II 

116TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. 1281 

To amend the Higher Education Act of 1965 to provide grants for institutions 

of higher education to prevent substance misuse, and for other purposes. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

MAY 2, 2019 

Mr. TESTER (for himself, Mrs. CAPITO, and Ms. HASSAN) introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on 

Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions 

A BILL 

To amend the Higher Education Act of 1965 to provide 

grants for institutions of higher education to prevent 

substance misuse, 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 ‘‘Healthier Students for 

5 Stronger Campuses Act’’. 


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1 SEC. 2. SUBSTANCE MISUSE PREVENTION AND TREATMENT 

2 GRANTS FOR INSTITUTIONS OF HIGHER EDU3 CATION. 

4 Section 120(e) of the Higher Education Act of 1965 

5 (20 U.S.C. 1011i(e)) is amended to read as follows: 

6 ‘‘(e) SUBSTANCE MISUSE PREVENTION AND TREAT7 MENT GRANTS FOR INSTITUTIONS OF HIGHER EDU8 CATION.— 

9 ‘‘(1) PURPOSES.—The purposes of this grant 

10 program are to— 

11 ‘‘(A) address the effect of substance mis12 use on students enrolled in higher education; 

13 ‘‘(B) prevent students enrolled in higher 

14 education from developing a substance use dis15 order; 

16 ‘‘(C) educate faculty and other staff about 

17 the warning signs of substance use disorders 

18 and how to help students who are affected by 

19 such disorders; and 

20 ‘‘(D) identify and promote evidence-based 

21 and promising practices for helping to prevent 

22 and address substance use disorders among stu23 dents enrolled in higher education. 

24 ‘‘(2) DEFINITIONS.—In this subsection: 

25 ‘‘(A) EVIDENCE-BASED.—The term ‘evi26 dence-based’, when used with respect to a proVerDate Sep 11 2014 04:19 May 04, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1281.IS S1281

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1 gram or practice, means a program or practice 

2 that— 

3 ‘‘(i) is demonstrated to be effective 

4 when implemented with fidelity; 

5 ‘‘(ii) is based on a clearly articulated 

6 and empirically supported theory; 

7 ‘‘(iii) has measurable outcomes rel8 evant to substance use disorder prevention, 

9 treatment, and recovery, including a de10 tailed description of the outcomes produced 

11 in a particular population; 

12 ‘‘(iv) has been scientifically tested and 

13 proven effective through randomized con14 trol studies or comparison group studies; 

15 and 

16 ‘‘(v) has the ability to replicate and 

17 scale. 

18 ‘‘(B) PROMISING.—The term ‘promising’, 

19 when used with respect to a program or prac20 tice, means a program or practice that— 

21 ‘‘(i) is demonstrated to be effective 

22 based on positive outcomes relevant to sub23 stance use disorder prevention or treat24 ment from one or more objective, inde25 pendent, and scientifically valid evaluaVerDate Sep 11 2014 04:19 May 04, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1281.IS S1281

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1 tions, as documented in writing to the Sec2 retaries; and 

3 ‘‘(ii) will be evaluated through a well4 designed and rigorous study, as described 

5 in subparagraph (A)(iv). 

6 ‘‘(C) SECRETARIES.—The term ‘Secre7 taries’ means the Secretary of Education and 

8 the Secretary of Health and Human Services 

9 (acting through the Assistant Secretary for 

10 Mental Health and Substance Use). 

11 ‘‘(D) SUBSTANCE USE.—The term ‘sub12 stance use’ may include the misuse or abuse of 

13 alcohol, prescription opioids, methamphetamine, 

14 or other legal or illegal substances. 

15 ‘‘(3) PROGRAM AUTHORIZED.— 

16 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The Secretaries, in 

17 accordance with the interagency agreement de18 scribed in paragraph (4), may award, on a com19 petitive basis, grants to institutions of higher 

20 education, or consortia of institutions of higher 

21 education, with regional high incidences of sub22 stance use disorders, overdoses, and deaths, in 

23 order to prevent and address the effects of sub24 stance use on the campuses of the institutions 

25 of higher education. 


