IIB 
116TH CONGRESS 
2D SESSION 
H. R. 1109 
IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 
SEPTEMBER 30 (legislative day, SEPTEMBER 29), 2020 
Received; read twice and referred to the Committee on Health, Education, 
Labor, and Pensions 
AN ACT 
To amend the Public Health Service Act to revise and extend 
projects relating to children and to provide access to 
school-based comprehensive mental health programs. 
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 
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SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 
This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Mental Health Services 
for Students Act of 2020’’. 
SEC. 2. AMENDMENTS TO THE PUBLIC HEALTH SERVICE 
ACT. 
(a) TECHNICAL AMENDMENTS.—The second part G 
(relating to services provided through religious organiza-
tions) of title V of the Public Health Service Act (42 
U.S.C. 290kk et seq.) is amended— 
(1) by redesignating such part as part J; and 
(2) by redesignating sections 581 through 584 
as sections 596 through 596C, respectively. 
(b) SCHOOL-BASED MENTAL HEALTH AND CHIL-
DREN.—Section 581 of the Public Health Service Act (42 
U.S.C. 290hh) (relating to children and violence) is 
amended to read as follows: 
‘‘SEC. 581. SCHOOL-BASED MENTAL HEALTH; CHILDREN 
AND ADOLESCENTS. 
‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary, in consultation 
with the Secretary of Education, shall, through grants, 
contracts, or cooperative agreements awarded to eligible 
entities described in subsection (c), provide comprehensive 
school-based mental health services and supports to assist 
children in local communities and schools (including 
schools funded by the Bureau of Indian Education) deal-
ing with traumatic experiences, grief, bereavement, risk of 
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suicide, and violence. Such services and supports shall 
be— 
‘‘(1) developmentally, linguistically, and cul-
turally appropriate; 
‘‘(2) trauma-informed; and 
‘‘(3) incorporate positive behavioral interven-
tions and supports. 
‘‘(b) ACTIVITIES.—Grants, contracts, or cooperative 
agreements awarded under subsection (a), shall, as appro-
priate, be used for— 
‘‘(1) implementation of school and community- 
based mental health programs that— 
‘‘(A) build awareness of individual trauma 
and the intergenerational, continuum of impacts 
of trauma on populations; 
‘‘(B) train appropriate staff to identify, 
and screen for, signs of trauma exposure, men-
tal health disorders, or risk of suicide; and 
‘‘(C) incorporate positive behavioral inter-
ventions, family engagement, student treatment, 
and multigenerational supports to foster the 
health and development of children, prevent 
mental health disorders, and ameliorate the im-
pact of trauma; 
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‘‘(2) technical assistance to local communities 
with respect to the development of programs de-
scribed in paragraph (1); 
‘‘(3) facilitating community partnerships among 
families, students, law enforcement agencies, edu-
cation agencies, mental health and substance use 
disorder service systems, family-based mental health 
service systems, child welfare agencies, health care 
providers (including primary care physicians, mental 
health professionals, and other professionals who 
specialize in children’s mental health such as child 
and adolescent psychiatrists), institutions of higher 
education, faith-based programs, trauma networks, 
and other community-based systems to address child 
and adolescent trauma, mental health issues, and vi-
olence; and 
‘‘(4) establishing mechanisms for children and 
adolescents to report incidents of violence or plans 
by other children, adolescents, or adults to commit 
violence. 
‘‘(c) REQUIREMENTS.— 
‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—To be eligible for a grant, 
contract, or cooperative agreement under subsection 
(a), an entity shall be a partnership that includes— 
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‘‘(A) a State educational agency, as de-
fined in section 8101 of the Elementary and 
Secondary Education Act of 1965, in coordina-
tion with one or more local educational agen-
cies, as defined in section 8101 of the Elemen-
tary and Secondary Education Act of 1965, or 
a consortium of any entities described in sub-
paragraph (B), (C), (D), or (E) of section 
8101(30) of such Act; and 
‘‘(B) at least 1 community-based mental 
health provider, including a public or private 
mental health entity, health care entity, family- 
based mental health entity, trauma network, or 
other community-based entity, as determined by 
the Secretary (and which may include addi-
tional entities such as a human services agency, 
law enforcement or juvenile justice entity, child 
welfare agency, agency, an institution of higher 
education, or another entity, as determined by 
the Secretary). 
‘‘(2) COMPLIANCE WITH HIPAA.—Any patient 
records developed by covered entities through activi-
ties under the grant shall meet the regulations pro-
mulgated under section 264(c) of the Health Insur-
ance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996. 
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