Sponsors (32)
The bill substantially expands and finances school-based mental health workforce pipelines and student access—targeting resources to high-need areas and offering strong financial incentives for providers—while increasing federal spending, adding administrative burdens, and risking uneven access for some rural, tribal, or nontraditional communities.
Students in low-income and high-need schools will gain substantially increased access to school-based mental health providers because the bill funds graduate placements, hires, and targets resources to shortage areas.
Graduate students and training programs will get expanded, supervised school-based clinical training, clearer licensure pathways, and institutional support (faculty hiring, program expansion), strengthening the long-term pipeline of school mental health providers.
Students and early-career school mental-health workers will receive substantial financial support—tuition credits, paid field placements, and up to five years of federal loan repayment (and PSLF credit)—reducing barriers to entering and staying in the profession.
Taxpayers face increased federal spending and fiscal exposure because the bill creates new recurring grant programs (~$200M/year) and open-ended loan-repayment obligations without a fixed appropriation limit, with some large loan repayments possible.
High-need communities, small or rural LEAs, and tribal schools risk being left out because competitive grant processes, eligibility thresholds, narrow BIE inclusion, and local capacity gaps may prevent some districts from receiving awards or participating.
Short-term federal salary supports (up to three years) and program requirements (e.g., five years of consecutive employment for some benefits) may not produce long-term retention or may deter providers who cannot commit to continuous, long-term service.
Based on analysis of 5 sections of legislative text.
Creates competitive grants to place graduate students and build pipelines for school-based mental health providers, a federal loan repayment program for providers, and a study to identify shortage regions.
Introduced November 19, 2025 by Judy Chu · Last progress November 19, 2025
Creates a federal program to boost school-based mental health staffing in low-income school districts by funding five-year partnerships that place graduate students in counseling, psychology, and social work roles, and by offering federal loan repayment to qualified providers who commit to at least five years serving low-income LEAs. The bill sets target provider-to-student ratios, requires peer-reviewed grant awards with priority for highest-need schools, and directs a study to define regions with shortages of school-based mental health providers. Grants support pipeline activities (recruitment, supervised clinical placements, training, stipends, supervision, and placement supports). The loan repayment program covers eligible federal student loans up to an aggregate $200,000 per person across five years (with payments spread across the first five years of service), and the Department must develop a regional shortage formula and report to Congress within two years.