Mental Health Services for Students Act of 2021
Bill: H.R.721 | Sponsor: Rep. Napolitano, Grace F. (D-CA)
Policy area: Health

Summary:
Mental Health Services for Students Act of 2021
This bill provides specific statutory authority for the Project AWARE (Advancing Wellness and Resiliency in Education) State Educational Agency Grant Program that is administered by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration. The program supports school-based mental health services, including screening, treatment, and outreach programs.

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 Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Mental Health Services for Students 
Act of 2021''.

SEC. 2. AMENDMENTS TO THE PUBLIC HEALTH SERVICE ACT.

    (a) Technical Amendments.--The second part G (relating to services 
provided through religious organizations) 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 Children.--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) 
dealing with traumatic experiences, grief, bereavement, risk of 
suicide, and violence. Such services and supports shall be--
            ``(1) developmentally, linguistically, and culturally 
        appropriate;
            ``(2) trauma-informed; and
            ``(3) incorporate positive behavioral interventions and 
        supports.
    ``(b) Activities.--Grants, contracts, or cooperative agreements 
awarded under subsection (a), shall, as appropriate, 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, mental health 
                disorders, or risk of suicide; and
                    ``(C) incorporate positive behavioral 
                interventions, family engagement, student treatment, 
                and multigenerational supports to foster the health and 
                development of children, prevent mental health 
                disorders, and ameliorate the impact of trauma;
            ``(2) technical assistance to local communities with 
        respect to the development of programs described in paragraph 
        (1);
            ``(3) facilitating community partnerships among families, 
        students, law enforcement agencies, education 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 
        violence; 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--
                    ``(A) a State educational agency, as defined in 
                section 8101 of the Elementary and Secondary Education 
                Act of 1965, in coordination with one or more local 
                educational agencies, as defined in section 8101 of the 
                Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965, or a 
                consortium of any entities described in subparagraph 
                (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 additional 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 activities under the grant shall 
        meet the regulations promulgated under section 264(c) of the 
        Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996.
            ``(3) Compliance with ferpa.--Section 444 of the General 
        Education Provisions Act (commonly known as the `Family 
        Educational Rights and Privacy Act of 1974') shall apply to any 
        entity that is a member of the partnership in the same manner 
        that such section applies to an educational agency or 
        institution (as that term is defined in such section).
    ``(d) Geographical Distribution.--The Secretary shall ensure that 
grants, contracts, or cooperative agreements under subsection (a) will 
be distributed equitably among the regions of the country and among 
urban and rural areas.
    ``(e) Duration of Awards.--With respect to a grant, contract, or 
cooperative agreement under subsection (a), the period during which 
payments under such an award will be made to the recipient shall be 5 
years, with options for renewal.
    ``(f) Evaluation and Measures of Outcomes.--
            ``(1) Development of process.--The Assistant Secretary 
        shall develop a fiscally appropriate process for evaluating 
        activities carried out under this section. Such process shall 
        include--
                    ``(A) the development of guidelines for the 
                submission of program data by grant, contract, or 
                cooperative agreement recipients;
                    ``(B) the development of measures of outcomes (in 
                accordance with paragraph (2)) to be applied by such 
                recipients in evaluating programs carried out under 
                this section; and
                    ``(C) the submission of annual reports by such 
                recipients concerning the effectiveness of programs 
                carried out under this section.
            ``(2) Measures of outcomes.--The Assistant Secretary shall 
        develop measures of outcomes to be applied by recipients of 
        assistance under this section to evaluate the effectiveness of 
        programs carried out under this section, including outcomes 
        related to the student, family, and local educational systems 
        supported by this Act.
            ``(3) Submission of annual data.--An eligible entity 
        described in subsection (c) that receives a grant, contract, or 
        cooperative agreement under this section shall annually submit 
        to the Assistant Secretary a report that includes data to 
        evaluate the success of the program carried out by the entity 
        based on whether such program is achieving the purposes of the 
        program. Such reports shall utilize the measures of outcomes 
        under paragraph (2) in a reasonable manner to demonstrate the 
        progress of the program in achieving such purposes.
            ``(4) Evaluation by assistant secretary.--Based on the data 
        submitted under paragraph (3), the Assistant Secretary shall 
        annually submit to Congress a report concerning the results and 
        effectiveness of the programs carried out with assistance 
        received under this section.
            ``(5) Limitation.--An eligible entity shall use not more 
        than 20 percent of amounts received under a grant under this 
        section to carry out evaluation activities under this 
        subsection.
    ``(g) Information and Education.--The Secretary shall disseminate 
best practices based on the findings of the knowledge development and 
application under this section.
    ``(h) Amount of Grants and Authorization of Appropriations.--
            ``(1) Amount of grants.--A grant under this section shall 
        be in an amount that is not more than $2,000,000 for each of 
        the first 5 fiscal years following the date of enactment of the 
        Mental Health Services for Students Act of 2021. The Secretary 
        shall determine the amount of each such grant based on the 
        population of children up to age 21 of the area to be served 
        under the grant.
            ``(2) Authorization of appropriations.--There is authorized 
        to be appropriated to carry out this section, $130,000,000 for 
        each of fiscal years 2022 through 2025.''.
    (c) Conforming Amendment.--Part G of title V of the Public Health 
Service Act (42 U.S.C. 290hh et seq.), as amended by subsection (b), is 
further amended by striking the part designation and heading and 
inserting the following:

                ``PART G--SCHOOL-BASED MENTAL HEALTH''.

            Passed the House of Representatives May 12, 2021.

            Attest:

                                             CHERYL L. JOHNSON,

                                                                 Clerk.