What This Bill Does
This bill creates a grant program where the Education Secretary, working with the Health and Human Services Secretary, gives money to schools and health care partners to support mental and behavioral health services for elementary and secondary school students. The bill focuses especially on students living in rural areas or those without easy access to mental health services.
Who It Affects
Local school districts and educational service agencies (organizations that help multiple school districts), community health care providers including university health systems, and elementary and secondary school students needing mental and behavioral health support.
Key Provisions
• Schools and health care providers working together can use grant money to buy or upgrade equipment like computers and technology to run telehealth programs (remote mental health care delivered through technology) that include mental and behavioral health services (Sec. 2(b)(1))
• Grant recipients must ensure they have enough space and staff to run the telehealth program in one or more schools (Sec. 2(b)(2))
• Grant recipients can use money to hire new staff or pay existing staff extra to help run the telehealth program (Sec. 2(b)(3))
• The Education Secretary must give priority for grants to schools serving high-poverty areas, rural areas, or areas officially designated as lacking health professionals (Sec. 2(d))
• Schools receiving grants must protect student privacy and follow all privacy laws when collecting and using student information through the telehealth program (Sec. 2(c)(2)(B))
What Changes
If this becomes law, schools will have access to federal grant money to set up remote mental health services for students. The Education and Health and Human Services secretaries must create this grant program within 180 days of the law passing. Schools and health providers must work as partners to apply for these grants. The secretaries must report to Congress by September 30, 2025 about how many students received mental health services through these programs.
Important Definitions
Telehealth: Using electronic information and technology to provide health care services from far away, including patient education and public health services (Sec. 2(h)(4))
Eligible entity: A partnership between a local school district or group of school districts and either a community health care provider or educational service agency (Sec. 2(h)(3))
Community health care provider: Includes university health systems that accept payment through state Medicaid plans (Sec. 2(h)(1))
Effective Date
The Education Secretary must establish the grant program no later than 180 days after the law is enacted (Sec. 2(e)). A report to Congress is due by September 30, 2025 (Sec. 2(g)).
I
118TH CONGRESS
1ST SESSION H. R. 1689
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.
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
MARCH 21, 2023
Ms. SPANBERGER (for herself and Mr. FITZPATRICK) introduced the following
bill; which was referred to the Committee on Education and the Work-
force, and in addition to the Committee on Energy and Commerce, 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 com-
mittee concerned
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.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
1
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,
2
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
3
This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Connecting Students
4
with Mental Health Services Act’’.
5
VerDate Sep 11 2014
04:52 Apr 01, 2023
Jkt 039200
PO 00000
Frm 00001
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6201
E:\BILLS\H1689.IH
H1689
kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS
2
•HR 1689 IH
SEC. 2. GRANTS TO SUPPORT MENTAL AND BEHAVIORAL
1
HEALTH OF ELEMENTARY AND SECONDARY
2
SCHOOL STUDENTS.
3
(a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary of Education, in
4
coordination with the Secretary of Health and Human
5
Services, shall carry out a program consisting of awarding
6
grants to eligible entities to support the mental and behav-
7
ioral health of students in elementary schools and sec-
8
ondary schools, especially such students who reside in
9
rural areas or lack access to mental and behavioral health
10
services.
11
(b) USE OF FUNDS.—An eligible entity receiving a
12
grant under this section shall use the grant for resources
13
to support the mental and behavioral health of students
14
in elementary schools and secondary schools, which may
15
include—
16
(1) purchasing or upgrading equipment (which
17
may include physical equipment and technology) to
18
implement a telehealth program that includes mental
19
and behavioral health care;
20
(2) ensuring sufficient space and personnel to
21
support such a telehealth program in one or more
22
schools; and
23
(3) hiring, or providing additional compensation
24
for, staff to help administer such a telehealth pro-
25
gram.
26
VerDate Sep 11 2014
04:52 Apr 01, 2023
Jkt 039200
PO 00000
Frm 00002
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6201
E:\BILLS\H1689.IH
H1689
kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS
3
•HR 1689 IH
(c) APPLICATION.—
1
(1) SUBMISSION.—To seek a grant under this
2
section, an eligible entity shall submit an application
3
to the Secretary of Education at such time, in such
4
manner, and containing such information and assur-
5
ances as the Secretary may require.
