H.R. 3968 — School Violence Prevention Act

This section (1) redesignates part G of title V of the Public Health Service Act (42 U.S.C. 290kk et seq., relating to services provided through religious organizations) as part J and its sections 581 through 584 as sections 596 through 596C, respectively; and (2) revises section 581 (42 U.S.C. 290hh, previously relating to children and violence) to authorize the Secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS), in consultation with the Secretary of Education, to award five-year grants (renewable) to eligible partnerships for comprehensive school-based violence prevention programs targeting youth at highest risk for gun violence in communities and schools (including Bureau of Indian Education-funded schools). Grants may support (1) evidence-based, trauma-informed school programs for students in kindergarten through grade 12 or youth under age 19 focused on strategies such as community engagement, trauma healing, interpersonal skills, connections to mental health professionals or mentors, safe environments, and violence de-escalation; (2) technical assistance to local educational agencies (LEAs) and nonprofits; (3) community partnerships among youth, families, schools, businesses, and agencies; (4) professional development for teachers and school personnel on trauma support, social-emotional learning, and mental health; and (5) data collection. Eligible partnerships must include a state educational agency coordinating with one or more LEAs in municipalities or local governments that, for at least two of the three preceding years, experienced 35 or more homicides annually, 20 or more homicides with a rate at least double the national average, high youth violent injury or recidivism rates (as determined by the state), or a juvenile violent crime arrest rate at least double the national average—or that demonstrate a unique need—plus at least one community-based nonprofit serving affected youth or families. HHS must distribute grants equitably across U.S. regions and, with the Department of Education, develop evaluation processes, outcome measures (disaggregated by subgroups under the Elementary and Secondary Education Act), and grantee reporting requirements at the end of the second and final grant years assessing metrics such as high school graduation, employment, and postsecondary enrollment.