SEC. 2. GRANTS FOR PEER MENTAL HEALTH FIRST AID. 
Title V of the Public Health Service Act is amended 
by inserting after section 520J of such Act (42 U.S.C. 
290bb–41) the following: 
‘‘SEC. 520J–1. GRANTS FOR PEER MENTAL HEALTH FIRST 
AID. 
‘‘(a) IN
GENERAL.—The Secretary shall award 
grants to eligible entities— 
‘‘(1) to train teachers, other relevant school 
personnel (including education support profes-
sionals), students, and parents and caregivers of stu-
dents— 
‘‘(A) to recognize symptoms of childhood 
and adolescent mental health conditions; 
‘‘(B) to refer students to appropriate men-
tal health services if necessary; and 
‘‘(C) to recognize signs of immediate men-
tal distress and, upon recognizing such signs 
apply mental health first aid tactics; and 
‘‘(2) to provide education to such teachers, per-
sonnel, students, parents, and caregivers regarding 
resources that are available in the community for in-
dividuals with a mental illness. 
‘‘(b) RELATION
TO
OTHER
MENTAL
HEALTH 
AWARENESS TRAINING GRANTS.—An eligible entity may 
receive grant funds under this section in addition to re-
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ceiving amounts made available to such eligible entity pur-
suant to section 520J. 
‘‘(c) ALLOCATION FOR SCHOOLS IN RURAL AREAS.— 
‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—In awarding grants under 
this section, the Secretary shall award not less than 
25 percent of the amounts made available to carry 
out this section for a fiscal year to eligible entities 
that are elementary schools or secondary schools in 
rural areas or that are applying for grants on behalf 
of such schools. 
‘‘(2) REALLOCATION.—If the Secretary is un-
able to obligate the total amount of funds set aside 
under paragraph (1) for a fiscal year due to a lack 
of qualified applications from eligible applicants de-
scribed in paragraph (1), the Secretary shall reallo-
cate the remainder of such funds for making grants 
under this section to other eligible entities. 
‘‘(d) APPLICATION.— 
‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—To seek a grant under this 
section, an eligible entity shall submit an application 
to the Secretary at such time, in such manner, and 
containing such information as the Secretary may 
require, including a plan for the rigorous evaluation 
of activities that are carried out with funds received 
through the grant. 
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‘‘(2) STREAMLINED
PROCESS.—The Secretary 
shall streamline the process for applying for a grant 
under this section so as to keep such process from 
imposing an unreasonable barrier, especially for eli-
gible entities with limited personnel available to pre-
pare a grant application. 
‘‘(e) TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE.—The Secretary shall 
provide technical assistance to eligible entities applying 
for, or receiving, grants under this section. Such technical 
assistance shall include the development and dissemina-
tion of best practices for providing training and education 
described in subsection (a). 
‘‘(f) DEFINITION.—In this section: 
‘‘(1) The terms ‘elementary school’, ‘local edu-
cational agency’, ‘secondary school’, and ‘State edu-
cational agency’ have the meanings given to those 
terms in section 8101 of the Elementary and Sec-
ondary Education Act of 1965. 
‘‘(2) The term ‘eligible entity’ means an ele-
mentary school, a local educational agency, a sec-
ondary school, or a State educational agency. 
‘‘(3) The term ‘rural area’ refers to a rural 
area as defined by the Health Resources and Serv-
ices Administration for purposes of awarding rural 
health grants. 
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‘‘(g) AUTHORIZATION
OF
APPROPRIATIONS.—To 
carry out this section, there is authorized to be appro-
priated $24,963,000 for each of fiscal years 2026 through 
2030.’’. 
Æ 
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