I 
117TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION H. R. 3572 
To increase the recruitment and retention of school-based mental health 
services providers by low-income local educational agencies. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
MAY 28, 2021 
Ms. CHU (for herself, Mr. FITZPATRICK, Mr. DEUTCH, Mr. DEFAZIO, Mr. 
LOWENTHAL, Mrs. HAYES, Mr. PANETTA, Mrs. NAPOLITANO, Ms. 
STRICKLAND, Mr. GARCI´A of Illinois, Mr. THOMPSON of Mississippi, Ms. 
PORTER, Ms. NEWMAN, Ms. LEE of California, Ms. KUSTER, and Ms. 
SCHAKOWSKY) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the 
Committee on Education and Labor 
A BILL 
To increase the recruitment and retention of school-based 
mental health services providers by low-income local edu-
cational agencies. 
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 
This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Increasing Access to 
Mental Health in Schools Act’’. 
SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS. 
In this Act: 
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(1) BEST PRACTICES.—The term ‘‘best prac-
tices’’ means a technique or methodology that, 
through experience and research related to profes-
sional practice in a school-based mental health field, 
has proven to reliably lead to a desired result. 
(2) ELIGIBLE
GRADUATE
INSTITUTION.—The 
term ‘‘eligible graduate institution’’ means an insti-
tution of higher education that offers a program of 
study that leads to a masters or other graduate de-
gree— 
(A) in school psychology that is accredited 
or approved by the National Association of 
School Psychologists’ Program Approval Board 
(or its successor) or the Commission on Accred-
itation of the American Psychological Associa-
tion and that prepares students in such pro-
gram for the State licensing or certification ex-
amination in school psychology; 
(B) in school counseling that prepares stu-
dents in such program for the State licensing or 
certification examination in school counseling; 
(C) in school social work that is accredited 
by the Council on Social Work Education and 
that prepares students in such program for the 
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State licensing or certification examination in 
school social work; 
(D) in another school-based mental health 
field that prepares students in such program 
for the State licensing or certification examina-
tion in such field, if applicable; or 
(E) in any combination of study described 
in subparagraphs (A) through (D). 
(3) ELIGIBLE PARTNERSHIP.—The term ‘‘eligi-
ble partnership’’ means— 
(A) a partnership between 1 or more low- 
income local educational agencies and 1 or more 
eligible graduate institutions; or 
(B) in any region in which local edu-
cational agencies may not have a sufficient ele-
mentary school and secondary school student 
population to support the placement of all par-
ticipating graduate students, a partnership be-
tween a State educational agency, on behalf of 
1 or more low-income local educational agen-
cies, and 1 or more eligible graduate institu-
tions. 
(4) INSTITUTION OF HIGHER EDUCATION.—The 
term ‘‘institution of higher education’’ has the 
meaning given such term in section 102 of the High-
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er Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1002), but ex-
cludes any institution of higher education described 
in section 102(a)(1)(C) of such Act. 
(5) LOCAL EDUCATIONAL AGENCY.—The term 
‘‘local educational agency’’ has the meaning given 
the term in section 8101 of the Elementary and Sec-
ondary Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 7801). 
(6) LOW-INCOME LOCAL EDUCATIONAL AGEN-
CY.—The term ‘‘low-income local educational agen-
cy’’ means a local educational agency— 
(A) for which not less than 20 percent of 
the students served by such agency are from 
families with incomes below the poverty line as 
determined by the Bureau of the Census on the 
basis of the most recent satisfactory data avail-
able; and 
(B) that, as of the date of application for 
a grant under this Act, has ratios of school 
counselors, school social workers, and school 
psychologists to students served by the agency 
that are not more than 1 school counselor per 
275 students, not more than 1 school psycholo-
gist per 500 students, and not more than 1 
school social worker per 250 students. 
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(7) PARTICIPATING ELIGIBLE GRADUATE INSTI-
TUTION.—The term ‘‘participating eligible graduate 
institution’’ means an eligible graduate institution 
that is part of an eligible partnership awarded a 
grant under section 3. 
(8) PARTICIPATING
GRADUATE.—The term 
‘‘participating graduate’’ means an individual who— 
(A) has received a masters or other grad-
uate degree in a school-based mental health 
field from a participating eligible graduate in-
stitution and has obtained a State license or 
credential in the school-based mental health 
field; and 
(B) as a graduate student of a school- 
based mental health field, was placed in a 
school served by a participating low-income 
local educational agency to complete required 
field work, credit hours, internships, or related 
training as applicable. 
(9) PARTICIPATING LOW-INCOME LOCAL EDU-
CATIONAL AGENCY.—The term ‘‘participating low-in-
come local educational agency’’ means a low-income 
local educational agency that is part of an eligible 
partnership awarded a grant under section 3. 
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(10) 
SCHOOL-BASED
MENTAL
HEALTH 
FIELD.—The term ‘‘school-based mental health 
field’’ means each of the following fields: 
(A) School counseling. 
(B) School social work. 
(C) School psychology. 
(D) Any other field of study that leads to 
employment as a school-based mental health 
services provider. 
(11) SCHOOL-BASED
MENTAL
HEALTH
SERV-
ICES
PROVIDER.—The term ‘‘school-based mental 
health services provider’’ has the meaning given the 
term in section 4102 of the Elementary and Sec-
ondary Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 7112). 
(12) 
SECRETARY.—The 
term 
‘‘Secretary’’ 
means the Secretary of Education. 
(13) STATE EDUCATIONAL AGENCY.—The term 
‘‘State educational agency’’ has the meaning given 
the term in section 8101 of the Elementary and Sec-
ondary Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 7801). 
(14) STUDENT SUPPORT PERSONNEL TARGET 
RATIOS.—The term ‘‘student support personnel tar-
get ratios’’ means the ratios of school-based mental 
health services providers to students recommended 
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