Sponsors (3)
The bill expands access to professionally supported peer mental-health programs in secondary schools and funds technical assistance and evaluation, but it is a short-term, administratively routed initiative that may impose local costs and face data-sharing limits that complicate long-term effectiveness and scaling.
Secondary-school students gain expanded access to evidence-based, professionally overseen peer mental-health support and training.
Schools and districts receive federal technical assistance and best-practice resources to design and implement peer-support programs.
The program requires evaluation to produce evidence on program effectiveness and connections to professional care, informing future policy and scale-up decisions.
The program is time-limited (sunset 9/30/2029), risking short-term continuity and limiting long-term availability and planning for students and schools.
Grants are available only to States, political subdivisions, territories, and Tribal entities, which can exclude individual schools and nonprofits and add administrative layers and delays.
Schools and districts may need to absorb administrative, training, and matching costs for implementing and evaluating programs, straining local budgets.
Based on analysis of 2 sections of legislative text.
Establishes a competitive pilot grant program to fund supervised peer mental-health support activities in secondary schools with required evaluation and FERPA protections.
Official title: To require the Secretary of Health and Human Services to carry out a pilot program to support evidence-based mental health peer support activities for students.
Introduced September 15, 2025 by Donald Sternoff Beyer · Last progress September 15, 2025
Creates a competitive federal pilot grant program to fund evidence-based peer mental health support activities in secondary schools. Grants go to states, localities, territories, and tribal governments to implement peer support (including training) under supervision of a school-based mental health professional, with program evaluation, technical assistance, FERPA protections for student records, and a statutory expiration in 2029.