Student Mental Health Rights Act

I 118TH CONGRESS 1ST SESSION H. R. 3726 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 of 1990 for mental health and substance use disorder policies of institutions of higher education, and for other purposes. IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES MAY 25, 2023 Ms. PORTER (for herself, Ms. BONAMICI, Mr. COURTNEY, and Mr. SOTO) in- troduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Edu- cation and the Workforce 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 of 1990 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 18:43 Jun 19, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3726.IH H3726 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 2 •HR 3726 IH SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 1 Congress finds the following: 2 (1) Nearly all institutions of higher education 3 are subject to— 4 (A) the Americans with Disabilities Act of 5 1990 (42 U.S.C. 12101 et seq.); 6 (B) section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act 7 of 1973 (29 U.S.C. 794); or 8 (C) the Fair Housing Act (42 U.S.C. 3601 9 et seq.). 10 (2) The laws described in paragraph (1) pro- 11 hibit discrimination on the basis of disability, de- 12 fined as ‘‘with respect to an individual, a physical or 13 mental impairment that substantially limits one or 14 more major life activities of such individual, a record 15 of such an impairment, or being regarded as having 16 such an impairment’’ under section 3(1) of the 17 Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 (42 U.S.C. 18 12102(1)). 19 (3) Under section 2(a)(3) of the Americans 20 with Disabilities Act of 1990 (42 U.S.C. 21 12101(a)(3)), Congress found that ‘‘discrimination 22 against individuals with disabilities persists in such 23 critical areas as employment, housing, public accom- 24 modations, education, transportation, communica- 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 18:43 Jun 19, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3726.IH H3726 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 3 •HR 3726 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 postsec- 8 ondary life. 9 (5) The laws described in paragraph (1) pro- 10 hibit institutions of higher education from discrimi- 11 nating against students with mental health disabil- 12 ities, including by failing to provide reasonable ac- 13 commodations or reasonable modifications to such a 14 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 18:43 Jun 19, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3726.IH H3726 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 4 •HR 3726 IH (C) establishing excessive and unnecessary 1 impediments to the re-enrollment of such stu- 2 dents to the institution of higher education. 3 SEC. 3. STUDY AND REPORT. 4 (a) VOLUNTARY REPORTING.—Not later than 120 5 days after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Sec- 6 retary shall solicit from students at institutions of higher 7 education, on a voluntary basis and in a manner that pro- 8 tects the confidentiality of such students, information with 9 respect to mental health disabilities and substance use dis- 10 orders at such institutions of higher education. 11 (b) STUDY AND REPORT.—Not later than 1 year 12 after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary 13 shall— 14 (1) complete a study on mental health disabil- 15 ities and substance use disorders at institutions of 16 higher education, including— 17 (A) using the information voluntarily re- 18 ported by students under subsection (a), the 19 prevalence of such disabilities and disorders, 20 disaggregated by type of disability or disorder 21 (including disabilities and disorders related to 22 hearing, vision, cognition, ambulatory, self-care, 23 independent living, mental health, and any 24 other category determined appropriate by the 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 18:43 Jun 19, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3726.IH H3726 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 5 •HR 3726 IH Secretary), among students at institutions of 1 higher education and policies to support stu- 2 dents with respect to such disabilities and dis- 3 orders; 4 (B) the policies of institutions of higher 5 education with respect to students who, due to 6 such a condition, are considering a voluntary 7 leave of absence or are required to take a man- 8 datory or involuntary leave of absence, or re- 9 turn from such an absence, and compliance by 10 institutions of higher education with such poli- 11 cies; and 12 (C) best practices for supporting students 13 at institutions of higher education in managing 14 such disabilities and disorders, including the ef- 15 fect such practices have on graduation rates 16 and degree completion; and 17 (2) submit to the Committee on Education and 18 the Workforce of the House of Representatives and 19 the Committee on Health, Education, Labor and 20 Pensions of the Senate a report on the findings of 21 the study completed under paragraph (1). 22 SEC. 4. GUIDANCE. 23 Not later than 180 days after the date on which the 24 report is submitted under section 3(b), the Secretary shall, 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 18:43 Jun 19, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3726.IH H3726 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 6 •HR 3726 IH in consultation with the Assistant Attorney General of the 1 Civil Rights Division of the Department of Justice, issue 2 guidance on— 3 (1) the compliance of institutions of higher edu- 4 cation with the Americans with Disabilities Act of 5 1990 (42 U.S.C. 12101 et seq.) and section 504 of 6 the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 (29 U.S.C. 794) with 7 respect to students with mental health disabilities; 8 (2) the legal obligations of institutions of higher 9 education with respect to accommodating students 10 with mental health disabilities and students with 11 substance use disorders; and 12 (3) policies of institutions of higher education 13 which may have a discriminatory impact on students 14 with mental health disabilities and students with 15 substance use disorders. 16 SEC. 5. DEFINITIONS. 17 In this Act: 18 (1) INSTITUTION OF HIGHER EDUCATION.—The 19 term ‘‘institution of higher education’’ has the 20 meaning given that term in section 101(a) of the 21 Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1001(a)). 22 (2) SECRETARY.—The term ‘‘Secretary’’ means 23 the Secretary of Education. 24 Æ VerDate Sep 11 2014 18:43 Jun 19, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6301 E:\BILLS\H3726.IH H3726 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB