H.R. 9469, Student Mental Health Improvement Act of 2022
Summary
House bill 9469, the Student Mental Health Improvement Act of 2022, is a bill to authorize a Mental Health Education Grant program to encourage students to pursue a career as a counselor, social worker, or therapist in an elementary or secondary school, and for other purposes. Emmer introduced it on December 8, 2022, and it was referred to the Committee on Education and Labor. Section 2 amends the Higher Education Act of 1965 to pay selected candidates a grant of $2,000 for each year, with the total a candidate may receive not to exceed $4,000. There are authorized to be appropriated $20,000,000 for fiscal year 2023 and each subsequent fiscal year.
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“H.R. 9469, Student Mental Health Improvement Act of 2022.”
Original at www.govinfo.gov. Archived at Pandemic Darlings, https://pandemicdarlings.com/source-documents/bills-bills-117hr9469ih-bills-117hr9469ih/
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I
117TH CONGRESS
2D SESSION
H. R. 9469
To authorize a Mental Health Education Grant program to encourage stu-
dents to pursue a career as a counselor, social worker, or therapist
in an elementary or secondary school, and for other purposes.
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
DECEMBER 8, 2022
Mr. EMMER introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee
on Education and Labor, and in addition to the Committee on Ways and
Means, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in
each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdic-
tion of the committee concerned
A BILL
To authorize a Mental Health Education Grant program
to encourage students to pursue a career as a counselor,
social worker, or therapist in an elementary or secondary
school, and for other purposes.
1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,
3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Student Mental Health
5 Improvement Act of 2022’’.
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1 SEC. 2. MENTAL HEALTH EDUCATION GRANT PROGRAM.
2 Part A of title IV of the Higher Education Act of
3 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1070 et seq.) is amended by inserting
4 at the end of subpart 7 the following:
5 ‘‘Subpart 8—Mental Health Education Grants
6 ‘‘SEC. 420. MENTAL HEALTH EDUCATION GRANT PROGRAM
7 ESTABLISHED.
8 ‘‘(a) PROGRAM AUTHORITY.—
9 ‘‘(1) PAYMENTS REQUIRED.—The Secretary is
10 authorized to carry out a Mental Health Education
11 Grant program to pay to each candidate who is se-
12 lected by the Secretary, on a competitive basis, to
13 participate in such program, a Mental Health Edu-
14 cation Grant in the amount of $2,000 for each year
15 during which that candidate is eligible.
16 ‘‘(2) REFERENCES.—Grants made under para-
17 graph (1) shall be known as ‘Mental Health Edu-
18 cation Grants’.
19 ‘‘(3) AUTHORIZATION.—There are authorized to
20 be appropriated $20,000,000 for fiscal year 2023
21 and each subsequent fiscal year to provide Mental
22 Health Education Grants in accordance with this
23 subpart.
24 ‘‘(4) SENSE OF CONGRESS.—It is the sense of
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25 Congress that the Mental Health Education Grant
26 program should be funded by rescinding unused
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1 American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 (Public Law
2 117–2) funding.
3 ‘‘(b) DISTRIBUTION OF GRANTS TO CANDIDATES.—
4 Payments under this subpart shall be made, in accordance
5 with regulations promulgated by the Secretary for such
6 purpose, in such manner as will best accomplish the pur-
7 poses of this subpart.
8 ‘‘(c) REDUCTIONS IN AMOUNT.—
9 ‘‘(1) PART-TIME STUDENTS.—In any case
10 where a candidate attends an eligible institution on
11 less than a full-time basis (including a candidate
12 who attends an eligible institution on less than a
13 half-time basis) during any year, the amount of a
14 grant under this subpart for which that candidate is
15 eligible shall be reduced in proportion to the degree
16 to which that candidate is not attending on a full-
17 time basis, in accordance with a schedule of reduc-
18 tions established by the Secretary for the purposes
19 of this subpart, computed in accordance with this
20 subpart. Such schedule of reductions shall be estab-
21 lished by regulation and published in the Federal
22 Register in accordance with section 482 of this Act.
23 ‘‘(2) NO EXCEEDING COST.—The amount of a
24 grant awarded under this subpart, in combination
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25 with Federal student assistance and other student
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1 assistance the candidate may receive, shall not ex-
2 ceed the cost of attendance (as defined in section
3 472) at the eligible institution at which that can-
4 didate is in attendance.