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1 ‘‘(B) DURATION.—A grant under this sub2 section shall be for a period of not more than 

3 5 years, and may be renewed for an additional 

4 2 years if satisfactory progress is made in pre5 venting and reducing substance use disorders as 

6 described in paragraph (5)(A). 

7 ‘‘(C) RESERVATION FOR RURAL AREAS.— 

8 The Secretaries shall ensure that at least 25 

9 percent of funds are awarded to rural-serving 

10 institutions of higher education, as defined in 

11 section 861. 

12 ‘‘(4) INTERAGENCY AGREEMENT.—The Sec13 retary of Education and the Secretary of Health and 

14 Human Services, acting through the Assistant Sec15 retary of Mental Health and Substance Use, shall 

16 jointly administer the program under this subsection 

17 in accordance with such terms as the Secretaries set 

18 forth in an interagency agreement. Such interagency 

19 agreement shall include a description of the respec20 tive roles and responsibilities of the Secretaries (both 

21 jointly and separately). 

22 ‘‘(5) APPLICATION.—An institution of higher 

23 education, or consortium of institutions of higher 

24 education, desiring a grant under paragraph (3)(A) 

25 shall submit an application at such time and in such 


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1 manner as the Secretaries may require. Such appli2 cation shall include— 

3 ‘‘(A) a description of the impact of sub4 stance use disorders on students enrolled in 

5 each participating institution of higher edu6 cation, including— 

7 ‘‘(i) the number of overdoses in the 

8 past year; 

9 ‘‘(ii) the number of deaths related to 

10 substance use in the past year; 

11 ‘‘(iii) the degree to which students 

12 have substance use disorders, if such infor13 mation is available; and 

14 ‘‘(iv) other indicators or information 

15 related to the most prevalent substance use 

16 in the region that such institution feels is 

17 necessary to fully describe the impact of 

18 the substance use on students; 

19 ‘‘(B) an assurance that the institution of 

20 higher education, or consortia of institutions, 

21 has convened a taskforce to address the impact 

22 of the most prevalent substance use in the re23 gion on students, which shall include— 

24 ‘‘(i) faculty and other staff; 


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1 ‘‘(ii) current and former students, in2 cluding students impacted by substance 

3 use disorders; 

4 ‘‘(iii) staff from campus health cen5 ters, if the institution operates campus 

6 health centers; 

7 ‘‘(iv) representatives from campus dis8 ability support services offices and student 

9 access support offices, if such offices exist 

10 at the institution; 

11 ‘‘(v) representatives from fraternities 

12 and sororities, if such organizations exist 

13 at the institution; 

14 ‘‘(vi) area local educational agencies; 

15 ‘‘(vii) local nonprofit organizations 

16 specializing in substance use treatment 

17 and prevention, including drug-free com18 munities grantees under chapter 2 of sub19 title A of title I of the Anti-Drug Abuse 

20 Act of 1988 (21 U.S.C. 1521 et seq.); 

21 ‘‘(viii) local hospitals, physicians, or 

22 other medical professionals; 

23 ‘‘(ix) local or campus law enforcement 

24 entities; and 


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1 ‘‘(x) other stakeholders that the insti2 tution or consortium chooses to include; 

3 ‘‘(C) a plan developed by the taskforce de4 scribed in subparagraph (B) to use funds in ac5 cordance with paragraph (6) to address the im6 pact of substance use on students enrolled in 

7 higher education, which shall include a descrip8 tion of— 

9 ‘‘(i) the goals of the project, which 

10 shall include decreasing the number of stu11 dents with substance use disorders; and 

12 ‘‘(ii) how the institution or consortium 

13 will— 

14 ‘‘(I) use funds in accordance with 

15 paragraph (6), including the evidence 

16 base for proposed activities; 

17 ‘‘(II) coordinate funds with other 

18 programs designed to prevent and ad19 dress substance use disorders among 

20 students; and 

21 ‘‘(III) sustain grant activities be22 yond the grant period, including 

23 methods for continuous improvement 

24 of grant activities; and 


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1 ‘‘(D) an assurance that the institution or 

2 consortium will continue to convene the 

3 taskforce described in subparagraph (B) peri4 odically to improve institutional programming 

5 and policy related to substance use disorders. 

