Student Mental Health Improvement Act of 2022
Bill: H.R.9469 | Sponsor: Rep. Emmer, Tom (R-MN)
Policy area: Education

Summary:
Student Mental Health Improvement Act of 2022
This bill establishes a grant program through which the Department of Education may award grants to eligible students attending institutions of higher education to pursue careers in mental health occupations. It also allows for a refundable tax credit for qualified school-based mental health professionals.

To authorize a Mental Health Education Grant program to encourage 
students to pursue a career as a counselor, social worker, or therapist 
     in an elementary or secondary school, and for other purposes.

    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 ``Student Mental Health Improvement 
Act of 2022''.

SEC. 2. MENTAL HEALTH EDUCATION GRANT PROGRAM.

    Part A of title IV of the Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 
1070 et seq.) is amended by inserting at the end of subpart 7 the 
following:

              ``Subpart 8--Mental Health Education Grants

``SEC. 420. MENTAL HEALTH EDUCATION GRANT PROGRAM ESTABLISHED.

    ``(a) Program Authority.--
            ``(1) Payments required.--The Secretary is authorized to 
        carry out a Mental Health Education Grant program to pay to 
        each candidate who is selected by the Secretary, on a 
        competitive basis, to participate in such program, a Mental 
        Health Education Grant in the amount of $2,000 for each year 
        during which that candidate is eligible.
            ``(2) References.--Grants made under paragraph (1) shall be 
        known as `Mental Health Education Grants'.
            ``(3) Authorization.--There are authorized to be 
        appropriated $20,000,000 for fiscal year 2023 and each 
        subsequent fiscal year to provide Mental Health Education 
        Grants in accordance with this subpart.
            ``(4) Sense of congress.--It is the sense of Congress that 
        the Mental Health Education Grant program should be funded by 
        rescinding unused American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 (Public Law 
        117-2) funding.
    ``(b) Distribution of Grants to Candidates.--Payments under this 
subpart shall be made, in accordance with regulations promulgated by 
the Secretary for such purpose, in such manner as will best accomplish 
the purposes of this subpart.
    ``(c) Reductions in Amount.--
            ``(1) Part-time students.--In any case where a candidate 
        attends an eligible institution on less than a full-time basis 
        (including a candidate who attends an eligible institution on 
        less than a half-time basis) during any year, the amount of a 
        grant under this subpart for which that candidate is eligible 
        shall be reduced in proportion to the degree to which that 
        candidate is not attending on a full-time basis, in accordance 
        with a schedule of reductions established by the Secretary for 
        the purposes of this subpart, computed in accordance with this 
        subpart. Such schedule of reductions shall be established by 
        regulation and published in the Federal Register in accordance 
        with section 482 of this Act.
            ``(2) No exceeding cost.--The amount of a grant awarded 
        under this subpart, in combination with Federal student 
        assistance and other student assistance the candidate may 
        receive, shall not exceed the cost of attendance (as defined in 
        section 472) at the eligible institution at which that 
        candidate is in attendance.
    ``(d) Period of Eligibility for Grants.--
            ``(1) In general.--The period during which a candidate may 
        receive grants under this subpart shall be the period required 
        for the completion of the first masters course of study related 
        to a mental health occupation being pursued by the candidate at 
        the eligible institution at which the candidate is in 
        attendance, except that--
                    ``(A) any period during which the candidate is 
                enrolled in a noncredit or remedial course of study as 
                described in paragraph (2) shall not be counted for the 
                purpose of this paragraph; and
                    ``(B) the total amount that a candidate may receive 
                under this subpart shall not exceed $4,000.
            ``(2) Remedial course.--Nothing in this subpart shall be 
        construed to exclude from eligibility courses of study which 
        are noncredit or remedial in nature (including courses in 
        English language acquisition) which are determined by the 
        eligible institution to be necessary to help the candidate be 
        prepared for the pursuit of a first masters degree or, in the 
        case of courses in English language instruction, to be 
        necessary to enable the candidate to utilize already existing 
        knowledge, training, or skills.

``SEC. 421. APPLICATIONS; ELIGIBILITY; SELECTION.

    ``(a) Applications.--The Secretary shall periodically set dates by 
which students shall file applications to complete for grants under 
this subpart. Each student desiring to compete for a grant under this 
subpart for any year shall file an application containing such 
information and assurances as the Secretary may determine necessary to 
enable the Secretary to carry out the functions and responsibilities of 
this subpart.
    ``(b) Demonstration of Grant Eligibility.--Each application 
submitted under subsection (a) shall contain such information as is 
necessary to demonstrate that the applicant is a student who--
            ``(1) is enrolled at an eligible institution;
            ``(2) is an eligible student for purposes of section 484;
            ``(3) is completing coursework and other requirements 
        necessary to begin a career in a mental health occupation, or 
        plans to complete such coursework and requirements prior to 
        graduating; and
            ``(4) has not obtained a masters degree related to a career 
        in a mental health occupation before receiving a Mental Health 
        Education grant.
    ``(c) Selection.--The Secretary shall award grants under this 
subpart competitively on the basis of criteria determined by the 
Secretary by regulation.

``SEC. 422. AGREEMENTS TO SERVE.

