[Congressional Bills 118th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 2072 Introduced in Senate (IS)]

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118th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                S. 2072

  To establish a pilot program to provide mental health check-ups for 
  students at schools operated by the Department of Defense Education 
                   Activity, and for other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                             June 21, 2023

  Mr. Padilla introduced the following bill; which was read twice and 
              referred to the Committee on Armed Services

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
  To establish a pilot program to provide mental health check-ups for 
  students at schools operated by the Department of Defense Education 
                   Activity, and for other purposes.

    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 ``Supporting Mental Health for 
Military Children Act''.

SEC. 2. PILOT PROGRAM FOR ROUTINE MENTAL HEALTH CHECK-UPS IN SCHOOLS 
              OPERATED BY THE DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE EDUCATION ACTIVITY.

    (a) In General.--Beginning not later than one year after the date 
of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary of Defense shall establish 
and implement a pilot program to provide routine metal health check-ups 
for students in covered DODEA schools.
    (b) Program Activities.--Under the pilot program established under 
subsection (a), the Secretary shall--
            (1) subject to subsection (d), ensure that students at 
        covered DODEA schools receive routine mental health check-ups, 
        conducted by military medical treatment facility behavioral 
        health providers assigned to such schools, and which may 
        include the use of mental health screening tools, such as the 
        Patient Health Questionnaire-2 or the Patient Health 
        Questionnaire-9;
            (2) ensure that such mental health check-ups--
                    (A) consist of biannual or semesterly mental and 
                behavioral health screenings for disorders common in 
                children aged 3 to 17, including--
                            (i) an initial virtual screening test for 
                        all students; and
                            (ii) a follow-up screening carried out by a 
                        school psychologist or school nurse for 
                        students with specific needs identified through 
                        the initial screening; and
                    (B) include questions about a student's mood, 
                emotional state, habits, and behaviors to help diagnose 
                conditions such as--
                            (i) depression;
                            (ii) suicidal ideation;
                            (iii) anxiety;
                            (iv) attention-deficit/hyperactivity 
                        disorder (ADHD);
                            (v) eating disorders;
                            (vi) substance abuse; and
                            (vii) dual diagnosis conditions;
            (3) train licensed mental and behavioral health 
        professionals to conduct mental health check-ups, including 
        training in--
                    (A) recognizing the signs and symptoms of mental 
                illnesses; and
                    (B) safely de-escalating crises involving 
                individuals with a mental illness;
            (4) establish a streamlined diagnosis-to-treatment process, 
        including a comprehensive process through which a student with 
        needs identified through a mental health check-up--
                    (A) may be referred to a certified community 
                behavioral health clinic in the community in which the 
                school is located; and
                    (B) may receive additional care or treatment 
                through comprehensive school-based services;
            (5) mobilize school nurses and counselors to facilitate 
        screening in collaboration with administrators and teachers;
            (6) conduct awareness-building educational efforts in 
        conjunction with the screening process;
            (7) implement a robust school-based and telehealth support 
        system (including options for individual or group therapy) for 
        students seeking support after diagnosis; and
            (8) make resources available to the communities surrounding 
        schools for individuals with a mental illness through a 
        coordinated referral process with local community-based health 
        clinics and school-based mental health clinics if such school-
        based mental health clinics are available and have the capacity 
        and expertise to handle complex mental health situations.
    (c) Selection of Schools.--
            (1) Initial selection.--For the one-year period beginning 
        on the date on which the pilot program established under 
        subsection (a) commences, the Secretary shall select 10 covered 
        DODEA schools at which to carry out the pilot program.
            (2) Subsequent years.--For the one-year period beginning 
        after the end of the one-year period described in paragraph 
        (1), and each one-year period thereafter until the termination 
