Cornyn, Sinema, colleagues introduce bill to improve schools' access to mental health grants

Mar. 21—WASHINGTON U.S. Sen. John Cornyn (R-TX), Kyrsten Sinema (I-AZ), Thom Tillis (R-NC), Jon Tester (D-MT), and Maggie Hassan (D-NH) on Thursday introduced the Creating Access and Resources in Education (CARE) for Student Mental Health Act, which would help schools apply for federal mental health grants funded in part by the Bipartisan Safer Communities Act:

"Far too many young people struggle with their mental health, and far too many schools lack the resources to recognize and care for students who may be in crisis," Cornyn said in a news release. "To break this vicious cycle, our legislation would help connect schools with the potentially life-saving mental health resources provided by the Bipartisan Safer Communities Act to hire additional school psychologists and invest in the wellbeing of their students."

"Children should learn in healthy and safe environments," Sinema said. "Building on our Bipartisan Safer Communities law, our new bipartisan legislation will strengthen comprehensive school mental health services to Arizona students."

"As the founder and co-chair of the Senate Mental Health Caucus, I'm committed to ending the stigma surrounding mental health and ensuring students have access to necessary resources and support services," said Tillis. "This legislation builds on the historic Bipartisan Safer Communities Act by further expanding access to school-based mental health care that is critically important as students navigate the challenges of today. Crucially, this legislation helps provide mental health professionals to the communities that need them the most."

One in five children have a diagnosable mental or behavioral health disorder, and approximately 40% of students will experience symptoms of depression or anxiety by the seventh grade. Despite this growing crisis, a majority of school districts have limited or no access to school-based mental health providers such as psychologists, counselors, and social workers.

The Bipartisan Safer Communities Act, authored by Sen. Cornyn and signed into law in June of 2022, made historic investments in school-based mental health and supportive services, including $1 billion for the Mental Health Service Professional Demonstration Grant Program and School-Based Mental Health Services Program to hire more school psychologists, counselors, social workers, and other mental health services providers. However, less than 3% of eligible entities have applied for these grants, oftentimes because they do not have the administrative bandwidth to do so or the awareness that these grants are available.

The Creating Access and Resources in Education (CARE) for Student Mental Health Act would help bridge the gap between schools in need and available mental health resources by:

— Clarifying the distinction, purpose, and allowable activities of each grant to help eligible entities quickly determine which grant best meets their needs;

— Requiring the U.S. Department of Education to improve notification and technical assistance for potential grantees to enable more school districts with limited administrative capacity to apply and compete for these federal grants;

— Authorizing and streamlining the Strengthening the Pipeline of School-Based Mental Health Services Providers Program, which supports partnerships between colleges, universities, and school districts to increase the number of properly trained school-based mental health service professionals;

— And authorizing the School-Based Mental Health Services Program that assists high-need school districts to recruit, hire, and retain school-based mental health personnel for students to remain healthy, engaged, and safe at school.

The legislation is endorsed by the School Superintendents Association, National Association of School Psychologists, American Federation of School Administrators, American Foundation for Suicide Prevention, American Music Therapy Association, American Psychological Association, American School Health Association, Association of Educational Service Agencies, Council of Administrators of Special Education, Eating Disorders Coalition for Research, Policy, & Action, Healthy Schools Campaign, National Association of Elementary School Principals, National Association of School Nurses, National Association of Secondary School Principals, National Association of State Boards of Education, National Center for Learning Disabilities, National Rural Education Association, School Social Work Association of America, American Occupational Therapy Association, Matthew McConaughey's Greenlights Grant Initiative, and more.

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