Sponsors (5)
Official title: Amend the Higher Education Act of 1965 to promote comprehensive campus mental health and suicide prevention plans, and for other purposes.
Introduced June 18, 2026 by Richard Blumenthal · Last progress June 18, 2026
The bill provides federally-aligned, evidence-based model suicide-prevention plans and technical support that can improve campus mental health responses, but because adoption is voluntary and some institutions lack resources, the benefit may be uneven and could impose modest federal costs.
Students and campuses gain federally-developed, evidence-based model mental health and suicide-prevention plans (aligned with SAMHSA best practices) plus technical assistance, improving campus support and likelihood of effective interventions.
Colleges and universities can adopt ready-made templates and receive technical help, reducing administrative burden and speeding implementation of prevention measures.
Congress and the public get regular reports on model development and updates, improving transparency and oversight of federal support for campus mental health.
Adoption of the federal models is voluntary, so many campuses may not implement them, substantially limiting nationwide impact for students.
Smaller or resource-limited institutions may struggle to implement the models even with technical assistance, producing uneven adoption and potential inequities for students at low-resourced colleges.
Developing, updating, and providing technical assistance may require federal resources, potentially increasing costs for taxpayers if new appropriations or reallocations are needed.
Based on analysis of 2 sections of legislative text.
Requires Education (with HHS/SAMHSA) to create, publish, update, and report on voluntary model mental health and suicide prevention plans for colleges, with technical assistance.
Requires the Department of Education, working with HHS (through SAMHSA), to develop, share, and periodically update evidence-based model mental health and suicide prevention action plans for colleges and universities. The Department must provide technical assistance to institutions that want to adopt those model plans and must report to Congress after the initial model and after each update. The first model plan must be released within one year of enactment and updated at least every five years; reports to congressional committees are due within one year after the initial model and after each update. The law explicitly says these model plans do not create new legal obligations for institutions of higher education.