SEC. 2. MENTAL HEALTH EDUCATION GRANT PROGRAM. 
Part A of title IV of the Higher Education Act of 
1965 (20 U.S.C. 1070 et seq.) is amended by inserting 
at the end of subpart 7 the following: 
‘‘Subpart 8—Mental Health Education Grants 
‘‘SEC. 420. MENTAL HEALTH EDUCATION GRANT PROGRAM 
ESTABLISHED. 
‘‘(a) PROGRAM AUTHORITY.— 
‘‘(1) PAYMENTS REQUIRED.—The Secretary is 
authorized to carry out a Mental Health Education 
Grant program to pay to each candidate who is se-
lected by the Secretary, on a competitive basis, to 
participate in such program, a Mental Health Edu-
cation Grant in the amount of $2,000 for each year 
during which that candidate is eligible. 
‘‘(2) REFERENCES.—Grants made under para-
graph (1) shall be known as ‘Mental Health Edu-
cation Grants’. 
‘‘(3) AUTHORIZATION.—There are authorized to 
be appropriated $20,000,000 for fiscal year 2023 
and each subsequent fiscal year to provide Mental 
Health Education Grants in accordance with this 
subpart. 
‘‘(4) SENSE OF CONGRESS.—It is the sense of 
Congress that the Mental Health Education Grant 
program should be funded by rescinding unused 
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American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 (Public Law 
117–2) funding. 
‘‘(b) DISTRIBUTION OF GRANTS TO CANDIDATES.— 
Payments under this subpart shall be made, in accordance 
with regulations promulgated by the Secretary for such 
purpose, in such manner as will best accomplish the pur-
poses of this subpart. 
‘‘(c) REDUCTIONS IN AMOUNT.— 
‘‘(1) PART-TIME
STUDENTS.—In any case 
where a candidate attends an eligible institution on 
less than a full-time basis (including a candidate 
who attends an eligible institution on less than a 
half-time basis) during any year, the amount of a 
grant under this subpart for which that candidate is 
eligible shall be reduced in proportion to the degree 
to which that candidate is not attending on a full- 
time basis, in accordance with a schedule of reduc-
tions established by the Secretary for the purposes 
of this subpart, computed in accordance with this 
subpart. Such schedule of reductions shall be estab-
lished by regulation and published in the Federal 
Register in accordance with section 482 of this Act. 
‘‘(2) NO EXCEEDING COST.—The amount of a 
grant awarded under this subpart, in combination 
with Federal student assistance and other student 
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assistance the candidate may receive, shall not ex-
ceed the cost of attendance (as defined in section 
472) at the eligible institution at which that can-
didate is in attendance. 
‘‘(d) PERIOD OF ELIGIBILITY FOR GRANTS.— 
‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The period during which a 
candidate may receive grants under this subpart 
shall be the period required for the completion of the 
first masters course of study related to a mental 
health occupation being pursued by the candidate at 
the eligible institution at which the candidate is in 
attendance, except that— 
‘‘(A) any period during which the can-
didate is enrolled in a noncredit or remedial 
course of study as described in paragraph (2) 
shall not be counted for the purpose of this 
paragraph; and 
‘‘(B) the total amount that a candidate 
may receive under this subpart shall not exceed 
$4,000. 
‘‘(2) REMEDIAL COURSE.—Nothing in this sub-
part shall be construed to exclude from eligibility 
courses of study which are noncredit or remedial in 
nature (including courses in English language acqui-
sition) which are determined by the eligible institu-
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tion to be necessary to help the candidate be pre-
pared for the pursuit of a first masters degree or, 
in the case of courses in English language instruc-
tion, to be necessary to enable the candidate to uti-
lize already existing knowledge, training, or skills. 
‘‘SEC. 421. APPLICATIONS; ELIGIBILITY; SELECTION. 
‘‘(a) APPLICATIONS.—The Secretary shall periodi-
cally set dates by which students shall file applications to 
complete for grants under this subpart. Each student de-
siring to compete for a grant under this subpart for any 
year shall file an application containing such information 
and assurances as the Secretary may determine necessary 
to enable the Secretary to carry out the functions and re-
sponsibilities of this subpart. 
‘‘(b) DEMONSTRATION
OF GRANT ELIGIBILITY.— 
Each application submitted under subsection (a) shall con-
tain such information as is necessary to demonstrate that 
the applicant is a student who— 
‘‘(1) is enrolled at an eligible institution; 
‘‘(2) is an eligible student for purposes of sec-
tion 484; 
‘‘(3) is completing coursework and other re-
quirements necessary to begin a career in a mental 
health occupation, or plans to complete such 
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coursework and requirements prior to graduating; 
and 
‘‘(4) has not obtained a masters degree related 
to a career in a mental health occupation before re-
ceiving a Mental Health Education grant. 
‘‘(c) SELECTION.—The Secretary shall award grants 
under this subpart competitively on the basis of criteria 
determined by the Secretary by regulation. 
‘‘SEC. 422. AGREEMENTS TO SERVE. 
‘‘(a) SERVICE
AGREEMENTS.—Each application 
under section 421(a) shall contain or be accompanied by 
an agreement by the applicant that— 
‘‘(1) if selected to be a candidate, the applicant 
will— 
‘‘(A) serve full-time in a mental health oc-
cupation for a total of not less than 4 years 
within 8 years after completing the course of 
study for which the candidate received a Mental 
Health Education Grant under this subpart; 
and 
‘‘(B) submit evidence of such employment 
in the form of a certification by the State edu-
cational agency or department employing the 
candidate upon completion of each year of such 
service; 
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‘‘(2) in the event that a candidate is determined 
to have failed or refused to carry out such service 
obligation, the sum of the amounts of any Mental 
Health Education Grants received by such candidate 
will be treated as a loan and collected from the can-
didate in accordance with subsection (b) and the 
regulations thereunder; and 
‘‘(3) contains, or is accompanied by, a plain- 
language disclosure form developed by the Secretary 
that clearly describes the nature of the Mental 
Health Education Grant award, the service obliga-
tion, and the loan repayment requirements that are 
the consequence of the failure to complete the serv-
ice obligation. 
