Elementary and Secondary School Counseling Act

[Congressional Bills 118th Congress] [From the U.S. Government Publishing Office] [H.R. 8524 Introduced in House (IH)] <DOC> 118th CONGRESS 2d Session H. R. 8524 To effectively staff the high-need public elementary schools and secondary schools of the United States with school-based mental health services providers. _______________________________________________________________________ IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES May 23, 2024 Ms. Clark of Massachusetts (for herself, Mrs. Hayes, Mr. Lieu, Ms. Sanchez, and Ms. Underwood) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Education and the Workforce _______________________________________________________________________ A BILL To effectively staff the high-need public elementary schools and secondary schools of the United States with school-based mental health services providers. Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. This Act may be cited as the ``Elementary and Secondary School Counseling Act''. SEC. 2. FINDINGS. Congress finds the following: (1) One in 5 children ages 13 through 18 has, or will have, a serious mental illness. (2) 11 percent of youth have a mood disorder, 10 percent of youth have a behavior or conduct disorder, and 8 percent of youth have an anxiety disorder. (3) 50 percent of all lifetime cases of mental illness begin by age 14. 37 percent of students with a mental health condition age 14 and older drop out of school, which is the highest school dropout rate of any disability group. (4) 70 percent of youth in State and local juvenile systems have a mental illness. (5) Youth with access to mental health services in school- based health centers are 10 times more likely to seek care for mental health or substance abuse than youth without access. (6) The leading counseling, guidance, and mental health organizations, including the American School Counselor Association, the National Ass