5 ‘‘(d) PERIOD OF ELIGIBILITY FOR GRANTS.—
6 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The period during which a
7 candidate may receive grants under this subpart
8 shall be the period required for the completion of the
9 first masters course of study related to a mental
10 health occupation being pursued by the candidate at
11 the eligible institution at which the candidate is in
12 attendance, except that—
13 ‘‘(A) any period during which the can-
14 didate is enrolled in a noncredit or remedial
15 course of study as described in paragraph (2)
16 shall not be counted for the purpose of this
17 paragraph; and
18 ‘‘(B) the total amount that a candidate
19 may receive under this subpart shall not exceed
20 $4,000.
21 ‘‘(2) REMEDIAL COURSE.—Nothing in this sub-
22 part shall be construed to exclude from eligibility
23 courses of study which are noncredit or remedial in
24 nature (including courses in English language acqui-
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25 sition) which are determined by the eligible institu-
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1 tion to be necessary to help the candidate be pre-
2 pared for the pursuit of a first masters degree or,
3 in the case of courses in English language instruc-
4 tion, to be necessary to enable the candidate to uti-
5 lize already existing knowledge, training, or skills.
6 ‘‘SEC. 421. APPLICATIONS; ELIGIBILITY; SELECTION.
7 ‘‘(a) APPLICATIONS.—The Secretary shall periodi-
8 cally set dates by which students shall file applications to
9 complete for grants under this subpart. Each student de-
10 siring to compete for a grant under this subpart for any
11 year shall file an application containing such information
12 and assurances as the Secretary may determine necessary
13 to enable the Secretary to carry out the functions and re-
14 sponsibilities of this subpart.
15 ‘‘(b) DEMONSTRATION OF GRANT ELIGIBILITY.—
16 Each application submitted under subsection (a) shall con-
17 tain such information as is necessary to demonstrate that
18 the applicant is a student who—
19 ‘‘(1) is enrolled at an eligible institution;
20 ‘‘(2) is an eligible student for purposes of sec-
21 tion 484;
22 ‘‘(3) is completing coursework and other re-
23 quirements necessary to begin a career in a mental
24 health occupation, or plans to complete such
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1 coursework and requirements prior to graduating;
2 and
3 ‘‘(4) has not obtained a masters degree related
4 to a career in a mental health occupation before re-
5 ceiving a Mental Health Education grant.
6 ‘‘(c) SELECTION.—The Secretary shall award grants
7 under this subpart competitively on the basis of criteria
8 determined by the Secretary by regulation.
9 ‘‘SEC. 422. AGREEMENTS TO SERVE.
10 ‘‘(a) SERVICE AGREEMENTS.—Each application
11 under section 421(a) shall contain or be accompanied by
12 an agreement by the applicant that—
13 ‘‘(1) if selected to be a candidate, the applicant
14 will—
15 ‘‘(A) serve full-time in a mental health oc-
16 cupation for a total of not less than 4 years
17 within 8 years after completing the course of
18 study for which the candidate received a Mental
19 Health Education Grant under this subpart;
20 and
21 ‘‘(B) submit evidence of such employment
22 in the form of a certification by the State edu-
23 cational agency or department employing the
24 candidate upon completion of each year of such
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25 service;
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1 ‘‘(2) in the event that a candidate is determined
2 to have failed or refused to carry out such service
3 obligation, the sum of the amounts of any Mental
4 Health Education Grants received by such candidate
5 will be treated as a loan and collected from the can-
6 didate in accordance with subsection (b) and the
7 regulations thereunder; and
8 ‘‘(3) contains, or is accompanied by, a plain-
9 language disclosure form developed by the Secretary
10 that clearly describes the nature of the Mental
11 Health Education Grant award, the service obliga-
12 tion, and the loan repayment requirements that are
13 the consequence of the failure to complete the serv-
14 ice obligation.
15 ‘‘(b) REPAYMENT FOR FAILURE TO COMPLETE
16 SERVICE.—
17 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—In the event that a can-
18 didate fails or refuses to comply with the service ob-
19 ligation in the agreement under subsection (a), the
20 sum of the amounts of any Mental Health Education
21 Grants received by such candidate shall, upon a de-
22 termination of such a failure or refusal in such serv-
23 ice obligation, be treated as a Federal Direct Unsub-
24 sidized Stafford Loan under part D of title IV, and
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25 shall be subject to repayment, together with interest
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1 thereon accruing from the date the grant is con-
2 verted to such a Loan, in accordance with terms and
3 conditions specified by the Secretary in regulations
4 under this subpart.
5 ‘‘(2) EXTENUATING CIRCUMSTANCES.—The
6 Secretary shall establish, by regulation, categories of
7 extenuating circumstances under which a candidate
8 who is unable to fulfill all or part of the candidate’s
9 service obligation may be excused from fulfilling that
10 portion of the service obligation.