‘‘(b) REPAYMENT
FOR FAILURE TO COMPLETE 
SERVICE.— 
‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—In the event that a can-
didate fails or refuses to comply with the service ob-
ligation in the agreement under subsection (a), the 
sum of the amounts of any Mental Health Education 
Grants received by such candidate shall, upon a de-
termination of such a failure or refusal in such serv-
ice obligation, be treated as a Federal Direct Unsub-
sidized Stafford Loan under part D of title IV, and 
shall be subject to repayment, together with interest 
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thereon accruing from the date the grant is con-
verted to such a Loan, in accordance with terms and 
conditions specified by the Secretary in regulations 
under this subpart. 
‘‘(2) 
EXTENUATING
CIRCUMSTANCES.—The 
Secretary shall establish, by regulation, categories of 
extenuating circumstances under which a candidate 
who is unable to fulfill all or part of the candidate’s 
service obligation may be excused from fulfilling that 
portion of the service obligation. 
‘‘SEC. 423. DEFINITIONS. 
‘‘For the purposes of this subpart: 
‘‘(1) CANDIDATE.—The term ‘candidate’ means 
an individual who is selected by the Secretary to re-
ceive a Mental Health Education Grant under this 
subpart. 
‘‘(2) ELIGIBLE INSTITUTION.—The term ‘eligi-
ble institution’ means an institution of higher edu-
cation, as defined in section 102, that provides a 
masters degree in a field related to a mental health 
occupation. 
‘‘(3) ESEA TERMS.—The terms ‘elementary 
school’ and ‘secondary school’ have the meanings 
given those terms in section 8101 of the Elementary 
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and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 
7801). 
‘‘(4) 
MENTAL
HEALTH
OCCUPATION.—The 
term ‘mental health occupation’ means an occupa-
tion that is 1 of the following: 
‘‘(A) A mental or behavioral health coun-
selor in an elementary school or secondary 
school. 
‘‘(B) A social worker in an elementary 
school or secondary school. 
‘‘(C) A therapist in an elementary school 
or secondary school. 
‘‘(D) A psychologist in an elementary 
school or secondary school.’’. 
SEC. 3. REFUNDABLE CREDIT FOR SCHOOL COUNSELORS, 
SOCIAL WORKERS, THERAPISTS, AND PSY-
CHOLOGISTS. 
(a) IN GENERAL.—Subpart C of part IV of sub-
chapter A of chapter 1 of the Internal Revenue Code of 
1986 is amended by adding at the end the following new 
section: 
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‘‘SEC. 36C. CREDIT FOR SCHOOL COUNSELORS, SOCIAL 
WORKERS, 
THERAPISTS, 
AND 
PSYCHOLO-
GISTS. 
‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—In the case of any individual who 
is a qualified school-based mental health professional for 
any taxable year, there shall be allowed as a credit against 
the tax imposed by this subtitle for such taxable year an 
amount equal to $2,500. 
‘‘(b) QUALIFIED SCHOOL-BASED MENTAL HEALTH 
PROFESSIONAL.—For purposes of this section, the term 
‘qualified school-based mental health professional’ means 
any employee of a school (as defined in section 
62(d)(1)(B)) or school-based health center who provides 
service as a mental or behavioral health counselor, social 
worker, therapist, or psychologist pursuant to such em-
ployment. 
‘‘(c) REDUCED CREDIT FOR LESS THAN FULL-TIME 
SERVICE.—In the case any qualified school-based mental 
health professional who performs less than 1560 hours of 
service as a counselor, social worker, or therapist pursuant 
to the employment described in subsection (b) during any 
taxable year, the credit allowed under this section to such 
individual for such taxable year shall not exceed the 
amount which bears the same ratio to the amount of such 
credit determined without regard to this subsection as— 
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‘‘(1) the number of hours of such service so 
performed by such individual during such taxable 
year, bears to 
‘‘(2) 1560.’’. 
(b) CONFORMING AMENDMENTS.— 
(1) Section 6211(b)(4)(A) of the Internal Rev-
enue Code of 1986 is amended by inserting ‘‘36C,’’ 
after ‘‘36B,’’. 
(2) Paragraph (2) of section 1324(b) of title 
31, United States Code, is amended by inserting 
‘‘36C,’’ after ‘‘36B,’’. 
(3) The table of sections for subpart C of part 
IV of subchapter A of chapter 1 of the Internal Rev-
enue Code of 1986 is amended by inserting after the 
item relating to section 36B the following new item: 
‘‘Sec. 36C. Credit for school counselors, social workers, therapists, and psy-
chologists.’’. 
(c) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendments made by 
this section shall apply to taxable years ending after the 
date of the enactment of this Act. 
SEC. 4. STUDY AND REPORT. 
(a) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 2 years after the 
date of the enactment this Act, the Secretary shall conduct 
a study to identify— 
(1) the elementary schools and secondary 
schools in each State with school-based health cen-
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ters that do not provide mental health services at 
such centers; 
(2) reasons that such schools do not provide, or 
are unable to provide, such services; and 
(3) recommendations with respect to ways to 
increase the provision of mental health services in 
such centers. 
(b) REPORT.—Not later than 1 year after conducting 
the study required under subsection (a), the Secretary 
shall submit to Congress a report containing the findings 
and recommendations of such study. 
Æ 
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