To authorize the Secretary of Education, in coordination with the Secretary of Health and Human Services, to award grants to eligible entities to support the mental and behavioral health of elementary and secondary school students, and for other purposes.
Sponsors
Legislative Progress
IntroducedMr. Krishnamoorthi (for himself, Mr. Fitzpatrick, Mr. Landsman, Mr. Lawler, …
Summary
What This Bill Does
The "Connecting Students with Mental Health Services Act" creates a federal grant program to help schools set up telehealth systems for student mental health services. The Secretary of Education, working with the Secretary of Health and Human Services, will award grants to partnerships between school districts and healthcare providers to purchase telehealth equipment, hire staff, and provide mental health counseling to students remotely. The program prioritizes schools in high-poverty areas, rural communities, and regions with shortages of healthcare professionals.
Who Benefits and How
School districts in underserved areas benefit by receiving federal funding (up to $5 million per year from 2026-2029) to establish telehealth programs they otherwise couldn't afford. Community health care providers—especially university health systems that accept Medicaid—gain new revenue opportunities by partnering with schools to deliver mental health services. Telehealth technology companies benefit from increased demand for their equipment and platforms. Mental health professionals gain access to new patient populations and revenue streams through school-based telehealth contracts. Most importantly, students in rural and underserved areas gain access to mental health services that are currently unavailable in their communities.
Who Bears the Burden and How
Federal taxpayers fund the program at $5 million annually from fiscal years 2026 through 2029, totaling $20 million. School districts and healthcare providers seeking grants face new compliance requirements, including detailed application processes, privacy law compliance assurances, and reporting on student participation and outcomes. Healthcare providers that don't accept Medicaid payments are explicitly excluded from eligibility, creating a barrier to participation for some private practices.
Key Provisions
- Establishes a competitive grant program for school-healthcare partnerships to implement student mental health telehealth programs
- Authorizes $5 million per year (FY2026-2029) for grants covering equipment purchases, facility upgrades, and staff hiring
- Gives priority to high-poverty schools, rural schools, and schools in federally designated health professional shortage areas
- Requires grant applicants to form partnerships between local school districts and community healthcare providers that accept Medicaid
- Mandates compliance with student privacy laws and requires a congressional report by September 30, 2027 on program impact and student participation
- Requires program implementation within 180 days of enactment
Evidence Chain:
This summary is derived from the structured analysis below. See "Detailed Analysis" for per-title beneficiaries/burden bearers with clause-level evidence links.
Primary Purpose
Establishes a grant program to support mental and behavioral health services for elementary and secondary students through telehealth programs
Policy Domains
Legislative Strategy
"Address student mental health crisis, particularly in underserved rural areas, by funding telehealth infrastructure and programs"
Likely Beneficiaries
- Local educational agencies (school districts)
- Community health care providers (especially university health systems)
- Educational service agencies
- Telehealth technology vendors
- Students in high-poverty, rural, or health professional shortage areas
Likely Burden Bearers
- Federal taxpayers ($5M/year from 2026-2029)
- Grant applicants (compliance with privacy laws and reporting requirements)
Bill Structure & Actor Mappings
Who is "The Secretary" in each section?
- "the_secretary"
- → Secretary of Education (in coordination with Secretary of Health and Human Services)
Key Definitions
Terms defined in this bill
Includes university health care systems but excludes providers that don't accept Medicaid payments (State plan under title XIX of Social Security Act)
Have meanings given in section 8101 of Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 7801)
A partnership between (1) a local educational agency or consortium of LEAs, and (2) a community health care provider or educational service agency
The use of electronic information and telecommunications technologies to support long-distance clinical health care, patient and professional health-related education, public health, and health administration
We use a combination of our own taxonomy and classification in addition to large language models to assess meaning and potential beneficiaries. High confidence means strong textual evidence. Always verify with the original bill text.
Learn more about our methodology