Student Mental Health Rights Act

I 116TH CONGRESS 1ST SESSION H. R. 5204 To direct the Secretary of Education to study student mental health at institutions of higher education and to issue guidance on compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act for mental health and substance use disorder policies of institutions of higher education, and for other purposes. IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES NOVEMBER 20, 2019 Ms. PORTER (for herself, Mr. COURTNEY, and Ms. MUCARSEL-POWELL) intro- duced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Edu- cation and Labor A BILL To direct the Secretary of Education to study student mental health at institutions of higher education and to issue guidance on compliance with the Americans with Disabil- ities Act for mental health and substance use disorder policies of institutions of higher education, 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 ‘‘Student Mental Health 4 Rights Act’’. 5 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:10 Nov 29, 2019 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H5204.IH H5204 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 2 •HR 5204 IH SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 1 Congress finds the following: 2 (1) Nearly all institutions of higher education 3 are subject to— 4 (A) the Americans with Disabilities Act 5 (42 U.S.C. 12101 et seq.); 6 (B) section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act 7 of 1973 (29 U.S.C. 794); or 8 (C) the Fair Housing Act (42 U.S.C. 3601 9 et seq.). 10 (2) The laws described in paragraph (1) pro- 11 hibit discrimination on the basis of disability, de- 12 fined as ‘‘with respect to an individual, a physical or 13 mental impairment that substantially limits one or 14 more major life activities of such individual, a record 15 of such an impairment, or being regarded as having 16 such an impairment’’ under section 3(1) of the 17 Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 (42 U.S.C. 18 12102(1)). 19 (3) Under section 2(a)(3) of the Americans 20 with Disabilities Act of 1990 (42 U.S.C. 21 12101(a)(3)), Congress found that ‘‘discrimination 22 against individuals with disabilities persists in such 23 critical areas as employment, housing, public accom- 24 modations, education, transportation, communica- 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:10 Nov 29, 2019 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H5204.IH H5204 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 3 •HR 5204 IH tion, recreation, institutionalization, health services, 1 voting, and access to public services’’. 2 (4) The laws described in paragraph (1) pro- 3 hibit institutions of higher education from discrimi- 4 nating against students with disabilities, including 5 by failing to provide reasonable accommodations or 6 reasonable modifications to such students so that 7 such students are able to fully participate in univer- 8 sity life. 9 (5) The laws described in paragraph (1) pro- 10 hibit institutions of higher education from discrimi- 11 nating against students with a mental health disabil- 12 ities, including by failing to provide the reasonable 13 accommodations or reasonable modifications to such 14 a student. 15 (6) The vast majority of institutions of higher 16 education lack a comprehensive plan for addressing 17 and preventing discrimination against students with 18 mental health disabilities or who are experiencing 19 crises, in many cases— 20 (A) requiring such students to leave the in- 21 stitution of higher education; 22 (B) evicting such students from on-campus 23 housing; and 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:10 Nov 29, 2019 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H5204.IH H5204 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 4 •HR 5204 IH (C) establishing excessive and unnecessary 1 impediments to the return of such students to 2 the institution of higher education. 3 SEC. 3. STUDY. 4 (a) REQUIREMENT.—Not later than June 30, 2021, 5 the Secretary shall complete a study on mental health con- 6 ditions and substance use conditions including— 7 (1) the prevalence of such conditions among 8 students at institutions of higher education and poli- 9 cies to support students with respect to such condi- 10 tions; 11 (2) the policies of institutions of higher edu- 12 cation with respect to students considering a leave of 13 absence or return from absence due to such condi- 14 tions; and 15 (3) best practices for supporting students at in- 16 stitutions of higher education in making decisions 17 regarding the management of such conditions, in- 18 cluding the effect such practices have on graduation 19 rates and degree completion. 20 (b) REPORT.—The Secretary shall submit to the 21 House Committee on Education and Labor a report on 22 the findings of the study required by subsection (a). 23 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:10 Nov 29, 2019 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H5204.IH H5204 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 5 •HR 5204 IH SEC. 4. GUIDANCE. 1 Not later than June 30, 2021, the Secretary shall, 2 in consultation with the Assistant Attorney General of the 3 Civil Rights Division of the Department of Justice, issue 4 guidance on— 5 (1) the compliance of institutions of higher edu- 6 cation with the Americans with Disabilities Act of 7 1990 (42 U.S.C. 12101 et seq.) with respect to stu- 8 dents with mental health conditions; 9 (2) the legal obligations of institutions of higher 10 education with respect to accommodating students 11 with mental health conditions and students with sub- 12 stance use conditions; and 13 (3) policies of institutions of higher education 14 which may have a disparate impact on students with 15 mental health conditions and students with sub- 16 stance use conditions. 17 SEC. 5. DEFINITIONS. 18 (a) INSTITUTION OF HIGHER EDUCATION.—The 19 term ‘‘institution of higher education’’ has the meaning 20 given that term in section 101(a) of the Higher Education 21 Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1001(a)). 22 (b) SECRETARY.—The term ‘‘Secretary’’ means the 23 Secretary of Education. 24 Æ VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:10 Nov 29, 2019 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6301 E:\BILLS\H5204.IH H5204 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS