I 

117TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 3549 

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 HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

MAY 25, 2021 

Mr. TRONE introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee 

on Education and Labor 

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’’. 

6 SEC. 2. MENTAL HEALTH PILOT GRANT PROGRAM. 

7 (a) PURPOSES.—The purposes of the program estab8 lished under this section are to— 


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1 (1) prioritize, with respect to all elementary 

2 school and secondary school students— 

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

4 and identity development; 

5 (B) mental and behavioral health; and 

6 (C) physical health; 

7 (2) meet the priorities described in paragraph 

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

9 of support; 

10 (3) support measurable outcomes, which focus 

11 on continuous improvement instead of punitive 

12 measures; 

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

14 and supportive learning environments; 

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

16 and cognitive learning skills and competencies 

17 throughout all aspects of the elementary school and 

18 secondary school environments, including through 

19 standalone measures; 

20 (6) use evidence-based instructional materials, 

21 practices, programs, and resources to implement the 

22 practices described in paragraph (5); 

23 (7) build expertise among trusted adults with 

24 respect to responding to the mental and behavioral 

25 health needs of students in elementary school and 


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1 secondary school communities, including teachers, 

2 administrators, specialized instructional support per3 sonnel, paraprofessionals, other staff, parents, and 

4 caregivers; and 

5 (8) hire a full complement of mental and behav6 ioral health professionals to ensure an appropriate 

7 ratio of students to such professionals. 

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

9 date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary shall es10 tablish a pilot grant program to award grants, on a com11 petitive basis, to local educational agencies to— 

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

13 a comprehensive, multi-tier system of support with 

14 respect to mental and behavioral health services pro15 grams in elementary schools and secondary schools 

16 served by such local educational agencies; and 

17 (2) fully fund comprehensive mental and behav18 ioral health services in such elementary schools and 

19 secondary schools. 

20 (c) CONSULTATION AND ASSISTANCE.—In estab21 lishing the program under subsection (b), the Secretary 

22 shall— 

23 (1) consult with nationally-recognized organiza24 tions that identify, support, and advocate for evi25 dence-based social-emotional learning policy and 


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1 practices and multi-tier systems of support within el2 ementary schools and secondary schools; 

3 (2) consult with nationally recognized organiza4 tions— 

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

6 developmental mental health; and 

7 (B) that identify, support, and advocate 

8 for evidence-based prevention of, and interven9 tion for, child trauma; and 

10 (3) provide technical assistance to grant recipi11 ents with respect to implementation and execution of 

12 activities under this section. 

13 (d) APPLICATION.— 

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

15 under this section, a local educational agency shall 

16 submit to the Secretary an application at such time, 

17 in such manner, and containing such information as 

18 the Secretary may require, including— 

19 (A) a needs assessment; 

20 (B) a plan to— 

21 (i) during the grant period described 

22 in subsection (f), implement the activities 

23 described under subsection (h); and 


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1 (ii) after the conclusion of the grant 

2 period described in subsection (f), maintain 

3 such activities; and 

4 (C) a cost assessment with respect to im5 plementing the plan described in subparagraph 

6 (B). 

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

8 only submit an application during the period— 

9 (A) beginning on the date that the Sec10 retary establishes the program under subsection 

11 (b); and 

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

13 after the date described in subparagraph (A). 

14 (3) NOTIFICATION PERIOD.—The Secretary 

15 shall notify each local educational agency that sub16 mits an application under this subsection of the deci17 sion to award, or not award, a grant to such agency 

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

19 final day of the period described in paragraph 

20 (2)(B). 

21 (e) PRIORITY.—In awarding grants under this sec22 tion, the Secretary shall give priority to local educational 

23 agencies that— 

24 (1) serve high-poverty elementary schools and 

25 secondary schools; and 


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1 (2) with respect to the services described in 

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

3 (A) provide such services within such ele4 mentary schools and secondary schools; or 

5 (B) provide an assurance, in the applica6 tion submitted under subsection (d), that such 

7 local educational agency will use grant funds 

8 awarded under this section to implement such 

9 services within such elementary schools and sec10 ondary schools. 

11 (f) GRANT PERIOD.— 

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

13 section shall be for a period of 4 consecutive aca14 demic years. 

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

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

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

18 beginning after the Secretary notifies each local edu19 cational agency under subsection (d)(3). 

20 (g) SUPPLEMENT NOT SUPPLANT.—Grant funds 

21 provided under this section shall be used to supplement, 

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

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


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

2 use grant funds awarded under this section for the fol3 lowing activities: 

4 (1) Evaluating the needs of the elementary 

5 schools and secondary schools served by such local 

6 educational agency with respect to the activities de7 scribed in paragraphs (2) through (4). 

8 (2) Implementing, in consultation with teachers 

9 and school mental and behavioral health profes10 sionals, evidence-based universal social-emotional 

11 learning programs, approaches, and supports, in12 cluding by— 

13 (A) incorporating principles of motivation 

14 and engagement and resiliency training into 

15 class instruction; 

16 (B) promoting connections by establishing 

17 regular collaboration and communication be18 tween and among students, parents, caregivers, 

19 and staff; 

20 (C) promoting a safe, equitable, sup21 portive, and healthy school climate that is ra22 cially, culturally, developmentally, and linguis23 tically responsive to encourage positive behavior 

24 and academic engagement; 


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1 (D) establishing racially, culturally, devel2 opmentally, and linguistically appropriate evi3 dence-based trauma-informed and trauma-com4 petent practices to support students and staff; 

5 (E) establishing evidence-informed psycho6 logical supports for students and staff to pro7 mote a sense of agency, safety, calmness, self8 efficacy, mindfulness, and coping skills; and 

9 (F) adopting positive, non-punitive, restor10 ative policies to address challenging behaviors, 

11 discipline, and de-escalation, focused on devel12 oping, maintaining, and repairing relationships 

13 in place of utilizing retributive and exclusionary 

14 practices. 

