Federal funds to train more school counselors and psychologists

What it does

This bill creates a federal matching-grant program where the Department of Education partners with graduate schools to help pay for students pursuing degrees in school-based mental health fields (school counseling, psychology, social work, etc.). The government will match up to 50% of tuition costs if the graduate institution matches the same amount, with priority given to students who received Pell Grants as undergraduates. The program is funded at $20–50 million annually through 2030 and requires participating schools to report outcomes.

Why we flagged it

The bill's core mechanism is a federal-institutional matching grant to increase the supply of school-based mental health professionals. It is a straightforward workforce-development and education subsidy with a clear public-health objective.

What the text implies

• The program's success depends on graduate institutions' willingness to match federal funds; schools with limited endowments or in lower-income regions may struggle to participate, potentially widening geographic disparities in mental health service access.
• By prioritizing Pell Grant recipients, the bill may inadvertently create incentives for graduate programs to recruit lower-income students, which could affect program selectivity and peer composition in ways not explicitly addressed.
• The 4-year independent evaluation timeline means outcomes data will not be available until 2029–2030, limiting Congress's ability to adjust the program mid-course if early results are weak.

Who it affects

Ordinary citizens—especially lower-income students and school children—benefit from expanded access to mental health services in schools. The program directly addresses a documented shortage of school counselors and psychologists by reducing financial barriers to entry into these professions. The matching requirement ensures institutional commitment and the Pell Grant priority targets economically disadvantaged students.

Who stands to gain

• graduate institutions offering school-based mental health programs
• students pursuing degrees in school counseling, psychology, and social work

Named in the bill

Department of Education, National Association of School Psychologists, American Psychological Association, Council on Social Work Education, Higher Education Act of 1965, Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965

Where it stands

2 cosponsors: 1 Democrats, 1 Republicans.

• May 22, 2025 — Introduced · Congress.gov: “Introduced in Senate”
• May 22, 2025 — Referred to Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions · Congress.gov: “Read twice and referred to the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions”

Dates and quoted wording are Congress.gov's action record; the timeline shows status changes, not every procedural step.

Money around this bill

1 lobbying clients named this bill on 1 disclosure filings across 1 quarter, Jun 2026 to Jun 2026. Those filings disclosed $20,000 in lobbying spend. A filing names 110 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 0% of bills with at least one filing.

Todd Young, the sponsor, reported $704,220 in PAC receipts in the 2026 cycle.

• 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.