Sponsors (128)
This bill aims to expand and target school-based mental health capacity for high-need districts and increase transparency and parental protections, but it relies on competitive grants, local matching funds, and administrative requirements that may limit reach, slow delivery, and leave some needy districts or students without services.
Students in participating and high-need school districts will gain increased access to school-based mental health professionals through funded hiring, recruitment incentives, and targeted staffing support.
High-need local educational agencies will be prioritized for grants (at least 50% of funds to high-quality high-need applications) and can apply for programs tailored to districts with the greatest shortages, improving resource targeting.
Schools will have access to recruitment and retention incentives (loan repayment, stipends, relocation), plus professional development, aimed at expanding and stabilizing the school-based mental health workforce.
Local education agencies must provide a 25% non‑Federal match, which could strain LEA budgets and force cuts or delays to other school programs.
Because funds are distributed via competitive grants, smaller, rural, or resource-poor districts may not receive awards even when they have substantial student need.
Eligibility formulas and strict staffing-ratio or cutoff requirements (e.g., the 15% benchmark) risk excluding districts that are near cutoffs or that use different staffing models, leaving some at-need students without support.
Based on analysis of 8 sections of legislative text.
Creates a competitive FY2026–FY2030 grant program to fund recruitment, hiring, retention, and diversification of school-based mental health providers for high-need LEAs with a 25% non‑Federal match.
Creates a competitive federal grant program (funded for FY2026–FY2030) to help high-need school districts recruit, hire, retain, and diversify school-based mental health providers for K–12 students. Grants may be used for hiring, recruitment incentives (stipends, relocation, loan repayment), retention strategies (professional development, mentorship), and evidence-based school-climate practices; grantees must provide a 25% non‑Federal match and report annually on specified metrics. Defines eligible applicants and “high-need” local educational agencies (LEAs) using a top-15% student-poverty/need measure plus shortfalls in counselor/psychologist/social-worker staffing ratios; reserves small shares of funding for administration/technical assistance, Bureau of Indian Education schools, and outlying areas; and applies parental-consent and related protections to grant recipients consistent with existing law.
Introduced June 30, 2025 by Rosa L. Delauro · Last progress June 30, 2025