6
(2) CONTENTS.—Each such application shall
7
include a plan—
8
(A) detailing the applicant’s proposed tele-
9
health program that includes mental and behav-
10
ioral health care, to be supported through the
11
plan; and
12
(B) providing assurances that any collec-
13
tion, maintenance, or use of student informa-
14
tion through such telehealth program will be in
15
accordance with applicable privacy laws.
16
(d) PRIORITY.—In awarding grants under this sec-
17
tion, the Secretary of Education shall give priority to eligi-
18
ble entities that—
19
(1) submit an application in accordance with
20
subsection (c); and
21
(2) serve—
22
(A) high-poverty elementary schools and
23
secondary schools;
24
VerDate Sep 11 2014
04:52 Apr 01, 2023
Jkt 039200
PO 00000
Frm 00003
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6201
E:\BILLS\H1689.IH
H1689
kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS
4
•HR 1689 IH
(B) rural elementary schools and sec-
1
ondary schools; or
2
(C) elementary schools and secondary
3
schools that are located in a health professional
4
shortage area designated under section 332 of
5
the Public Health Service Act (42 U.S.C.
6
254e).
7
(e) TIMING.—The Secretary of Education shall estab-
8
lish the program required by subsection (a) not later than
9
180 days after the date of enactment of this Act.
10
(f) SUPPLEMENT, NOT SUPPLANT.—Funds made
11
available under this section shall be used to supplement
12
and not supplant other Federal, State, and local funds
13
provided for activities funded under this section.
14
(g) REPORT.—Not later than September 30, 2025,
15
the Secretary of Education and the Secretary of Health
16
and Human Services, acting jointly, shall submit to the
17
Congress and make publicly available a report including—
18
(1) analysis on the impact of the program
19
under this section (in a manner that does not in-
20
clude information that would reveal personally iden-
21
tifiable information about an individual student)—
22
(A) on the number of students in elemen-
23
tary schools and secondary schools receiving
24
health care (including behavioral and mental
25
VerDate Sep 11 2014
04:52 Apr 01, 2023
Jkt 039200
PO 00000
Frm 00004
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6201
E:\BILLS\H1689.IH
H1689
kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS
5
•HR 1689 IH
health services) through a telehealth program;
1
and
2
(B) on the number of such students receiv-
3
ing behavioral and mental health services
4
through a telehealth program; and
5
(2) recommendations for the reauthorization,
6
expansion, and improvement of the program under
7
this section.
8
(h) DEFINITIONS.—In this section:
9
(1) The term ‘‘community health care pro-
10
vider’’—
11
(A) subject to subparagraph (B), includes
12
a university health care system; and
13
(B) excludes any provider that does not ac-
14
cept payment under a State plan (or waiver of
15
such plan) under title XIX of the Social Secu-
16
rity Act (42 U.S.C. 1396 et seq.).
17
(2) The terms ‘‘educational service agency’’,
18
‘‘elementary school’’, ‘‘local educational agency’’,
19
and ‘‘secondary school’’ have the meanings given to
20
those terms in section 8101 of the Elementary and
21
Secondary Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 7801).
22
(3) The term ‘‘eligible entity’’ means a partner-
23
ship between—
24
VerDate Sep 11 2014
04:52 Apr 01, 2023
Jkt 039200
PO 00000
Frm 00005
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6201
E:\BILLS\H1689.IH
H1689
kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS
6
•HR 1689 IH
(A) a local educational agency or a consor-
1
tium of any such agencies; and
2
(B) a community health care provider or
3
an educational service agency.
4
(4) The term ‘‘telehealth’’ means the use of
5
electronic information and telecommunications tech-
6
nologies to support long-distance clinical health care,
7
patient and professional health-related education,
8
public health, and health administration.
9
(i) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—To carry
10
out this section, there is authorized to be appropriated
11
$5,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2024 through 2027.
12
Æ
VerDate Sep 11 2014
04:52 Apr 01, 2023
Jkt 039200
PO 00000
Frm 00006
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6301
E:\BILLS\H1689.IH
H1689
kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS