PlainBillCongress, translated.Legislation. Context. Public interest.Referred to the Committee on Education and Workforce, and in addition to the Committee on Energy and Commerce, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned.
Congressional Research Service
Version 00 · Introduced in House · Oct 6, 2026
Healthy Minds for a Better Future Act
This bill establishes the Middle School Mental Health Task Force at the Department of Education and the Department of Health and Human Services. The task force must study and report on the resources that are available to secondary school educators and parents for helping students who are experiencing mental health issues.
People & committees
Rep. Kean, Thomas H. [R-NJ-7] · R–NJ
Legislative record
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Referred to the Committee on Education and Workforce, and in addition to the Committee on Energy and Commerce, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned.
Referred to the Committee on Education and Workforce, and in addition to the Committee on Energy and Commerce, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned.
Introduced in House
Introduced in House
Primary sources
Text links open the official source. We also preserved the text version used in the PlainBill explanation below.
Source last updated: Oct 15, 2026. Consult Congress.gov for the current record.
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PlainBill explanation
Based on the full Introduced in House · 2026-10-06 text. This explanation has not received human editorial review. This overview describes the proposal’s major provisions; it does not establish what its real-world effects would be.
The bill would create a federal task force to study resources that help parents and educators identify and assist students who may be experiencing mental health issues, focusing on middle-school students. The task force would operate at the Departments of Education and Health and Human Services and report its findings to Congress each year.
There is established a multiagency Middle School Mental Health Task Force (referred to in this section as the Task Force) at the Department of Education and the Department of Health and Human Services to study and survey the resources that are available to parents and educators to identify and help middle-school aged students that may be experiencing mental health issues.
submit to the Committee on Education and Workforce of the House of Representatives and the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions of the Senate, an annual report on the results of the study conducted under paragraph (1).
The bill would be called the Healthy Minds for a Better Future Act.
This Act may be cited as the Healthy Minds for a Better Future Act.
The bill specifies 12 task force members, including the Education and Health and Human Services secretaries, two association representatives appointed by the Education Secretary, regional school counselors or educators, and parents of middle-school students. The parent provision includes public and private schools, but its reference to the regions is defective.
shall consist of 12 members including— (A) the Secretary of Education; (B) the Secretary of Health and Human Services; (C) a representative of an association of school administration relating to middle school or high schools appointed by the Secretary of Education; (D) a representative of an association working for childhood mental health appointed by the Secretary of Education; (E) one school counselor or educator from each United States region
(F) one parent of a middle school student (from a public or private secondary school) from each region listed in subparagraphs (A) through (D) of paragraph (6).
Counselor or educator members and parent members would be selected through an annual application process set by the Education Secretary. All members would serve without pay for two calendar years.
(2) Application process Each member of the Task Force described in subparagraphs (E) and (F) of paragraph (1) shall be selected through an annual application process determined by the Secretary of Education. (3) Prohibition on compensation Each member of the Task Force shall serve on the Task Force without pay. (4) Length of service Each member of the Task Force shall serve on the Task Force for 2 calendar years.
The chair would serve no more than two years. The bill calls for election by a majority of the members of a “Commission,” but does not identify that body.
The Chairperson of the Task Force shall be elected by a majority vote of the members of the Commission. The term of office of the Chairperson may not exceed 2 years.
The task force would meet twice a year when called by its chair or a majority of its members. Three-fourths of its members would be needed for a quorum—the minimum attendance for conducting business—but fewer members could hold hearings.
(d) Meetings (1) In general The Task Force shall meet twice a year at the call of the Chairperson or the majority of the members of the Task Force. (2) Quorum Three-fourths of the members of the Task Force shall constitute a quorum but a lesser number may hold hearings.
The task force could not appoint additional personnel or issue subpoenas, which are orders compelling testimony or production of evidence.
(e) Prohibition on additional personnel The Task Force shall not be entitled to appoint additional personnel. (f) No subpoena power The Task Force may not issue subpoenas.
The task force could obtain temporary and intermittent expert services under a referenced federal statute. Individual pay rates could not exceed the annual basic pay rate for GS–10, a grade in the federal General Schedule pay system.
(g) Experts The Task Force may procure temporary and intermittent services under section 3109(b) of title 5, United States Code, but at rates for individuals not to exceed the annual rate of basic pay for GS–10 of the General Schedule.
The task force could contract with and pay government agencies, private agencies, or individuals for services related to its work, subject to advance provision in appropriations laws. This is conditional contracting authority, rather than an appropriation of a stated amount.
(h) Contract authority To the extent or in the amounts provided in advance in appropriation Acts, the Task Force may contract with and compensate government and private agencies or persons for certain services relating to the work of the Task Force.
The required study would cover resources available to secondary-school educators, including middle-grade educators, and parents. It would include online platforms, professional and community mental-health providers, and other mental-health tools. Results would go annually to the House Education and Workforce Committee and the Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Committee.
(i) Study and annual report The Task Force shall— (1) study that resources (including online platforms, professional mental health services providers, community mental health providers, and any other tools or resources to address mental health) available to secondary school educators (including educators in the middle grades) and parents for helping a student who is experiencing mental health issues; and (2) submit to the Committee on Education and Workforce of the House of Representatives and the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions of the Senate, an annual report on the results of the study conducted under paragraph (1).
The bill would use the definitions of “middle grades” and “secondary school” from the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965. Those definitions are not reproduced in the supplied text.
(j) Definitions In this Act, the terms middle grades and secondary school have the meanings given the terms in section 8101 of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 7801).
The supplied actions snapshot, updated October 15, 2026, records introduction in the House on October 6, 2026, and referral that day to the Education and Workforce Committee and additionally to the Energy and Commerce Committee for provisions within their respective jurisdictions.
Source snapshot updated 2026-10-15T17:37:53Z. 2026-10-06: Referred to the Committee on Education and Workforce, and in addition to the Committee on Energy and Commerce, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned.
2026-10-06: Introduced in House
A closer look
Reviewed version: Introduced in House · 2026-10-06. These findings describe provisions and who may benefit; they are not judgments of waste, corruption, or motive.
This review covers the supplied bill text. “None identified” does not rule out provisions in later versions or accompanying reports and disclosures.
Provisions outside the bill’s main subject, or policy changes attached to appropriations.
None identified in the reviewed text
No unrelated provision or policy change attached to appropriations was identified in the complete supplied introduced text. This conclusion is limited to that version and does not establish absence in other versions or accompanying materials.
Spending directed to particular recipients or places outside ordinary competitive or formula-based allocation.
None identified in the reviewed text
No congressionally directed spending for a particular recipient or place was identified in the complete supplied introduced text. This conclusion is limited to that version; formal earmark status cannot be fully assessed without accompanying materials.
Narrow exceptions, exemptions, or preferential treatment that warrant a closer look.
None identified in the reviewed text
No materially narrow carve-out, special exemption, or preferential treatment warranting a finding was identified in the complete supplied introduced text. This conclusion is limited to that version and does not establish absence in other versions or accompanying materials.
Full text preserved for this analysis. Legislative record snapshot: Oct 15, 2026. How PlainBill uses AI