No CRS summary available for this bill.
This section directs the Secretary of Health and Human Services, in consultation with the Secretary of Education, to identify and disseminate evidence-based or evidence-informed best practices not later than 2 years after the date of enactment for (1) preventing suicide and improving mental health and resiliency among education professionals and other school staff and (2) training such professionals and staff in strategies to support, maintain, and promote their mental health.
This section establishes a national evidence-based or evidence-informed education and awareness initiative to encourage education professionals and other school staff to seek support for mental health or substance use concerns, identify factors associated with risks for suicide and mental health conditions, respond to such risks, and address stigma associated with seeking services. The section requires the Secretary to report to Congress on the initiative’s activities and outcomes, including quantitative and qualitative metrics, not later than 2 years after enactment and authorizes appropriations of $10,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2026 through 2028.
This section establishes grant programs to promote mental health and resiliency among education professionals and other school staff. The Secretary of Health and Human Services must award grants or contracts to State educational agencies, local educational agencies, institutions of higher education, or consortia thereof to implement or enhance evidence-based programs for suicide prevention, mental health awareness, peer support, and access to care, with priority for entities in areas with a high percentage of title I schools under the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965. The section also authorizes the Secretary to award training grants to support the inclusion of evidence-based strategies addressing mental and substance use disorders in educator preparation, continuing education, and professional development programs. Grants are awarded for 3-year terms, and the section authorizes appropriations of $35,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2026 through 2028.
This section directs the Secretary, in consultation with relevant stakeholders, to conduct a review on improving the mental health of education professionals and other school staff and the outcomes of programs authorized under this Act, and to submit a report to Congress on the results of such review not later than 2 years after the date of enactment of this Act. The review may assess the prevalence of mental health conditions among such staff, barriers to care, effects of the COVID–19 public health emergency, and programs that promote resiliency, and shall identify best practices and make recommendations to improve mental health, remove barriers to care, and promote resiliency in health care settings.
This section directs the Comptroller General of the United States to submit a report to Congress, not later than 4 years after the date of enactment, on the extent to which federal substance use disorder and mental health grant programs address the prevalence and severity of such conditions among education professionals and other school staff. The report must include an analysis of available evidence and data and assess whether the programs have duplicative goals and objectives.