# 119-hr-2739: Counseling Not Criminalization in Schools Act

119-hr-2739, Counseling Not Criminalization in Schools Act, is a 119th Congress bill sponsored by Rep. Pressley, Ayanna [D-MA-7] (D-MA); status introduced; PRIA reads it as touching household money (as of 2026-10-15).

- Canonical: https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-hr-2739
- As of: 2026-10-15
- Plain-text twin of the page above; the HTML and this file carry the same facts.

## Facts
- Bill: 119-hr-2739
- Congress: 119
- Title: Counseling Not Criminalization in Schools Act
- Status: introduced
- Introduced: 2025-04-08
- Sponsor: Rep. Pressley, Ayanna [D-MA-7] (D-MA)
- Cosponsors: 12
- Policy area: Education
- Touches household money: yes
- Last recorded action: 2026-10-15

## Summary

**Redirects federal school-policing dollars into mental-health, trauma-informed, and community-led supports.** This bill would bar federal funds from hiring, maintaining, or training covered law enforcement officers in elementary and secondary schools and create competitive grants to replace officers with counselors, credible messengers, and other non-police services. - Students and families: Lowers the chance of school-based policing and boosts access to counselors, psychologists, nurses, social workers, credible messengers, and trauma-informed services focused on marginalized students. - Local educational agencies: Creates rolling competitive grants to help districts end police contracts or dissolve district police departments and fund alternatives like restorative justice, positive behavioral interventions, and social-emotional learning. - School staff and community providers: Funds hiring and training for de-escalation staff, violence interruption teams, behavioral planning specialists, anti-bias training, and community engagement to reshape safety and discipline. - Privacy and oversight: Requires public annual reporting on arrests, referrals, surveillance use, and demographics while banning collection of personally identifiable data and barring grant spending on surveillance equipment or arming personnel. *Would authorize $5.0 billion in federal grants to carry out the program.*

## Cosponsors (12)

- Rep. Carter, Troy A. [D-LA-2] (D-LA), 2026-10-05T00:00:00.000Z
- Rep. Omar, Ilhan [D-MN-5] (D-MN), 2025-04-08T00:00:00.000Z
- Rep. Lee, Summer L. [D-PA-12] (D-PA), 2025-04-08T00:00:00.000Z
- Rep. Bonamici, Suzanne [D-OR-1] (D-OR), 2025-04-08T00:00:00.000Z
- Rep. Casar, Greg [D-TX-35] (D-TX), 2025-04-08T00:00:00.000Z
- Del. Norton, Eleanor Holmes [D-DC-At Large] (D-DC), 2025-04-08T00:00:00.000Z
- Rep. Ocasio-Cortez, Alexandria [D-NY-14] (D-NY), 2025-04-08T00:00:00.000Z
- Rep. Pocan, Mark [D-WI-2] (D-WI), 2025-04-08T00:00:00.000Z
- Rep. Ramirez, Delia C. [D-IL-3] (D-IL), 2025-04-08T00:00:00.000Z
- Rep. Thanedar, Shri [D-MI-13] (D-MI), 2025-04-08T00:00:00.000Z
- Rep. Tlaib, Rashida [D-MI-12] (D-MI), 2025-04-08T00:00:00.000Z
- Rep. Watson Coleman, Bonnie [D-NJ-12] (D-NJ), 2026-07-30T00:00:00.000Z

## Provisions PRIA read

- Grants to hire counselors, not police: benefit, medium. The bill would authorize $5 billion for competitive grants to school districts, based on student enrollment. To get funds, a district would need to end school police contracts at least 30 days before receiving money and keep them ended during the grant. Money would hire and train counselors, psycho…
- Would stop federal funds for school police: mixed, high. If enacted, this would bar any federal money from hiring, keeping, or training police assigned to K–12 schools or Head Start programs. It would apply even if other laws allow it. COPS grant recipients would not be able to use those funds for school officers. Districts would need other, non-federal…
- What school programs and officers are covered: mixed, medium. The bill would define which schools and programs are covered, including all K–12 schools, local education agencies, and Head Start-funded programs. It would define a “covered law enforcement officer” as any State, Tribal, or local officer assigned to or contracted with these programs, including sch…

## Related bills

- 119-hr-9877: Health Equity and Accountability Act of 2026
- 119-hr-7973: Momnibus Act
- 119-hr-3971: Domestic Workers Bill of Rights Act
- 119-hr-3069: Medicare for All Act
- 119-hr-2045: Medicare Dental, Vision, and Hearing Benefit Act of 2025
- 119-hr-51: Washington, D.C. Admission Act

## Sources
- [119-hr-2739 on Congress.gov](https://www.congress.gov/bill/119th-congress/house-bill/2739)

## Related
- [119-hr-9877: Health Equity and Accountability Act of 2026](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-hr-9877)
- [119-hr-7973: Momnibus Act](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-hr-7973)
- [119-hr-3971: Domestic Workers Bill of Rights Act](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-hr-3971)
- [119-hr-3069: Medicare for All Act](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-hr-3069)
- [119-hr-2045: Medicare Dental, Vision, and Hearing Benefit Act of 2025](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-hr-2045)
- [119-hr-51: Washington, D.C. Admission Act](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-hr-51)
- [All bills in Congress](https://policyrisk.com/legislation)

Source: PRIA, https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-hr-2739 (as of 2026-10-15).