I 
108TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION 
H. R. 811
To authorize the Secretary of Health and Human Services to make dem-
onstration grants to promote the well-being and educational achievement 
of children through school-based health programs. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
FEBRUARY 13, 2003
Ms. EDDIE BERNICE JOHNSON of Texas (for herself, Mr. CUMMINGS, Ms. 
DELAURO, Mr. DAVIS of Illinois, Mr. SESSIONS, and Mr. CRANE) intro-
duced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Energy 
and Commerce, and in addition to the Committee on Education and the 
Workforce, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, 
in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the juris-
diction of the committee concerned 
A BILL 
To authorize the Secretary of Health and Human Services 
to make demonstration grants to promote the well-being 
and educational achievement of children through school-
based health programs.
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 ‘‘Student Medical Ac-
cess Raising Test Scores Health Act’’, or the ‘‘SMARTS 
Health Act’’.
SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 
The Congress finds as follows: 
(1) The Journal of the American Medical Asso-
ciation reports that protecting children’s health re-
quires two key elements, which are (A) that a caring 
adult is engaged in the life of the child, and (B) that 
there is a connection between the child and his or 
her school. 
(2) Schools offer the most natural community 
setting in which individuals live, work, and play. 
Schools are a respected element of community infra-
structure and are recognized as the most valuable 
element in creating connection and support for chil-
dren, families, and communities. 
(3) Primary care and behavioral health services 
are among the most important elements of a com-
prehensive approach to promoting health and edu-
cation and preventing illness in children and youth. 
(4) School safety and violence prevention are 
critical to the well-being of each student, and early 
intervention and mental health care significantly re-
duce school discipline problems. 
(5) Good health is a prerequisite for optimal 
learning, and schools can help students achieve aca-
demic success by participating in efforts that pro-
mote good health, including access to regular med-
ical and mental health care. 
(6) Children are experiencing increasing rates 
of behavioral and physical illness, such as attention 
deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and asthma 
and diabetes, and are experiencing increasing rates 
of obesity that portend increasing rates of diabetes, 
heart disease, and cancer later in life. 
(7) In order to be effective, new strategies for 
prevention must be built on community-based, com-
munity-designed, and community-implemented strat-
egies. 
(8) Effective behavioral and physical health 
services can be provided in a school-based setting in 
such a way as to prevent later disease. 
(9) Schools are ideal settings in which to pro-
vide care for children, especially those who would 
otherwise have inadequate access to health services. 
Limited access contributes directly to the growing 
rates of disease among children. Prevention strate-
gies should be joined with treatment to develop an 
understanding of what types of prevention can re-
duce rates of illness, and therefore the need for 
treatment. Higher rates of disease, even with ade-
quate access to health services, portend loss of vital-
ity and higher complications from disease. 
(10) School-based health programs should focus 
on improving behavioral and physical health, includ-
ing with respect to obesity. 
(11) By reducing the incidence of disease, effec-
tive community-based prevention programs (whether 
through school-based approaches or otherwise) result 
in significant savings to the Federal Government 
and to the States by reducing expenditures in Fed-
eral and State health services programs. Such sav-
ings should be dedicated to further prevention ef-
forts, which in turn will result in further savings. 
Savings that result from prevention programs should 
not be redirected to unrelated purposes, and preven-
tion programs that achieve savings should not be pe-
nalized by having their funding levels reduced. 
SEC. 3. DEMONSTRATION GRANTS FOR EXPANSION OF 
SCHOOL-BASED HEALTH PROGRAMS. 
(a) IN GENERAL.—
(1) PROGRAM OF GRANTS.—The Secretary of 
Health and Human Services may make demonstra-
tion grants to eligible entities for the purpose of ex-
panding school-based health programs that are oper-
ated by such entities.
(2) CONSULTATION.—The Secretary shall co-
ordinate the program under this section with the 
program under title XIX of the Social Security Act 
(relating to Medicaid); the program under title XXI 
of such Act (relating to the State children’s health 
insurance program); programs of the Substance 
Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration; 
programs of the Health Resources and Services Ad-
ministration; programs of the Centers for Disease 
Control and Prevention; programs of the Agency for 
Healthcare Research and Quality; programs of the 
National Institutes of Health; and the National Cen-
ter on Minority Health and Health Disparities. 
(b) ELIGIBLE ENTITIES.—An entity is an eligible en-
tity for purposes of this Act if—
(1) the entity is a public or nonprofit private in-
stitution of higher education or a local educational 
agency; 
(2) the entity operates a school-based health 
program; 
(3) the health services provided by such pro-
gram include preventive health services and behav-
ioral health services, including with respect to nutri-
tion, physical activity, and otherwise preventing or 
treating obesity; and
(4) such program is carried out in coordination 
with public and nonprofit private entities in the com-
munity involved that provide health, education, or 
social services to children. 
(c) CERTAIN PROGRAMS.—Grants under subsection 
(a) shall be made only to the following entities (subject 
to the submission of an application in accordance with 
subsection (d) demonstrating status as an eligible entity), 
and for the following purposes: 
(1) To the University of Maryland for expand-
ing the school-based health program operated by 
such University in the vicinity of Baltimore, in the 
State of Maryland. 
(2) To the local educational agency that oper-
ates a school-based health program in an inde-
pendent school district in the vicinity of Dallas, in 
the State of Texas, for expanding such program. 
(3) To the University of New Mexico for ex-
panding the school-based health program operated 
by such University in the State of New Mexico. 
(4) To the University of California, Los Ange-
les, for expanding the school-based health program 
operated by such University in the vicinity of Los 
Angeles, in the State of California.