency will disseminate, in a timely manner, inforVerDate Sep 11 2014 17:10 Dec 17, 2021 Jkt 029200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H6214.IH H6214

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1 mation regarding the subgrants and the application 

2 process for such subgrants to local educational agen3 cies; and 

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

5 students to school-based mental health services pro6 viders in each public elementary school and sec7 ondary school in the State, in the aggregate and 

8 disaggregated to include— 

9 (A) the ratios of students to school coun10 selors, school psychologists, and school social 

11 workers; and 

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

13 other school-based mental health services pro14 viders not described in subparagraph (A), in the 

15 aggregate and disaggregated by type of pro16 vider. 

17 (d) SUBGRANTS.— 

18 (1) IN GENERAL.—A State educational agency 

19 receiving a grant under this section shall use grant 

20 funds to award subgrants, on a competitive basis, to 

21 local educational agencies in the State, to enable the 

22 local educational agencies to— 

23 (A) employ school-based mental health 

24 services providers or contract with community 

25 mental health centers to work at high-need 


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1 schools served by the local educational agency; 

2 and 

3 (B) work toward effectively staffing the 

4 high-need schools of the State with school-based 

5 mental health services providers, including by 

6 meeting the recommended maximum ratios of— 

7 (i) 250 students per school counselor; 

8 (ii) 500 students per school psycholo9 gist; and 

10 (iii) 250 students per school social 

11 worker. 

12 (2) PRIORITY.—In awarding subgrants under 

13 this subsection, the State shall give priority to local 

14 educational agencies that serve a significant number 

15 of high-need schools. 

16 (3) APPLICATION.—A local educational agency 

17 desiring a subgrant under this subsection shall sub18 mit an application to the State educational agency 

19 at such time, in such manner, and containing such 

20 information as the State educational agency may re21 quire, including information on how the local edu22 cational agency will prioritize assisting high-need 

23 schools with the largest numbers or percentages of 

24 students from low-income families. 

25 (e) GRANT AND SUBGRANT REQUIREMENTS.— 


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1 (1) SUPPLEMENT, NOT SUPPLANT.—Amounts 

2 provided under a grant or subgrant under this sec3 tion shall supplement, and not supplant, any other 

4 funds available to a State educational agency or 

5 local educational agency for school-based mental 

6 health services. 

7 (2) COMBINING FUNDS ALLOWED.—A State 

8 educational agency receiving a grant under this sec9 tion may combine funds made available under this 

10 section with State or local funds to carry out the ac11 tivities described in subsection (d)(1). 

12 (f) REPORTS.— 

13 (1) LOCAL EDUCATIONAL AGENCIES.—A local 

14 educational agency that receives a subgrant under 

15 this section shall submit a report to the State on the 

16 activities carried out with the subgrant funds. 

17 (2) STATE.—A State educational agency receiv18 ing a grant under this section shall annually prepare 

19 and submit a report to the Secretary that— 

20 (A) evaluates the progress made in achiev21 ing the purposes of the grant; 

22 (B) includes the most recent student to 

23 provider ratios, in the aggregate and 

24 disaggregated as provided in subsection (c)(3), 

25 for public elementary schools and secondary 


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1 schools in the State that were assisted under 

2 the grant under this section; and 

3 (C) describes any other resources needed 

4 to meet the required recommended maximum 

5 student to school-based mental health services 

6 provider ratios. 

7 (3) PUBLIC AVAILABILITY.—The Secretary 

8 shall make all reports submitted under this sub9 section available to the public, including through the 

10 website of the Department. 

11 SEC. 5. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS. 

12 In order to provide school-based mental health serv13 ices providers in high-need schools in the States, there are 

14 authorized to be appropriated to carry out this Act— 

15 (1) $5,000,000,000 for fiscal year 2022; and 

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

17 succeeding fiscal year. 

Æ 


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