# 119-s-4618: Elementary and Secondary School Counseling Act

119-s-4618, Elementary and Secondary School Counseling Act, is a 119th Congress bill sponsored by Sen. Merkley, Jeff [D-OR] (D-OR); status introduced; PRIA reads it as touching household money (as of 2026-10-24).

- Canonical: https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-s-4618
- As of: 2026-10-24
- Plain-text twin of the page above; the HTML and this file carry the same facts.

## Facts
- Bill: 119-s-4618
- Congress: 119
- Title: Elementary and Secondary School Counseling Act
- Status: introduced
- Introduced: 2026-05-21
- Sponsor: Sen. Merkley, Jeff [D-OR] (D-OR)
- Cosponsors: 19
- Policy area: Education
- Touches household money: yes
- Last recorded action: 2026-10-24

## Summary

**Expands access to school-based mental health services.** This bill would create a federal grant program that funds States to subgrant local school districts so they can hire or contract for counselors, psychologists, and social workers in high-need public elementary and secondary schools. - Students and families: Students in high-need schools would get more in-school mental health support, aiming for staffing goals such as about 250 students per counselor and 500 per psychologist. - Local educational agencies: Districts would compete for subgrants to recruit or retain providers or to contract with community mental health centers, with priority for those serving many high-need schools. - States and oversight: States would receive formula grants tied to Title I shares, get five-year allotments, must provide a 20 percent match, and must report provider counts and progress toward staffing goals. *Would authorize at least $5.0 billion for fiscal year 2027 and allow ongoing funding thereafter, increasing federal spending for school-based mental health services.*

## Cosponsors (19)

- Sen. Bennet, Michael F. [D-CO] (D-CO), 2026-05-21T00:00:00.000Z
- Sen. Blumenthal, Richard [D-CT] (D-CT), 2026-05-21T00:00:00.000Z
- Sen. Booker, Cory A. [D-NJ] (D-NJ), 2026-05-21T00:00:00.000Z
- Sen. Coons, Christopher A. [D-DE] (D-DE), 2026-05-21T00:00:00.000Z
- Sen. Durbin, Richard J. [D-IL] (D-IL), 2026-05-21T00:00:00.000Z
- Sen. Fetterman, John [D-PA] (D-PA), 2026-05-21T00:00:00.000Z
- Sen. Heinrich, Martin [D-NM] (D-NM), 2026-05-21T00:00:00.000Z
- Sen. Hirono, Mazie K. [D-HI] (D-HI), 2026-05-21T00:00:00.000Z
- Sen. Kaine, Tim [D-VA] (D-VA), 2026-05-21T00:00:00.000Z
- Sen. King, Angus S., Jr. [I-ME] (I-ME), 2026-05-21T00:00:00.000Z
- Sen. Klobuchar, Amy [D-MN] (D-MN), 2026-05-21T00:00:00.000Z
- Sen. Murphy, Christopher [D-CT] (D-CT), 2026-05-21T00:00:00.000Z
- Sen. Padilla, Alex [D-CA] (D-CA), 2026-05-21T00:00:00.000Z
- Sen. Reed, Jack [D-RI] (D-RI), 2026-05-21T00:00:00.000Z
- Sen. Shaheen, Jeanne [D-NH] (D-NH), 2026-05-21T00:00:00.000Z
- Sen. Smith, Tina [D-MN] (D-MN), 2026-05-21T00:00:00.000Z
- Sen. Van Hollen, Chris [D-MD] (D-MD), 2026-05-21T00:00:00.000Z
- Sen. Wyden, Ron [D-OR] (D-OR), 2026-05-21T00:00:00.000Z
- Sen. Gillibrand, Kirsten E. [D-NY] (D-NY), 2026-06-22T00:00:00.000Z

## Provisions PRIA read

- More mental health staff in high-need schools: benefit, medium. If enacted, the bill would create competitive subgrants to local school districts to hire and keep school-based mental health staff. Subgrants would pay for recruiting, retention, and contracting with community mental health centers for high-need public schools. The program would aim for staffing g…
- Federal funding and State allocation rules: mixed, high. If enacted, the bill would authorize $5 billion for fiscal year 2027 and such sums as may be necessary later. The Department would split funds to States using each State's share of Title I, Part A, and no State would get less than 0.5% of the total. From each year's total, 0.5% would be reserved fo…

## Related bills

- 119-s-5066: Health Equity and Accountability Act of 2026
- 119-s-5108: Right to IVF Act of 2026
- 119-s-1503: Equality Act
- 119-s-2295: Child Care for Working Families Act
- 119-s-852: Richard L. Trumka Protecting the Right to Organize Act of 2025
- 119-s-2150: Women’s Health Protection Act of 2025

## Sources
- [119-s-4618 on Congress.gov](https://www.congress.gov/bill/119th-congress/senate-bill/4618)

## Related
- [119-s-5066: Health Equity and Accountability Act of 2026](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-s-5066)
- [119-s-5108: Right to IVF Act of 2026](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-s-5108)
- [119-s-1503: Equality Act](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-s-1503)
- [119-s-2295: Child Care for Working Families Act](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-s-2295)
- [119-s-852: Richard L. Trumka Protecting the Right to Organize Act of 2025](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-s-852)
- [119-s-2150: Women’s Health Protection Act of 2025](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-s-2150)
- [All bills in Congress](https://policyrisk.com/legislation)

Source: PRIA, https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-s-4618 (as of 2026-10-24).