11 ‘‘SEC. 423. DEFINITIONS.
12 ‘‘For the purposes of this subpart:
13 ‘‘(1) CANDIDATE.—The term ‘candidate’ means
14 an individual who is selected by the Secretary to re-
15 ceive a Mental Health Education Grant under this
16 subpart.
17 ‘‘(2) ELIGIBLE INSTITUTION.—The term ‘eligi-
18 ble institution’ means an institution of higher edu-
19 cation, as defined in section 102, that provides a
20 masters degree in a field related to a mental health
21 occupation.
22 ‘‘(3) ESEA TERMS.—The terms ‘elementary
23 school’ and ‘secondary school’ have the meanings
24 given those terms in section 8101 of the Elementary
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1 and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C.
2 7801).
3 ‘‘(4) MENTAL HEALTH OCCUPATION.—The
4 term ‘mental health occupation’ means an occupa-
5 tion that is 1 of the following:
6 ‘‘(A) A mental or behavioral health coun-
7 selor in an elementary school or secondary
8 school.
9 ‘‘(B) A social worker in an elementary
10 school or secondary school.
11 ‘‘(C) A therapist in an elementary school
12 or secondary school.
13 ‘‘(D) A psychologist in an elementary
14 school or secondary school.’’.
15 SEC. 3. REFUNDABLE CREDIT FOR SCHOOL COUNSELORS,
16 SOCIAL WORKERS, THERAPISTS, AND PSY-
17 CHOLOGISTS.
18 (a) IN GENERAL.—Subpart C of part IV of sub-
19 chapter A of chapter 1 of the Internal Revenue Code of
20 1986 is amended by adding at the end the following new
21 section:
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1 ‘‘SEC. 36C. CREDIT FOR SCHOOL COUNSELORS, SOCIAL
2 WORKERS, THERAPISTS, AND PSYCHOLO-
3 GISTS.
4 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—In the case of any individual who
5 is a qualified school-based mental health professional for
6 any taxable year, there shall be allowed as a credit against
7 the tax imposed by this subtitle for such taxable year an
8 amount equal to $2,500.
9 ‘‘(b) QUALIFIED SCHOOL-BASED MENTAL HEALTH
10 PROFESSIONAL.—For purposes of this section, the term
11 ‘qualified school-based mental health professional’ means
12 any employee of a school (as defined in section
13 62(d)(1)(B)) or school-based health center who provides
14 service as a mental or behavioral health counselor, social
15 worker, therapist, or psychologist pursuant to such em-
16 ployment.
17 ‘‘(c) REDUCED CREDIT FOR LESS THAN FULL-TIME
18 SERVICE.—In the case any qualified school-based mental
19 health professional who performs less than 1560 hours of
20 service as a counselor, social worker, or therapist pursuant
21 to the employment described in subsection (b) during any
22 taxable year, the credit allowed under this section to such
23 individual for such taxable year shall not exceed the
24 amount which bears the same ratio to the amount of such
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25 credit determined without regard to this subsection as—
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1 ‘‘(1) the number of hours of such service so
2 performed by such individual during such taxable
3 year, bears to
4 ‘‘(2) 1560.’’.
5 (b) CONFORMING AMENDMENTS.—
6 (1) Section 6211(b)(4)(A) of the Internal Rev-
7 enue Code of 1986 is amended by inserting ‘‘36C,’’
8 after ‘‘36B,’’.
9 (2) Paragraph (2) of section 1324(b) of title
10 31, United States Code, is amended by inserting
11 ‘‘36C,’’ after ‘‘36B,’’.
12 (3) The table of sections for subpart C of part
13 IV of subchapter A of chapter 1 of the Internal Rev-
14 enue Code of 1986 is amended by inserting after the
15 item relating to section 36B the following new item:
‘‘Sec. 36C. Credit for school counselors, social workers, therapists, and psy-
chologists.’’.
16 (c) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendments made by
17 this section shall apply to taxable years ending after the
18 date of the enactment of this Act.
19 SEC. 4. STUDY AND REPORT.
20 (a) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 2 years after the
21 date of the enactment this Act, the Secretary shall conduct
22 a study to identify—
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23 (1) the elementary schools and secondary
24 schools in each State with school-based health cen-
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1 ters that do not provide mental health services at
2 such centers;
3 (2) reasons that such schools do not provide, or
4 are unable to provide, such services; and
5 (3) recommendations with respect to ways to
6 increase the provision of mental health services in
7 such centers.
8 (b) REPORT.—Not later than 1 year after conducting
9 the study required under subsection (a), the Secretary
10 shall submit to Congress a report containing the findings
11 and recommendations of such study.
Æ
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