Congress·In Committee·H.R. 4253

Congress Proposes Grants to Help High-Need Schools Hire and Keep More Mental Health Staff

Expanding Access to Mental Health Services in Schools Act of 2025

9 months ago·View on Congress.gov

⏸

Stalled

No legislative action in over 90 days.

Legislative Progress

House

Senate

President

Law

Key Points

Creates a federal grant program to help States and high-need school districts hire and keep more school mental health staff.
Targets districts that fall short of key staffing levels, like 1 school counselor for every 250 students or 1 school psychologist for every 500 students.
Grant money could be used for hiring and for recruiting and retention incentives like salary stipends, relocation help, and student loan repayment.
Grants can last up to 5 years, with a possible 2-year renewal, and at least half of the main grant funding must go directly to high-need school districts.
Schools taking grants must follow student privacy and disability law rules, put annual results reports online, and provide a 25% non-federal funding match.

EducationHealthcareLabor Employment

Impact Analysis

Personal Impact

How this policy affects specific groups of people

Mixed Impacts(1)

Child Tax Credit

Neutral

Positive Impacts(3)

Student

Helps

Student Loans

Helps

Tribal Member

Helps

Milestones

2 milestones2 actions

Jun 30, 2025House

Referred to the House Committee on Education and Workforce.

Jun 30, 2025

Introduced in House

What Happens Next

Projected impacts based on AI analysis

Around the start of FY2026 (fall 2025) or whenever FY2026 education funding is enacted

Congress would need to appropriate (actually provide) money for the grant program for FY2026.

Without yearly funding, no grants go out, so schools wouldn’t see new hires or incentives from this bill.

After FY2026 funds are appropriated

The Education Department would open a competitive grant application process for states, educational service agencies, and high-need school districts.

Eligible districts and states could start applying, and families may hear whether their district is pursuing funding.

About 1 year after a grant begins

Yearly public reporting by each grant recipient starts (staff counts, ratios, retention changes, and staff demographics).

Parents and community members could track whether staffing levels and wait times are improving in their district.

5–7 years after a district’s grant start date

Initial grant periods end (up to 5 years after each grant starts), with possible renewal for up to 2 additional years.

Districts may need a plan to keep services going when federal grant funding ends, or seek renewal if allowed.

Related News

2 articles

Milford Mirror·9 months ago

U.S. reps from CT push to expand mental health services in schools nationally amid funding cuts

Coverage of the reintroduction of the Expanding Access to Mental Health Services in Schools Act, detailing the proposed grant program to help high-need districts recruit, hire, and retain counselors, psychologists, and social workers.

Nasdaq·8 months ago

New Bill: Representative Rosa L. DeLauro introduces H.R. 4253: Expanding Access to Mental Health Services in Schools Act of 2025

Explainer-style writeup summarizing H.R. 4253’s grant structure, eligible agencies, staffing-ratio targeting, match requirement, and allowable recruitment/retention incentives.