6 ‘‘(6) USES OF FUNDS.— 

7 ‘‘(A) REQUIRED ACTIVITIES.—An institu8 tion of higher education, or consortium of insti9 tutions of higher education, receiving a grant 

10 under paragraph (3) shall use grant funds for 

11 evidence-based or promising interventions de12 signed to address and prevent substance use 

13 disorders among students enrolled in higher 

14 education. 

15 ‘‘(B) ALLOWABLE ACTIVITIES.—The activi16 ties described in subparagraph (A) may in17 clude— 

18 ‘‘(i) education efforts to provide stu19 dents enrolled in higher education with in20 formation on the impact of substance use 

21 disorders; 

22 ‘‘(ii) recovery services for such stu23 dents with substance use disorders, which 

24 may include recovery dorms that offer 


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1 sober living along with substance use treat2 ment services; 

3 ‘‘(iii) treatment or referrals to treat4 ment for such students with substance use 

5 disorders; 

6 ‘‘(iv) institution-wide prevention ef7 forts, which may include public service an8 nouncements; 

9 ‘‘(v) efforts to identify programs tar10 geting populations of students, such as 

11 student athletes, fraternity members, so12 rority members, and others enrolled in 

13 higher education, with an increased risk 

14 for substance use disorders; 

15 ‘‘(vi) mental or behavioral health 

16 counseling or academic counseling services 

17 for students enrolled in higher education 

18 who are affected by substance use dis19 orders; and 

20 ‘‘(vii) other programs designed to ad21 dress or prevent substance use disorders 

22 among students enrolled in higher edu23 cation. 

24 ‘‘(7) SUPPLEMENT NOT SUPPLANT.—Funds 

25 made available under this subsection shall be used to 


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1 supplement and not supplant other Federal, State, 

2 and local funds available to the institution to carry 

3 out the activities described in paragraph (6). 

4 ‘‘(8) MATCHING REQUIREMENT.—An institution 

5 of higher education, or consortium of institutions of 

6 higher education, receiving a grant under paragraph 

7 (3) shall provide, from non-Federal sources, not less 

8 than 20 percent of matching funds, which may be in 

9 cash or in-kind contributions. 

10 ‘‘(9) NATIONAL ACTIVITIES.— 

11 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The Secretaries may 

12 reserve not more than 5 percent of funds made 

13 available under paragraph (10) to— 

14 ‘‘(i) conduct a rigorous, independent 

15 evaluation of each grant funded under this 

16 Act, particularly its impact on the indica17 tors described in paragraph (5)(A); 

18 ‘‘(ii) disseminate and promote the uti19 lization of evidence-based or promising 

20 practices regarding substance use disorder 

21 prevention and treatment for students en22 rolled in higher education; and 

23 ‘‘(iii) provide technical assistance to 

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1 sortia receiving a grant under paragraph 

2 (3). 

3 ‘‘(B) ROLE FOR IES DIRECTOR.—The Di4 rector of the Institute of Education Sciences 

5 shall carry out the roles and responsibilities 

6 under this paragraph that are assigned to the 

7 Secretary of Education in accordance with the 

8 interagency agreement under paragraph (4). 

9 ‘‘(10) AUTHORIZATIONS OF APPROPRIATIONS.— 

10 There are authorized to be appropriated to carry out 

11 this subsection $100,000,000 for fiscal year 2020 

12 and each of the 5 succeeding fiscal years.’’. 

Æ 


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