[Congressional Bills 118th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 2163 Introduced in Senate (IS)]

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118th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                S. 2163

To direct the Secretary of Education to study student mental health at 
 institutions of higher education and to issue guidance on compliance 
with the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 for mental health and 
 substance use disorder policies of institutions of higher education, 
                        and for other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                             June 22, 2023

  Mr. Markey introduced the following bill; which was read twice and 
  referred to the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
To direct the Secretary of Education to study student mental health at 
 institutions of higher education and to issue guidance on compliance 
with the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 for mental health and 
 substance use disorder policies of institutions of higher education, 
                        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 ``Student Mental Health Rights Act''.

SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

    Congress finds the following:
            (1) Nearly all institutions of higher education are subject 
        to--
                    (A) the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 (42 
                U.S.C. 12101 et seq.);
                    (B) section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 
                (29 U.S.C. 794); or
                    (C) the Fair Housing Act (42 U.S.C. 3601 et seq.).
            (2) The laws described in paragraph (1) prohibit 
        discrimination on the basis of disability, defined as ``with 
        respect to an individual, a physical or mental impairment that 
        substantially limits one or more major life activities of such 
        individual, a record of such an impairment, or being regarded 
        as having such an impairment'' under section 3(1) of the 
        Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 (42 U.S.C. 12102(1)).
            (3) Under section 2(a)(3) of the Americans with 
        Disabilities Act of 1990 (42 U.S.C. 12101(a)(3)), Congress 
        found that ``discrimination against individuals with 
        disabilities persists in such critical areas as employment, 
        housing, public accommodations, education, transportation, 
        communication, recreation, institutionalization, health 
        services, voting, and access to public services''.
            (4) The laws described in paragraph (1) prohibit 
        institutions of higher education from discriminating against 
        students with disabilities, including by failing to provide 
        reasonable accommodations or reasonable modifications to such 
        students so that such students are able to fully participate in 
        postsecondary life.
            (5) The laws described in paragraph (1) prohibit 
        institutions of higher education from discriminating against 
        students with mental health disabilities, including by failing 
        to provide reasonable accommodations or reasonable 
        modifications to such a student.
            (6) The vast majority of institutions of higher education 
        lack a comprehensive plan for addressing and preventing 
        discrimination against students with mental health disabilities 
        or who are experiencing crises, in many cases--
                    (A) requiring such students to leave the 
                institution of higher education;
                    (B) evicting such students from on-campus housing; 
                and
                    (C) establishing excessive and unnecessary 
                impediments to the re-enrollment of such students to 
                the institution of higher education.

SEC. 3. STUDY AND REPORT.

    (a) Voluntary Reporting.--Not later than 120 days after the date of 
the enactment of this Act, the Secretary shall solicit from students at 
institutions of higher education, on a voluntary basis and in a manner 
that protects the confidentiality of such students, information with 
respect to mental health disabilities and substance use disorders at 
such institutions of higher education.
    (b) Study and Report.--Not later than 1 year after the date of the 
enactment of this Act, the Secretary shall--
            (1) complete a study on mental health disabilities and 
        substance use disorders at institutions of higher education, 
        including--
                    (A) using the information voluntarily reported by 
                students under subsection (a), the prevalence of such 
                disabilities and disorders, disaggregated by type of 
                disability or disorder (including disabilities and 
                disorders related to hearing, vision, cognition, 
                ambulatory, self-care, independent living, mental 
                health, and any other category determined appropriate 
                by the Secretary), among students at institutions of 
                higher education and policies to support students with 
                respect to such disabilities and disorders;
                    (B) the policies of institutions of higher 
                education with respect to students who, due to such a 
                condition, are considering a voluntary leave of absence 
                or are required to take a mandatory or involuntary 
                leave of absence, or return from such an absence, and 
                compliance by institutions of higher education with 
                such policies; and
                    (C) best practices for supporting students at 
                institutions of higher education in managing such 
                disabilities and disorders, including the effect such 
                practices have on graduation rates and degree 
                completion; and
            (2) submit to the Committee on Education and the Workforce 
        of the House of Representatives and the Committee on Health, 
        Education, Labor, and Pensions of the Senate a report on the 
        findings of the study completed under paragraph (1).

SEC. 4. GUIDANCE.

    Not later than 180 days after the date on which the report is 
submitted under section 3(b), the Secretary shall, in consultation with 
the Assistant Attorney General of the Civil Rights Division of the 
Department of Justice, issue guidance on--
            (1) the compliance of institutions of higher education with 
        the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 (42 U.S.C. 12101 et 
        seq.) and section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 (29 
        U.S.C. 794) with respect to students with mental health 
        disabilities;
            (2) the legal obligations of institutions of higher 
        education with respect to accommodating students with mental 
        health disabilities and students with substance use disorders; 
        and
            (3) policies of institutions of higher education which may 
        have a discriminatory impact on students with mental health 
        disabilities and students with substance use disorders.

SEC. 5. DEFINITIONS.

    In this Act:
            (1) Institution of higher education.--The term 
        ``institution of higher education'' has the meaning given that 
        term in section 101(a) of the Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 
        U.S.C. 1001(a)).
            (2) Secretary.--The term ``Secretary'' means the Secretary 
        of Education.
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