    ``(a) Service Agreements.--Each application under section 421(a) 
shall contain or be accompanied by an agreement by the applicant that--
            ``(1) if selected to be a candidate, the applicant will--
                    ``(A) serve full-time in a mental health occupation 
                for a total of not less than 4 years within 8 years 
                after completing the course of study for which the 
                candidate received a Mental Health Education Grant 
                under this subpart; and
                    ``(B) submit evidence of such employment in the 
                form of a certification by the State educational agency 
                or department employing the candidate upon completion 
                of each year of such service;
            ``(2) in the event that a candidate is determined to have 
        failed or refused to carry out such service obligation, the sum 
        of the amounts of any Mental Health Education Grants received 
        by such candidate will be treated as a loan and collected from 
        the candidate in accordance with subsection (b) and the 
        regulations thereunder; and
            ``(3) contains, or is accompanied by, a plain-language 
        disclosure form developed by the Secretary that clearly 
        describes the nature of the Mental Health Education Grant 
        award, the service obligation, and the loan repayment 
        requirements that are the consequence of the failure to 
        complete the service obligation.
    ``(b) Repayment for Failure To Complete Service.--
            ``(1) In general.--In the event that a candidate fails or 
        refuses to comply with the service obligation in the agreement 
        under subsection (a), the sum of the amounts of any Mental 
        Health Education Grants received by such candidate shall, upon 
        a determination of such a failure or refusal in such service 
        obligation, be treated as a Federal Direct Unsubsidized 
        Stafford Loan under part D of title IV, and shall be subject to 
        repayment, together with interest thereon accruing from the 
        date the grant is converted to such a Loan, in accordance with 
        terms and conditions specified by the Secretary in regulations 
        under this subpart.
            ``(2) Extenuating circumstances.--The Secretary shall 
        establish, by regulation, categories of extenuating 
        circumstances under which a candidate who is unable to fulfill 
        all or part of the candidate's service obligation may be 
        excused from fulfilling that portion of the service obligation.

``SEC. 423. DEFINITIONS.

    ``For the purposes of this subpart:
            ``(1) Candidate.--The term `candidate' means an individual 
        who is selected by the Secretary to receive a Mental Health 
        Education Grant under this subpart.
            ``(2) Eligible institution.--The term `eligible 
        institution' means an institution of higher education, as 
        defined in section 102, that provides a masters degree in a 
        field related to a mental health occupation.
            ``(3) ESEA terms.--The terms `elementary school' and 
        `secondary school' have the meanings given those terms in 
        section 8101 of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 
        1965 (20 U.S.C. 7801).
            ``(4) Mental health occupation.--The term `mental health 
        occupation' means an occupation that is 1 of the following:
                    ``(A) A mental or behavioral health counselor in an 
                elementary school or secondary school.
                    ``(B) A social worker in an elementary school or 
                secondary school.
                    ``(C) A therapist in an elementary school or 
                secondary school.
                    ``(D) A psychologist in an elementary school or 
                secondary school.''.

SEC. 3. REFUNDABLE CREDIT FOR SCHOOL COUNSELORS, SOCIAL WORKERS, 
              THERAPISTS, AND PSYCHOLOGISTS.

    (a) In General.--Subpart C of part IV of subchapter A of chapter 1 
of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 is amended by adding at the end 
the following new section:

``SEC. 36C. CREDIT FOR SCHOOL COUNSELORS, SOCIAL WORKERS, THERAPISTS, 
              AND PSYCHOLOGISTS.

    ``(a) In General.--In the case of any individual who is a qualified 
school-based mental health professional for any taxable year, there 
shall be allowed as a credit against the tax imposed by this subtitle 
for such taxable year an amount equal to $2,500.
    ``(b) Qualified School-Based Mental Health Professional.--For 
purposes of this section, the term `qualified school-based mental 
health professional' means any employee of a school (as defined in 
section 62(d)(1)(B)) or school-based health center who provides service 
as a mental or behavioral health counselor, social worker, therapist, 
or psychologist pursuant to such employment.
    ``(c) Reduced Credit for Less Than Full-Time Service.--In the case 
any qualified school-based mental health professional who performs less 
than 1560 hours of service as a counselor, social worker, or therapist 
pursuant to the employment described in subsection (b) during any 
taxable year, the credit allowed under this section to such individual 
for such taxable year shall not exceed the amount which bears the same 
ratio to the amount of such credit determined without regard to this 
subsection as--
            ``(1) the number of hours of such service so performed by 
        such individual during such taxable year, bears to
            ``(2) 1560.''.
    (b) Conforming Amendments.--
            (1) Section 6211(b)(4)(A) of the Internal Revenue Code of 
        1986 is amended by inserting ``36C,'' after ``36B,''.
            (2) Paragraph (2) of section 1324(b) of title 31, United 
        States Code, is amended by inserting ``36C,'' after ``36B,''.
            (3) The table of sections for subpart C of part IV of 
        subchapter A of chapter 1 of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 
        is amended by inserting after the item relating to section 36B 
        the following new item:

``Sec. 36C. Credit for school counselors, social workers, therapists, 
                            and psychologists.''.
    (c) Effective Date.--The amendments made by this section shall 
apply to taxable years ending after the date of the enactment of this 
Act.

SEC. 4. STUDY AND REPORT.

    (a) In General.--Not later than 2 years after the date of the 
enactment this Act, the Secretary shall conduct a study to identify--
            (1) the elementary schools and secondary schools in each 
        State with school-based health centers that do not provide 
        mental health services at such centers;
            (2) reasons that such schools do not provide, or are unable 
        to provide, such services; and
            (3) recommendations with respect to ways to increase the 
        provision of mental health services in such centers.
    (b) Report.--Not later than 1 year after conducting the study 
required under subsection (a), the Secretary shall submit to Congress a 
report containing the findings and recommendations of such study.
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