HR 4186
Connecting Students with Mental Health Services Act
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Bill overview
This bill, the Connecting Students with Mental Health Services Act, aims to improve the mental and behavioral health support available to students in elementary and secondary schools. It will do this by providing grants to eligible entities, such as partnerships between local educational agencies and community health care providers, to implement telehealth programs and other resources for student mental health. The bill prioritizes schools in high-poverty areas, rural areas, and health professional shortage areas, and requires a report on the program’s impact after five years.
Key provisions
- Authorizes the Department of Education to award grants to eligible entities.
- Prioritizes grants to schools in high-poverty, rural, and health professional shortage areas.
- Allows grants to be used for telehealth programs, equipment upgrades, and staffing.
- Requires applications to include a plan for telehealth implementation and privacy assurances.
- Establishes a reporting requirement for the Department of Education and HHS on the program's impact.
- Defines ‘telehealth’ as the use of electronic technology for clinical health care.
- Authorizes appropriations of $5 million per year for fiscal years 2026-2029.
- Specifies eligible entities as partnerships between local educational agencies and community health care providers.
Who is affected
- Elementary and Secondary School Students
- Local Educational Agencies
- Community Health Care Providers
- Rural Schools
Sponsors
Official sponsors from legislative records.
Primary sponsor
Cosponsors
Becca [D-VT-At Large] Balint
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119th CONGRESS — 1st Session
H. R. 4186
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
A BILL
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.
This Act may be cited as the Connecting Students with Mental Health Services Act
.
ensuring sufficient space and personnel to support such a telehealth program in one or more schools; and
To seek a grant under this section, an eligible entity shall submit an application to the Secretary of Education at such time, in such manner, and containing such information and assurances as the Secretary may require.
Each such application shall include a plan—
detailing the applicant’s proposed telehealth program that includes mental and behavioral health care, to be supported through the plan; and
In awarding grants under this section, the Secretary of Education shall give priority to eligible entities that—
submit an application in accordance with subsection (c); and
serve—
high-poverty elementary schools and secondary schools;
rural elementary schools and secondary schools; or
elementary schools and secondary schools that are located in a health professional shortage area designated under section 332 of the Public Health Service Act (42 U.S.C. 254e).
The Secretary of Education shall establish the program required by subsection (a) not later than 180 days after the date of enactment of this Act.
Funds made available under this section shall be used to supplement and not supplant other Federal, State, and local funds provided for activities funded under this section.
Not later than September 30, 2027, the Secretary of Education and the Secretary of Health and Human Services, acting jointly, shall submit to the Congress and make publicly available a report including—
recommendations for the reauthorization, expansion, and improvement of the program under this section.
The term community health care provider—
subject to subparagraph (B), includes a university health care system; and
excludes any provider that does not accept payment under a State plan (or waiver of such plan) under title XIX of the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 1396 et seq.).
The terms educational service agency, elementary school, local educational agency, and secondary school have the meanings given to those terms in section 8101 of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 7801).
a local educational agency or a consortium of any such agencies; and
a community health care provider or an educational service agency.
To carry out this section, there is authorized to be appropriated $5,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2026 through 2029.