Bill > S1574

This bill, the Mental Health Excellence in Schools Act, establishes the Mental Health Excellence in Schools Program to increase the recruitment and retention of school-based mental health services providers. The key provisions of the bill include: 1) Authorizing the Secretary of Education to enter into agreements with eligible graduate institutions to cover a portion of the cost of attendance for participating students, with the graduate institutions providing matching contributions. 2) Requiring the Secretary to conduct outreach about the program to participating students who received federal Pell grants or attended minority-serving institutions as undergraduates. 3) Requiring participating graduate institutions to submit annual reports on the program's outcomes, including the number of students served, tuition coverage, and graduation and employment rates. 4) Authorizing appropriations of $20 million in fiscal year 2024, $30 million in fiscal year 2025, and $50 million per year from fiscal years 2026 to 2028 to carry out the program. The goal of the bill is to increase the available workforce of school-based mental health services providers, such as school counselors, school social workers, and school psychologists, by providing financial incentives for graduate students to pursue these careers.