Increasing Access to Mental Health in Schools Act
Sponsored By: Representative Rep. Chu, Judy [D-CA-28]
Introduced
Summary
Expands school-based mental health staffing in low-income districts. This bill would fund a pipeline of training, placement, and retention programs plus a loan-repayment option to get more counselors, social workers, and psychologists into high-need schools.
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- Families and students: Would increase access to school mental health help in low-income local educational agencies and target students at risk, including English learners, homeless youth, and students in foster care. It sets target staffing ratios such as a school counselor 1:250 and a school psychologist 1:500.
- Schools and districts: Would fund five-year grants to partnerships between low-income LEAs and graduate programs to train and place providers. Grants can cover administrative placement costs and pay all or part of a graduate's salary for up to the first three years after degree or licensure.
- Providers and trainees: Would create a loan-repayment program that requires five consecutive years of service, pays 1/5 of eligible loans each year and the remainder in year five, and caps total payments at $200,000 per person; payments count toward Public Service Loan Forgiveness.
*This bill would increase federal spending by authorizing $200 million annually starting in fiscal year 2026 and additional unspecified sums for the loan-repayment program.*
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Bill Overview
Analyzed Economic Effects
3 provisions identified: 3 benefits, 0 costs, 0 mixed.
Loan relief for school mental health staff
If enacted, you could get federal student loan help for five straight years of work as a school mental health provider in a low-income district. The Department would pay 1/5 of your starting loan balance after each of the first four completed years, and the rest after year five, up to $200,000 total. Each paid year would also count as 12 months toward Public Service Loan Forgiveness. If your district met the low-income test when you started, you could keep benefits even if that later changes. You would verify each year, and the Department would post a list of eligible districts.
Grants to expand school mental health staff
If enacted, the Education Department would run 5-year competitive grants to train, place, and keep school mental health staff in low-income districts; the first five awards would go to five different states. Grants could fund training and pay all or part of a new hire’s salary for up to the first 3 years after a degree or license. Districts would qualify if at least 20% of students are below the poverty line and current staffing is at or worse than 1 counselor per 275 students, 1 psychologist per 500, and 1 social worker per 250. Staffing goals would aim for 1 counselor per 250 students, 1 psychologist per 500, and 1 social worker per 250. Only graduates from qualifying, accredited programs would count toward the pipeline, and grantees would face peer review, public reporting, and supplement-not-supplant rules.
Map school mental health shortage areas
If enacted, the Education Department would study how to map areas that lack school mental health providers. The formula would use data such as child counts, poverty rates, education levels, special education rates, youth crime, provider counts, and students from military families. The Secretary would report results to Congress within two years.
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Sponsors & CoSponsors
Sponsor
Rep. Chu, Judy [D-CA-28]
CA • D
Cosponsors
Rep. Fitzpatrick, Brian K. [R-PA-1]
PA • R
Sponsored 11/19/2025
Rep. Bacon, Don [R-NE-2]
NE • R
Sponsored 11/19/2025
Rep. Brown, Shontel M. [D-OH-11]
OH • D
Sponsored 11/19/2025
Rep. Cherfilus-McCormick, Sheila [D-FL-20]
FL • D
Sponsored 11/19/2025
Craig
MN • D
Sponsored 11/19/2025
Rep. Dean, Madeleine [D-PA-4]
PA • D
Sponsored 11/19/2025
Rep. DeLauro, Rosa L. [D-CT-3]
CT • D
Sponsored 11/19/2025
Rep. DeSaulnier, Mark [D-CA-10]
CA • D
Sponsored 11/19/2025
Rep. Evans, Dwight [D-PA-3]
PA • D
Sponsored 11/19/2025
Rep. García, Jesús G. "Chuy" [D-IL-4]
IL • D
Sponsored 11/19/2025
Rep. Gottheimer, Josh [D-NJ-5]
NJ • D
Sponsored 11/19/2025
Rep. Krishnamoorthi, Raja [D-IL-8]
IL • D
Sponsored 11/19/2025
Rep. Lynch, Stephen F. [D-MA-8]
MA • D
Sponsored 11/19/2025
McClain Delaney
MD • D
Sponsored 11/19/2025
Rep. McClellan, Jennifer L. [D-VA-4]
VA • D
Sponsored 11/19/2025
Rep. Menendez, Robert [D-NJ-8]
NJ • D
Sponsored 11/19/2025
Del. Norton, Eleanor Holmes [D-DC-At Large]
DC • D
Sponsored 11/19/2025
Rep. Panetta, Jimmy [D-CA-19]
CA • D
Sponsored 11/19/2025
Rep. Pingree, Chellie [D-ME-1]
ME • D
Sponsored 11/19/2025
Rep. Ramirez, Delia C. [D-IL-3]
IL • D
Sponsored 11/19/2025
Rep. Sorensen, Eric [D-IL-17]
IL • D
Sponsored 11/19/2025
Rep. Soto, Darren [D-FL-9]
FL • D
Sponsored 11/19/2025
Rep. Strickland, Marilyn [D-WA-10]
WA • D
Sponsored 11/19/2025
Rep. Thanedar, Shri [D-MI-13]
MI • D
Sponsored 11/19/2025
Rep. Thompson, Bennie G. [D-MS-2]
MS • D
Sponsored 11/19/2025
Rep. Tokuda, Jill N. [D-HI-2]
HI • D
Sponsored 11/19/2025
Whitesides
CA • D
Sponsored 11/19/2025
Rep. Bishop, Sanford D., Jr. [D-GA-2]
GA • D
Sponsored 11/20/2025
Rescom. Hernández, Pablo Jose [D-PR-At Large]
PR • D
Sponsored 12/17/2025
Rep. Harder, Josh [D-CA-9]
CA • D
Sponsored 1/30/2026
Rep. Green, Al [D-TX-9]
TX • D
Sponsored 2/23/2026
Roll Call Votes
No roll call votes available for this bill.
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