This bill creates the Mental Health in Schools Excellence Program at the Department of Education. The program lets eligible graduate institutions enter agreements with the Secretary to help pay part of a student’s cost of attendance for graduate programs that prepare people to work as school-based mental health providers. Participating institutions must describe how they will contribute (for example, grants or scholarships), set maximum amounts and numbers of students, and prioritize certain students. The Secretary will post a list of participating institutions and conduct outreach to students who received a Federal Pell Grant as undergraduates or attended institutions listed in section 371(a) of the Higher Education Act. The Secretary may provide up to 50 percent of a participating student’s cost of attendance if the institution matches that contribution. The bill defines eligible graduate programs (school psychology, school counseling, school social work, and other school-based mental health fields) and references existing accreditation and licensure preparation standards.
No publicly available information on total federal appropriations, budget totals, or long-term costs is included in the bill text. The bill does specify that the Secretary may contribute up to 50 percent of a participating student’s cost of attendance when the eligible graduate institution matches that contribution, but it does not set an overall funding level or appropriation in the text.
The bill’s stated purpose is to increase the recruitment and retention of school-based mental health services providers by supporting graduate training in those fields through matched contributions between eligible institutions and the Department of Education.
No publicly available information.