Schools must adopt suicide prevention and mental health protocols to keep federal funding

What it does

This bill requires the Secretary of Education to issue a rule within 210 days mandating that schools receiving federal funds implement evidence-based suicide prevention programs, post-suicide support plans, and trauma-informed care practices for grades 6–12. Schools must train staff to identify at-risk students, establish referral systems to mental health resources, conduct awareness campaigns, provide grief counseling after a suicide, and adopt trauma-sensitive policies. The Secretary must provide technical assistance, monitor compliance, and revise the rule based on school feedback.

Why we flagged it

The bill's operative mechanism is a direct mandate to schools to implement evidence-based suicide prevention and mental health support protocols as a condition of federal funding. This is a straightforward public-health and student-safety measure with no hidden mechanisms or narrow beneficiaries.

What the text implies

• Schools may face compliance costs (staff training, program development, mental health partnerships) that could strain budgets in under-resourced districts unless the Secretary provides adequate funding and technical assistance.
• The rule's effectiveness depends on the Secretary's implementation and schools' capacity to hire or contract mental health professionals; rural and low-income schools may struggle to meet referral-system requirements.
• Biennial training requirements create ongoing operational costs; schools may need to hire additional staff or redirect existing resources to meet the mandate.

Section numbers refer to the bill text the analysis read — linked under Primary records below.

Who it affects

Students in grades 6–12 gain evidence-based suicide prevention, mental health referral systems, and trauma-informed school environments; staff gain training to identify and respond to distress; families and communities gain post-suicide support protocols. The bill imposes no restrictions on citizens' rights or remedies, only affirmative obligations on schools to implement protective measures.

Who stands to gain

• mental health service providers and counselors (increased demand for referrals and postvention suppo
• educational consultants and training vendors (biennial staff training delivery)
• school districts (if federal funding increases to offset compliance costs)

Named in the bill

Secretary of Education, Educational agencies and institutions (grades 6–12), General Education Provisions Act (section 400), Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (section 8101), Mental health professionals and community organizations

Where it stands

5 cosponsors: 4 Democrats, 1 Republicans.

• Sep 18, 2025 — Introduced · Congress.gov: “Introduced in House”
• Sep 18, 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 2 disclosure filings across 1 quarter, Jun 2026 to Jun 2026. Those filings disclosed $360,000 in lobbying spend. A filing names 107 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.

Zachary (Zach) Nunn, the sponsor, reported $1,975,827 in PAC receipts in the 2026 cycle.

• American Psychological Association Services Inc.(fka American Psychological Assn — $340,000 on 1 filing
• National Alliance on Mental Illness — $20,000 on 1 filing

Lobbying Disclosure Act filings through Jul 20, 2026. A filing shows who paid to lobby on a bill it names, not what changed.