15 (3) Implementing targeted interventions that 

16 are equitable for all students and that support emo17 tional management, goal setting, and establishing 

18 routines and consistency, including— 

19 (A) evidence-based and trauma-informed 

20 screening and referral to mental and behavioral 

21 health services; 

22 (B) small groups for support, problem-solv23 ing, and strengthening collaborations; 

24 (C) peer support groups; 

25 (D) parent and caregiver engagement; 


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1 (E) periodic check-in meetings with stu2 dents during the regular school day; 

3 (F) by monitoring for evidence of food in4 security, homelessness, neglect, and abuse, in5 cluding with respect to disadvantaged students; 

6 and 

7 (G) personalized learning experiences, ac8 commodations, modifications, and technical sup9 ports as appropriate for students. 

10 (4) Implementing intensive supports, includ11 ing— 

12 (A) individualized intervention and support 

13 from school-based professionals; 

14 (B) by hiring such school-based profes15 sionals; and 

16 (C) ongoing evidence-based and trauma-in17 formed progress monitoring of students and 

18 intervention based on such monitoring. 

19 (5) Providing professional development for 

20 teachers and other school staff with respect to— 

21 (A) developing a healthy learning climate, 

22 including through positive classroom manage23 ment, enhancing empathy and respect, and pro24 moting a sense of belonging for students; 


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1 (B) integrating social and emotional learn2 ing, motivation and engagement, and resiliency 

3 training into classroom instruction and prac4 tices; 

5 (C) the impact of adverse childhood experi6 ences and traumatic experiences on the health 

7 and development of students; 

8 (D) evidence-based and trauma-informed 

9 approaches to teaching and managing student 

10 behavior; 

11 (E) racially, culturally, developmentally, 

12 and linguistically appropriate techniques for 

13 providing more agency to students; 

14 (F) implicit bias and restorative justice 

15 practices; and 

16 (G) racially, culturally, developmentally, 

17 and linguistically responsive teaching. 

18 (i) EVALUATION.— 

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

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

21 day of the grant period described in subsection 

22 (f), enter into a contract with a nationally-rec23 ognized educational evaluation institution or or24 ganization; and 


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1 (B) not later than 1 year after the conclu2 sion of the grant period described in subsection 

3 (f), coordinate with such institution or organi4 zation to provide an evaluation of the pilot 

5 grant program, including— 

6 (i) a determination with respect to the 

7 sufficient ratio of school-based profes8 sionals to students; 

9 (ii) information with respect to the 

10 practices used by local educational agencies 

11 to improve the mental and behavioral well12 being of students; 

13 (iii) information with respect to in14 creased competencies among teachers and 

15 other school staff on social and emotional 

16 learning and trauma-informed practices; 

17 (iv) data on the mental and behavioral 

18 health outcomes of students, in the aggre19 gate and disaggregated by— 

20 (I) race and ethnicity; 

21 (II) gender; 

22 (III) sexual orientation; 

23 (IV) status as an English learn24 er; and 


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1 (V) status as a student with a 

2 disability; and 

3 (v) a recommendation as to whether 

4 such program should be continued or ex5 panded. 

6 (2) PUBLICATION.—The Secretary shall make 

7 the evaluation required under paragraph (1) publicly 

8 available on the website of the Department. 

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

10 completion of the evaluation required under para11 graph (1), the Secretary shall submit to Congress a 

12 report on the outcome of the pilot grant program, 

13 including a recommendation with respect to con14 tinuing or expanding the program. 

15 (j) CONTINUATION OF PROGRAM.— 

16 (1) APPLICATIONS.—If the evaluation required 

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

18 that the pilot grant program should be continued or 

19 expanded, the Secretary— 

20 (A) may continue or expand such program; 

21 and 

22 (B) if such program is expanded or contin23 ued— 

24 (i) shall allow a local educational 

25 agency that did not receive a grant under 


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1 the pilot program established under this 

2 section to apply for a grant in accordance 

3 with subsection (d)(1); and 

4 (ii) shall allow a local educational 

5 agency that received a grant under the 

6 pilot program established under this sec7 tion to apply for a renewal of such grant 

8 for an additional period of 4 consecutive 

9 academic years. 

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

11 the first grant is awarded or renewed after the con12 tinuation or expansion of the program, the Secretary 

13 shall coordinate with the institution or organization 

14 described in subsection (i)(1)(A) to provide an eval15 uation of the renewal of the pilot grant program. 

16 (3) PUBLICATION.—The Secretary shall make 

17 the evaluation required under paragraph (2) publicly 

18 available on the website of the Department. 

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

20 completion of the evaluation required under para21 graph (2), the Secretary shall submit to Congress a 

22 report on the progress of the renewal or expansion 

23 of the program. 

24 (k) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There is 

25 authorized to be appropriated to carry out this section 


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1 $20,000,000, for fiscal year 2022, to be available until ex2 pended. 

3 (l) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 

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

5 ‘‘elementary school’’, ‘‘multi-tier system of sup6 ports’’, and ‘‘Secretary’’ have the meanings given 

7 such terms in section 8101 of the Elementary and 

8 Secondary Education Act (20 U.S.C. 7801). 

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

10 ‘‘school-based professional’’ means a behavioral spe11 cialist or mental health specialist. 

Æ 


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