II 

115TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION S. 2791 

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

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

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

MAY 7, 2018 

Mr. TESTER (for himself 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 abuse, 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 USE 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 USE 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 use on 

12 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 04:09 May 09, 2018 Jkt 079200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S2791.IS S2791

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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 04:09 May 09, 2018 Jkt 079200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S2791.IS S2791

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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 ‘‘(D) SUBSTANCE USE.—The term ‘sub10 stance use’ may include the misuse or abuse of 

11 alcohol, prescription opioids, methamphetamine, 

12 or other legal or illegal substances. 

13 ‘‘(3) PROGRAM AUTHORIZED.— 

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

15 accordance with the interagency agreement de16 scribed in paragraph (4), may award, on a com17 petitive basis, grants to institutions of higher 

18 education, or consortia of institutions of higher 

19 education, with high incidences of substance use 

20 disorders, overdoses, and deaths, in order to 

21 prevent and address the effects of substance use 

22 on the campuses of the institutions of higher 

23 education. 

24 ‘‘(B) DURATION.—A grant under this sub25 section shall be for a period of not more than 


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1 5 years, and may be renewed for an additional 

2 2 years if satisfactory progress is made in pre3 venting and reducing substance use disorders as 

4 described in paragraph (5)(A). 

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

6 The Secretaries shall ensure that at least 25 

7 percent of funds are awarded to institutions of 

8 higher education in rural areas. 

9 ‘‘(4) INTERAGENCY AGREEMENT.—The Sec10 retary of Education and the Secretary of Health and 

11 Human Services shall jointly administer the program 

12 under this subsection in accordance with such terms 

13 as the Secretaries set forth in an interagency agree14 ment. Such interagency agreement shall include a 

15 description of the respective roles and responsibil16 ities of the Secretaries (both jointly and separately). 

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

18 education, or consortium of institutions of higher 

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

20 shall submit an application at such time and in such 

21 manner as the Secretaries may require. Such appli22 cation shall include— 

23 ‘‘(A) a description of the impact of sub24 stance use disorders on students enrolled in 


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1 each participating institution of higher edu2 cation, including— 

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

4 past year; 

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

6 substance use in the past school year; 

7 ‘‘(iii) the degree to which students 

8 have substance use disorders, if such infor9 mation is available; and 

10 ‘‘(iv) other indicators or information 

11 related to the most prevalent substance use 

12 in the region that such institution feels is 

13 necessary to fully describe the impact of 

14 the substance use on students; 

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

16 higher education, or consortia of institutions, 

17 has convened a taskforce to address the impact 

18 of the most prevalent substance use in the re19 gion on students, which shall include— 

20 ‘‘(i) faculty and other staff; 

21 ‘‘(ii) current and former students, in22 cluding students affected by substance use 

23 disorders; 


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1 ‘‘(iii) staff from campus health cen2 ters, if the institution operates campus 

3 health centers; 

4 ‘‘(iv) representatives from campus dis5 ability support services offices and student 

6 access support offices, if such offices exist 

7 at the institution; 

8 ‘‘(v) representatives from fraternities 

9 and sororities, if such organizations exist 

10 at the institution; 

11 ‘‘(vi) area local educational agencies; 

12 ‘‘(vii) non-profit organizations special13 izing in substance use treatment and pre14 vention; 

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

16 other medical professionals; 

17 ‘‘(ix) local or campus law enforcement 

18 entities; and 

19 ‘‘(x) other stakeholders that the insti20 tution or consortium chooses to include; 

21 ‘‘(C) a plan developed by the taskforce de22 scribed in subparagraph (B) to use funds in ac23 cordance with paragraph (6) to address the im24 pact of substance use on students enrolled in 


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1 higher education, which shall include a descrip2 tion of— 

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

4 shall include decreasing the number of stu5 dents with substance use disorders; and 

6 ‘‘(ii) how the institution or consortium 

7 will— 

8 ‘‘(I) use funds in accordance with 

9 paragraph (6), including the evidence 

10 base for proposed activities; 

11 ‘‘(II) coordinate funds with other 

12 programs designed to prevent and ad13 dress substance use disorders among 

14 students; and 

15 ‘‘(III) sustain grant activities be16 yond the grant period, including 

17 methods for continuous improvement 

18 of grant activities; and 

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

20 consortium will continue to convene the 

21 taskforce described in subparagraph (B) peri22 odically to improve institutional programming 

23 and policy related to substance use disorders. 

24 ‘‘(6) USES OF FUNDS.— 


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1 ‘‘(A) REQUIRED ACTIVITIES.—An institu2 tion of higher education, or consortium of insti3 tutions of higher education, receiving a grant 

4 under paragraph (3) shall use grant funds for 

5 evidence-based or promising interventions de6 signed to address and prevent substance use 

7 disorders among students enrolled in higher 

8 education. 

9 ‘‘(B) ALLOWABLE ACTIVITIES.—The activi10 ties described in subparagraph (A) may in11 clude— 

12 ‘‘(i) education efforts to provide stu13 dents enrolled in higher education with in14 formation on the impact of substance use 

15 disorders; 

16 ‘‘(ii) recovery services for such stu17 dents with substance use disorders, which 

18 may include recovery dorms that offer 

19 sober living along with substance use treat20 ment services; 

21 ‘‘(iii) treatment or referrals to treat22 ment for such students with substance use 

23 disorders; 


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1 ‘‘(iv) institution-wide prevention ef2 forts, which may include public service an3 nouncements; 

4 ‘‘(v) efforts to identify programs tar5 geting populations of students, such as 

6 student athletes, fraternity members, so7 rority members, and others enrolled in 

8 higher education, with an increased risk 

9 for substance use disorders; 

10 ‘‘(vi) mental or behavioral health 

11 counseling for students enrolled in higher 

12 education who are affected by substance 

13 use disorders; and 

14 ‘‘(vii) other programs designed to ad15 dress or prevent substance use disorders 

16 among students enrolled in higher edu17 cation. 

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

19 made available under this subsection shall be used to 

20 supplement and not supplant other Federal, State, 

21 and local funds available to the institution to carry 

22 out the activities described in paragraph (6). 

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

24 of higher education, or consortium of institutions of 

25 higher education, receiving a grant under paragraph 


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

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

3 cash or in-kind contributions. 

4 ‘‘(9) NATIONAL ACTIVITIES.— 

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

6 reserve not more than 5 percent of funds made 

7 available under paragraph (10) to— 

8 ‘‘(i) conduct a rigorous, independent 

9 evaluation of each grant funded under this 

10 Act, particularly its impact on the indica11 tors described in paragraph (5)(A); 

12 ‘‘(ii) disseminate and promote the uti13 lization of evidence-based or promising 

14 practices regarding substance use disorder 

15 prevention and treatment for students en16 rolled in higher education; and 

17 ‘‘(iii) provide technical assistance to 

18 institutions of higher education or con19 sortia receiving a grant under paragraph 

20 (3). 

21 ‘‘(B) ROLE FOR IES DIRECTOR.—The Di22 rector of the Institute of Education Sciences 

23 shall carry out the roles and responsibilities 

24 under this paragraph that are assigned to the 


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1 Secretary of Education in accordance with the 

2 interagency agreement under paragraph (4). 

3 ‘‘(10) AUTHORIZATIONS OF APPROPRIATIONS.— 

4 There are authorized to be appropriated to carry out 

5 this subsection $100,000,000 for fiscal year 2019 

6 and each of the five succeeding fiscal years.’’. 

Æ 


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