[Congressional Record Volume 169, Number 120 (Thursday, July 13, 2023)]
[Senate]
[Pages S2617-S2618]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]

  SA 456. Mr. PADILLA (for himself and Mr. Cornyn) submitted an 
amendment intended to be proposed by him to the bill S. 2226, to 
authorize appropriations for fiscal year 2024 for military activities 
of the Department of Defense, for military construction, and for 
defense activities of the Department of Energy, to prescribe military 
personnel strengths for such fiscal year, and for other purposes; which 
was ordered to lie on the table; as follows:

       At the end of subtitle F of title V, insert the following:

     SEC. 565. 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; and
       (7) 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--

[[Page S2618]]

       (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.
                                 ______