Cady Housh and Gemesha Thomas Student Suicide Prevention Act of 2019

I 116TH CONGRESS 1ST SESSION H. R. 3778 To amend the Public Health Service Act to authorize certain grants (for youth suicide early intervention and prevention strategies) to be used for school personnel in elementary and secondary schools and students in secondary schools to receive student suicide awareness and prevention training, and for other purposes. IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES JULY 16, 2019 Mr. CLEAVER (for himself, Mr. LONG, Mrs. WATSON COLEMAN, Mr. CUM- MINGS, Ms. WILSON of Florida, Mr. HASTINGS, Mr. THOMPSON of Mis- sissippi, Ms. JOHNSON of Texas, Ms. LEE of California, Mrs. MCBATH, Mr. FITZPATRICK, Ms. KELLY of Illinois, Ms. WILD, Mr. HORSFORD, Mr. BUTTERFIELD, Ms. CLARKE of New York, Mr. ROSE of New York, and Mr. MEEKS) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Com- mittee on Energy and Commerce, and in addition to the Committee on Education and Labor, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned A BILL To amend the Public Health Service Act to authorize certain grants (for youth suicide early intervention and preven- tion strategies) to be used for school personnel in elemen- tary and secondary schools and students in secondary schools to receive student suicide awareness and preven- tion training, and for other purposes. Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa- 1 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 2 VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:13 Jul 25, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3778.IH H3778 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 2 •HR 3778 IH SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 1 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Cady Housh and 2 Gemesha Thomas Student Suicide Prevention Act of 3 2019’’. 4 SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 5 Congress finds the following: 6 (1) In the last 12 years, suicide has been on the 7 increase, moving up to the second leading cause of 8 death for young people between the ages of 10 and 9 24 with about 157,000 youth treated at emergency 10 departments for self-inflicted injuries. 11 (2) According to the 2017 Youth Risk Behav- 12 iors Survey of the Centers for Disease Control and 13 Prevention, 16 percent of high school students re- 14 ported seriously considering suicide, and 8 percent 15 reporting attempting to take their lives during that 16 period. 17 (3) Eighty percent of students show warning 18 signs before attempting suicide. 19 (4) Prevention and awareness training will 20 equip individuals to become aware of the warning 21 signs of suicide, identify students in crisis, and pro- 22 vide resources for help. 23 (5) Research shows that inquiring about suicide 24 ideation, or discussing suicide in terms of recog- 25 nizing risk factors and prevention methods— 26 VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:13 Jul 25, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3778.IH H3778 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 3 •HR 3778 IH (A) does not increase the chance of suicide; 1 and 2 (B) in fact, can lower the risk of suicide. 3 (6) Sexual minority youth (LGBTQ) are almost 4 five times more likely to have attempted suicide com- 5 pared to their heterosexual peers. 6 SEC. 3. SENSE OF CONGRESS. 7 It is the sense of the Congress that— 8 (1) student suicide awareness, prevention train- 9 ing, and response materials should be available to all 10 school personnel, including administrative personnel, 11 teachers, counselors, and other school leaders; 12 (2) States should give autonomy to each local 13 educational agency to— 14 (A) adopt a policy with respect to student 15 suicide awareness and prevention; and 16 (B) work collaboratively with local organi- 17 zations, youth mental health experts, health 18 care providers, and the Secretary of Health and 19 Human Services to implement training for 20 school personnel and students, including by 21 sharing and disseminating— 22 (i) training materials and resources; 23 and 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:13 Jul 25, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3778.IH H3778 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 4 •HR 3778 IH (ii) information that is evidence-based 1 or promising on student suicide prevention; 2 (3) the Secretary of Health and Human Serv- 3 ices should identify the highest unmet needs, specifi- 4 cally with students of color; 5 (4) schools should offer to students in grades 9 6 through 12, with the support of organizations with 7 demonstrated expertise in cultural competency, sui- 8 cide awareness, response, and prevention training 9 with an ‘‘opt out’’ component to be signed by par- 10 ents, guardians, or students over the age of 18; 11 (5) students who receive such training should 12 not be taught to be counselors, but rather should be 13 educated on how to— 14 (A) recognize signs of suicide and depres- 15 sion; 16 (B) report these signs to appropriate staff; 17 and 18 (C) identify sources of care and support; 19 and 20 (6) schools should utilize school-based mental 21 health professionals and other community partner- 22 ships. 23 VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:13 Jul 25, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3778.IH H3778 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 5 •HR 3778 IH SEC. 4. STUDENT SUICIDE AWARENESS AND PREVENTION 1 TRAINING. 2 (a) ADDITIONAL AUTHORIZED USE OF GRANT 3 FUNDS.—Section 520E(a) of the Public Health Service 4 Act (42 U.S.C. 290bb–36(a)) is amended— 5 (1) in paragraph (4), by striking ‘‘and’’ at the 6 end; 7 (2) in paragraph (5), by striking the period at 8 the end and inserting ‘‘; and’’; and 9 (3) by adding at the end the following: 10 ‘‘(6) establish and implement a statewide policy 11 requiring school personnel in elementary and sec- 12 ondary schools and students in secondary schools to 13 complete student emotional well-being, mental 14 health, and suicide awareness and prevention train- 15 ing in accordance with subsection (d).’’