Sponsors (21)
The bill expands access to trauma-informed, school-based mental health supports and staff training—especially in underserved communities—but does so with modest, time-limited federal funding and administrative requirements that may limit reach, flexibility, and long-term sustainability for some districts.
Students in participating districts will gain increased access to evidence-based, school-linked trauma supports and school-based mental health services through new competitive grants.
Teachers, school leaders, and school staff will receive funded professional development to better recognize and respond to trauma, improving classroom safety and learning environments.
Schools and communities (including Indian Health Service and tribal agencies) will be better connected through grant-funded partnerships, improving coordinated referrals and continuity of care for children and families.
Grants are time-limited to five years, creating a risk that programs will not be sustained after federal funding ends and that students could face service disruptions without follow-on funding.
Complex application, partnership, licensing, and reporting requirements could burden or exclude smaller districts and community providers from applying or implementing programs.
A supplement-not-supplant requirement may limit districts' flexibility to use these funds to fill existing gaps if they previously relied on other federal, state, or local funds.
Based on analysis of 2 sections of legislative text.
Authorizes grants to expand access to evidence-based trauma-informed and school mental-health services, with set-asides for evaluation and technical assistance and five-year award limits.
Authorizes the Department of Education, working with HHS, to award grants, contracts, or cooperative agreements to eligible entities to expand access to evidence-based trauma-informed and school mental-health services. Funding can connect schools, LEAs/TEAs, and tribal/Indian Health Service systems with community mental health and trauma systems, must fund evidence-based activities (including collaborative partnerships or trauma-informed models like PBIS), and limits awards to five years while reserving small percentages for evaluation and technical assistance/administration.
Introduced February 11, 2026 by Jahana Hayes · Last progress February 11, 2026