HR6131-119

What This Bill Does

The Increasing Access to Mental Health in Schools Act builds a pipeline for school counselors, school social workers, school psychologists, and related school-based mental health providers in low-income school districts. It defines eligible graduate institutions, low-income local educational agencies, school-based mental health fields, target staffing ratios, and eligible partnerships. The Education Secretary must award competitive five-year grants, renewable for additional five-year periods, to partnerships between low-income local educational agencies and eligible graduate institutions. Grants fund graduate student field placements, coursework at local educational agency sites, salaries for participating graduates for up to three years, efforts to meet target staffing ratios, recruitment and retention of culturally or linguistically underrepresented graduate students, graduate faculty capacity, high-need student coursework, best-practice training, and data collection. A peer review panel evaluates applications and the Secretary must explain departures from panel recommendations to congressional committees. The bill also creates student loan repayment for recent graduates and mid-career professionals newly becoming school-based mental health providers who agree to five consecutive years in a low-income local educational agency. Repayment covers one-fifth of principal and interest for each of the first four years and the remainder in the fifth year, capped at $200,000, and may count toward Public Service Loan Forgiveness. The Secretary must study a formula for future designation of regions with shortages of school-based mental health providers and report to Congress within two years.

Who Benefits and How

Students in low-income schools benefit from more school counselors, school social workers, school psychologists, and related providers. Low-income local educational agencies benefit from grants that pay for field placements, salaries, staffing-ratio improvements, and provider pipelines. Graduate students in school-based mental health fields benefit from funded placements, coursework, and pathways into low-income districts. School-based mental health providers benefit from loan repayment up to $200,000 for five years of service. Eligible graduate institutions benefit from grant funding for faculty capacity, coursework, and partnerships with low-income school districts.

Who Bears the Burden and How

The Education Department must run competitive grants, manage peer review, explain departures from panel recommendations, and oversee renewals. Eligible partnerships must submit applications, assess provider-to-student ratios, operate pipeline programs, and report grant activities. Participating graduates must complete service obligations and verify employment annually to receive loan repayment. Federal taxpayers bear grant costs, salary supports, and loan repayment costs authorized as necessary. The Education Secretary must maintain a directory of qualifying low-income local educational agencies and complete a shortage-formula report within two years.

Key Provisions

• Creates competitive five-year grants for partnerships between low-income school districts and eligible graduate institutions.
• Funds graduate field placements, on-site coursework, salary support, staffing-ratio improvements, recruitment, faculty capacity, and best-practice training.
• Creates loan repayment up to $200,000 for school-based mental health providers serving low-income districts for five years.
• Allows qualifying service to count toward Public Service Loan Forgiveness.
• Requires a peer review panel and written explanations when the Secretary rejects panel recommendations.
• Requires a two-year study on shortage-region designation for school-based mental health providers.