. 16 (b) TRAINING REQUIREMENTS.—Section 520E of the 17 Public Health Service Act (42 U.S.C. 290bb–36(a)), as 18 amended by subsection (a), is further amended— 19 (1) by redesignating subsections (d) through 20 (m) as subsections (e) through (n), respectively; and 21 (2) by inserting after subsection (c) the fol- 22 lowing: 23 ‘‘(d) REQUIREMENTS FOR STUDENT SUICIDE 24 AWARENESS AND TRAINING PROGRAMS.— 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:13 Jul 25, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3778.IH H3778 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 6 •HR 3778 IH ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—As a condition on receipt of 1 funds under subsection (a)(6), an applicant shall 2 agree to use the funds to establish or implement a 3 statewide policy— 4 ‘‘(A) requiring school personnel in elemen- 5 tary and secondary schools and students in sec- 6 ondary schools to complete student emotional 7 well-being, mental health, and suicide awareness 8 and prevention training that— 9 ‘‘(i) includes at least one classroom 10 session each school year; 11 ‘‘(ii) is evidence-based or evidence-in- 12 formed; and 13 ‘‘(iii) includes training on— 14 ‘‘(I) the warning signs of, and 15 elevated risk factors for, poor emo- 16 tional well-being, mental health issues, 17 and suicide of oneself and of others; 18 ‘‘(II) suggested responses to such 19 warning signs; 20 ‘‘(III) further suicide awareness 21 and prevention resources; and 22 ‘‘(IV) the method and manner of 23 making an appropriate referral to a 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:13 Jul 25, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3778.IH H3778 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 7 •HR 3778 IH school-based mental health services 1 provider; and 2 ‘‘(B) requiring, with respect to such school 3 personnel, that such training include training 4 on— 5 ‘‘(i) cultural competency and intersec- 6 tionality sensitivity; and 7 ‘‘(ii) an overview of applicable Fed- 8 eral, State, and local law concerning re- 9 porting requirements. 10 ‘‘(2) DEFINITIONS.—As used in subsection 11 (a)(6) and this subsection: 12 ‘‘(A) The term ‘evidence-based’ means— 13 ‘‘(i) demonstrating a rationale based 14 on high-quality research findings or posi- 15 tive evaluation that the program or train- 16 ing— 17 ‘‘(I) is likely to improve relevant 18 outcomes; and 19 ‘‘(II) includes ongoing efforts to 20 examine the effects of the program or 21 training; or 22 ‘‘(ii) supported by documentation 23 showing that the program or training— 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:13 Jul 25, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3778.IH H3778 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 8 •HR 3778 IH ‘‘(I) has been effectively imple- 1 mented in the past, multiple times, in 2 accordance with scientific standards of 3 evidence; and 4 ‘‘(II) demonstrates a consistent 5 pattern of credible and positive ef- 6 fects. 7 ‘‘(B) The term ‘school-based mental health 8 services provider’ includes a State-licensed or 9 State-certified school counselor, school psycholo- 10 gist, school social worker, or other State-li- 11 censed or certified mental health professional 12 qualified under State law to provide mental 13 health services to children and adolescents. 14 ‘‘(C) The term ‘school personnel’ means— 15 ‘‘(i) principals or other heads of a 16 school; other professional instructional 17 staff (such as staff involved in curriculum 18 development, staff development, or oper- 19 ating library, media, and computer cen- 20 ters); specialized instructional support per- 21 sonnel such as school counselors, school so- 22 cial workers, and school psychologists; and 23 other qualified professional personnel, such 24 as school nurses, speech language patholo- 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:13 Jul 25, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3778.IH H3778 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 9 •HR 3778 IH gists, and school librarians, involved in 1 providing assessment, diagnosis, coun- 2 seling, and educational, therapeutic, and 3 other necessary services; and 4 ‘‘(ii) other school employees and con- 5 tractors who interact with students, includ- 6 ing bus drivers, cafeteria workers, coaches, 7 janitorial staff, and after-school program 8 employees.’’. 9 (c) FUNDING.—Subsection (n) of section 520E of the 10 Public Health Service Act (42 U.S.C. 290bb–36), as re- 11 designated by subsection (b)(2), is amended— 12 (1) by striking ‘‘For the purpose’’ and inserting 13 the following: 14 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—For the purpose’’; 15 (2) by striking ‘‘2022’’ and inserting ‘‘2025’’; 16 and 17 (3) by adding at the end the following: 18 ‘‘(2) ALLOCATION.—Of the amounts made 19 available to carry out this section for a fiscal year, 20 not less than 15 percent of such amounts shall be 21 used for grants or cooperative agreements to carry 22 out subsection (a)(6) (to establish and implement a 23 statewide policy requiring school personnel in ele- 24 mentary and secondary schools and students in sec- 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:13 Jul 25, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00009 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3778.IH H3778 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 10 •HR 3778 IH ondary schools to complete student emotional well- 1 being, mental health, and suicide awareness and pre- 2 vention training).’’. 3 Æ VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:13 Jul 25, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00010 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6301 E:\BILLS\H3778.IH H3778 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS