Sponsors (130)
Official title: To support States and high-need local educational agencies in increasing the number of mental health services providers in schools.
Introduced June 30, 2025 by Rosa L. Delauro · Last progress June 30, 2025
The bill directs new, targeted federal support to expand school‑based mental‑health staffing and prioritize high‑need districts, but its reliance on competitive grants, local matching funds, eligibility cutoffs, and added administrative/consent requirements limits immediate reach and risks leaving some needy communities without timely help.
Students in high-need districts will gain increased access to school-based mental health professionals through targeted hiring, recruitment incentives, and grants that fund new staff.
High-need local education agencies are prioritized for funding (including a requirement that at least 50% of funds go to high-quality applications from high-need districts), concentrating resources where student shortages are greatest.
The Act supports expansion and stabilization of the school mental‑health workforce through recruitment and retention incentives (loan repayment, stipends, relocation), plus professional development to improve staffing longevity and capacity.
Districts just above eligibility cutoffs, small or rural districts with atypical staffing models, and resource-poor LEAs risk being excluded from aid, producing uneven access to services across communities.
The law does not guarantee immediate universal services or funding—many students will see no short‑term increase in care because programs rely on future grants and implementation.
Local agencies must provide a 25% non‑Federal match, which may strain LEA budgets, forcing trade-offs with other programs or deterring participation.
Based on analysis of 8 sections of legislative text.
Authorizes competitive grants (FY2026–FY2030) to help high-need LEAs recruit, hire, and retain school-based mental health providers and requires a 25% non‑Federal match.
Creates a competitive grant program to help high-need school districts recruit, hire, retain, and diversify school-based mental health providers for K–12 students. Grants are authorized for FY2026–FY2030, include set-asides for administration, Bureau of Indian Education schools, and outlying areas, require a 25% non‑Federal match, and require annual public reporting on staffing and service metrics. Applies parental-consent, prohibited-use-of-funds, and prohibition-on-mandatory-medication rules from current law to grant recipients, and directs funds may be used for hiring, evidence-based school-climate practices, recruitment incentives, and retention activities such as professional development and mentorship.