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Congressional Research Service
Version 00 · Introduced in House · Feb 27, 2025
Expanding Student Access to Mental Health Services Act
This bill authorizes state and local educational agencies to use Student Support and Academic Enrichment grants to improve mental health services available to students. Specifically, the bill allows funds to be used for identifying and disseminating best practices for mental health first aid, emergency planning, coordination of services, and telehealth services.
People & committees
Rep. Allen, Rick W. [R-GA-12] · R–GA
Legislative record
A procedural vote is different from passage. Passage in one chamber does not establish enactment. Explore the glossary.
Referred to the House Committee on Education and Workforce.
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.
No related bills are listed in this snapshot. This does not establish whether the proposal has appeared in earlier Congresses.
Source last updated: Jul 21, 2025. Consult Congress.gov for the current record.
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PlainBill explanation
Based on the full Introduced in House · 2025-02-27 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.
This bill would expand provisions for using education funds to improve students’ mental health services, including care delivered remotely through telehealth. It would require local education agencies, when applicable, to explain their planned use of funds for mental health services and would add technology for those services as a supported activity. It would also exempt technology infrastructure used for mental health services from an existing limitation. These are proposed changes, not evidence of enacted law.
(v) improving the mental health services available to students, which may include—
(IV) telehealth services;
(E) if applicable, how funds will be used for activities related to providing mental health services under section 4108; and
(7) providing technology to improve mental health services.
The limitation described in paragraph (1) shall not apply to technology infrastructure that is also used for mental health services.
The proposed law would be called the Expanding Student Access to Mental Health Services Act.
This Act may be cited as the Expanding Student Access to Mental Health Services Act.
The bill would add improving student mental health services to the state-use-of-funds provision of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act. Optional activities would include sharing best practices for initial mental health assistance and helping establish or carry out emergency plans, which could include school emergency response teams.
(a) State use of funds Section 4104(b)(3)(B) of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 7114(b)(3)(B)) is amended—
(v) improving the mental health services available to students, which may include— (I) identifying and disseminating best practices for mental health first aid; (II) assisting in the establishment or implementation of emergency planning, which may include emergency response teams to address emergencies at schools;
Other optional state activities would include establishing or identifying agreements with local health agencies to improve service coordination, as well as telehealth services. The agreements could involve nonprofit, public, or private mental health agencies and institutions.
(v) improving the mental health services available to students, which may include—
(III) establishing or identifying agreements with local health agencies, including nonprofit, public, and private mental health agencies and institutions, to improve coordination of services; and (IV) telehealth services;
Local education agency applications would have to explain, when applicable, how funds would support activities providing mental health services under section 4108. The bill does not reproduce that section’s existing rules.
(b) Local educational agency applications Section 4106(e)(1) of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 7116(e)(1)) is amended—
(E) if applicable, how funds will be used for activities related to providing mental health services under section 4108; and
The bill would add providing technology to improve mental health services to the law’s activities supporting effective technology use.
(c) Activities To support the effective use of technology Section 4109 of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 7119) is amended—
(7) providing technology to improve mental health services.
Technology infrastructure also used for mental health services would be exempt from an existing limitation in section 4109(b). The exception does not require exclusive use for mental health services. The supplied text does not reproduce the underlying limitation.
(2) in subsection (b)— (A) by striking A local and inserting the following: (1) In general A local ; and (B) by adding at the end the following: (2) Exception The limitation described in paragraph (1) shall not apply to technology infrastructure that is also used for mental health services.
The official-actions snapshot updated July 21, 2025, records introduction in the House and referral to the House Committee on Education and Workforce on February 27, 2025. This snapshot does not establish subsequent action or enactment.
Source snapshot updated 2025-07-21T19:44:15Z. 2025-02-27: Referred to the House Committee on Education and Workforce. 2025-02-27: Introduced in House
A closer look
Reviewed version: Introduced in House · 2025-02-27. 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 disclosures and accompanying materials are not supplied.
Narrow exceptions, exemptions, or preferential treatment that warrant a closer look.
Findings to examine
The supplied introduced text contains a specific exemption tied to the bill’s main policy. Classification as a targeted benefit is not a judgment about its merits.
Local education agencies using technology infrastructure also for mental health services would receive an exemption from the existing section 4109(b) limitation. This favors qualifying infrastructure within the bill’s student mental health policy, including infrastructure with additional uses. The underlying limitation is not reproduced, so the exemption’s practical size cannot be determined from this bundle.
(c) Activities To support the effective use of technology Section 4109 of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 7119) is amended—
(2) in subsection (b)— (A) by striking A local and inserting the following: (1) In general A local ; and (B) by adding at the end the following: (2) Exception The limitation described in paragraph (1) shall not apply to technology infrastructure that is also used for mental health services.
Full text preserved for this analysis. Legislative record snapshot: Jul 21, 2025. How PlainBill uses AI