Sponsor
Josh S. Gottheimer
Representative · D-NJ
Representative · D-NJ
The bill promotes earlier detection and connection-to-care for students at risk of self-harm by funding monitoring tools in schools, trading off important student privacy, accuracy, cost, and equity concerns in how those tools are used and overseen.
K–12 students at risk of self-harm could be identified earlier because software would alert school staff when students type suicidal or self-harm phrases, enabling quicker staff response.
At-risk students could be connected to mental-health services sooner, reducing potential harm and improving chances of timely intervention.
Schools and districts could receive federal grant support to buy suicide-prevention monitoring tools, reducing immediate local budget pressure for this technology.
Students' typed content on school-owned devices could be monitored, raising privacy and free-expression concerns for students and families.
Automated detection can produce false positives that subject students to unnecessary interventions, stress, or disciplinary actions.
States and schools may face ongoing costs for software maintenance, staff training, and follow-up services that federal grants may not fully cover, shifting long-term financial burdens to local budgets or taxpayers.
Based on analysis of 2 sections of legislative text.
Requires the Department of Education to create a grant program to help states buy suicide-prevention software for school-provided student devices within 180 days.
Official title: To direct the Secretary of Education to establish a grant program to assist with the cost of suicide prevention software for use in elementary schools and secondary schools, and for other purposes.
Introduced May 20, 2025 by Josh S. Gottheimer · Last progress May 20, 2025
Creates a federal grant program that helps states pay for suicide prevention software installed on school-provided student devices in elementary and secondary schools. The Department of Education must set up the program within 180 days of enactment and award grants to states that apply and meet required assurances. The software targeted by these grants is defined as programs that monitor typed words or phrases on school devices and alert school personnel if a student types language suggesting self-harm or suicide. Eligible applicants include the 50 states, DC, territories, possessions, and federally recognized Indian tribes.