        of the pilot program under subsection (h), the Secretary shall 
        select an additional 10 covered DODEA schools at which to carry 
        out the pilot program relative to the number of schools at 
        which the pilot program is carried out in the preceding one-
        year period.
            (3) Selection of schools overseas.--In selecting covered 
        DODEA schools under paragraph (1) or (2) for any one-year 
        period, the Secretary shall select not fewer than 2 such 
        schools located outside the United States.
    (d) Referral Process Requirements.--
            (1) Agreements with behavioral health clinics.--For 
        purposes of the comprehensive referral process described in 
        subsection (b)(4), the Secretary of Defense shall seek to enter 
        into memoranda of understanding or other agreements with 
        federally funded community behavioral health clinics in 
        communities in which covered DODEA schools are located pursuant 
        to which a school may refer students to such a clinic and make 
        appointments for students at the clinic. The requirement to 
        establish such a referral process may not be satisfied solely 
        by providing a list of nearby community behavioral health 
        clinics to parents of students at covered DODEA schools.
            (2) Exception.--In a case in which the Secretary of Defense 
        is unable to meet the requirements of paragraph (1) because 
        there is no federally funded community behavioral health clinic 
        in a community in which a covered DODEA school is located, the 
        Secretary of Defense shall develop and make available a 
        comprehensive guide to the mental health resources that are 
        available to students and parents in that community.
    (e) Student Privacy Protections.--In carrying out the pilot program 
established under subsection (a), the Secretary shall ensure that a 
parent or guardian of a student at a covered DODEA school--
            (1) is provided with--
                    (A) notice that a student may receive a mental 
                health check-up under the pilot program; and
                    (B) an opportunity to opt the student out of any 
                such mental health check-up before it is administered; 
                and
            (2) gives informed consent before--
                    (A) the referral of a student to a community-based 
                health clinic as described in subsection (b)(4)(A); or
                    (B) the disclosure of any information concerning 
                such student to such a clinic.
    (f) Evaluations.--Not later than 180 days after commencing the 
pilot program under subsection (a), and not less frequently than every 
180 days thereafter, the Secretary of Defense shall conduct an 
evaluation of the pilot program, which shall include evaluation of--
            (1) processes under the pilot program; and
            (2) student outcomes under the pilot program.
    (g) Report.--Not later than one year before the pilot program 
terminates under subsection (h), the Secretary of Defense shall submit 
to the Committees on Armed Services of the Senate and the House of 
Representatives a report on the progress of the pilot program. The 
report shall include--
            (1) the results of the evaluations conducted under 
        subsection (f);
            (2) an assessment of whether the pilot program should be 
        continued;
            (3) a strategy for expanding the pilot program to all DODEA 
        schools; and
            (4) such other information as the Secretary determines 
        appropriate.
    (h) Termination.--The pilot program established under subsection 
(a) shall terminate on the date that is 4 years after the commencement 
of the pilot program.
    (i) Authorization of Appropriations.--There are authorized to be 
appropriated to carry out this Act such sums as may be necessary for 
fiscal years 2024 through 2029.
    (j) Definitions.--In this section:
            (1) Certified community behavioral health clinic.--The term 
        ``certified community behavioral health clinic'' means a 
        certified community behavioral health clinic as such term is 
        used in section 223 of the Protecting Access to Medicare Act of 
        2014 (42 U.S.C. 1396a note).
            (2) Covered dodea school.--The term ``covered DODEA 
        school'' means an elementary school or secondary school--
                    (A) operated by the Department of Defense Education 
                Activity within or outside the United States; and
                    (B) that the Secretary determines has adequate 
                mental health infrastructure in place to provide mental 
                health check-ups under the pilot program established 
                under subsection (a).
            (3) Elementary school; secondary school.--The terms 
        ``elementary school'' and ``secondary school'' have the 
        meanings given those terms in section 8101 of the Elementary 
        and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 7801).
            (4) Military medical treatment facility.--The term 
        ``military medical treatment facility'' means a facility 
        described in subsection (b), (c), or (d) of section 1073d of 
        title 10, United States Code.
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