Federal grants aim to hire mental health staff in poorest schools
H.R. 4253 — Expanding Access to Mental Health Services in Schools Act of 2025 · Filed by Rosa DeLauro (D-CT) · 129 cosponsors · Introduced Jun 30, 2025 · Referred to committee
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What it does
This bill creates a federal grant program to help high-poverty school districts hire and retain mental health professionals—counselors, psychologists, and social workers. States and school districts can apply for up to 5-year grants to recruit, pay, and support these providers, with at least 50% of funding going to the neediest districts. Schools must match 25% of federal funds with their own money.
Why we flagged it
The bill is a straightforward federal grant program designed to expand mental health capacity in under-resourced schools. It allocates public funds to a documented public need (shortage of school counselors and psychologists in high-poverty districts) with clear eligibility criteria, matching requirements, and outcome reporting.
What the text implies
- Matching requirement (25% local funds) may exclude the poorest districts that lack budget flexibility, potentially limiting reach despite targeting high-need areas.
- Grant duration (5 years max, renewable for 2) creates uncertainty about long-term provider retention once federal funding ends; districts may struggle to sustain hired staff.
- Reporting on provider demographics and attrition rates may expose disparities in hiring/retention by race/ethnicity, creating accountability but also potential political pressure on districts.
Section numbers refer to the bill text the analysis read — linked under Primary records below.
Who it affects
Students in high-poverty schools gain direct access to mental health services that are currently scarce. The bill targets the neediest districts (top 15% by poverty), requires matching funds to ensure local commitment, and mandates reporting on outcomes. No restrictions on student rights or protections; no private giveaways.
Who stands to gain
- High-need school districts (direct grant recipients)
- Mental health professionals (salary, loan repayment, relocation support)
- Educational service agencies (administrative intermediaries)
Named in the bill
U.S. Department of Education (Secretary), State educational agencies, Local educational agencies, High-need local educational agencies, Bureau of Indian Education, Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965, Individuals with Disabilities Education Act
Where it stands
129 cosponsors: 127 Democrats, 2 Republicans.
- Jun 30, 2025 — Introduced · Congress.gov: “Introduced in House”
- Jun 30, 2025 — Referred to House Committee on Education and Workforce · Congress.gov: “Referred to the House Committee on Education and Workforce”
Dates and quoted wording are Congress.gov's action record; the timeline shows status changes, not every procedural step.
Money around this bill
2 lobbying clients named this bill on 3 disclosure filings across 2 quarters, Dec 2025 to Jun 2026. Those filings disclosed $510,000 in lobbying spend. A filing names 8 bills on average, so that figure is what each filing reported, not a share belonging to this bill.
More lobbying clients named this bill than 41% of bills with at least one filing.
Rosa DeLauro, the sponsor, reported $624,463 in PAC receipts in the 2026 cycle.
- American Federation of Teachers — $410,000 on 1 filing
- American Counseling Association — $100,000 on 2 filings
Lobbying Disclosure Act filings through Jul 20, 2026. A filing shows who paid to lobby on a bill it names, not what changed.
How this was measured
Analysis — Quorum's AI read the bill text published by Congress.gov (9,403 characters) on Jun 3, 2026. Section numbers in the findings refer to that text, linked below; transparency and hidden-provision scores are compared against the median of 16,222 analysed bills.
Status and sponsors — Congress.gov's bill record — actions, committee referrals and cosponsors — loaded nightly. The timeline shows status changes, not every procedural action.
Money — Senate Lobbying Disclosure Act filings whose specific-issue field names this bill for quarters ending Dec 2025 to Jun 2026. A filing's amount is reported whole beside the median number of bills a filing names; it is never divided across them. PAC receipts are FEC-reported contributions to the sponsor's candidate committee in the 2026 cycle.
As of — lobbying records through Jul 20, 2026 · page rendered 2026-10-20.
“Federal grants aim to hire mental health staff in poorest schools” QuorumCivic. https://share.quorumcivic.app/bill/119/hr4253 Report an error
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