Federal money moves from school police to counselors and mental health
S. 5468 — Counseling Not Criminalization in Schools Act · Filed by Christopher Murphy (D-CT) · 4 cosponsors · Introduced Sep 23, 2026 · Referred to committee
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What it does
This bill stops federal money from paying for police in schools. It creates a $5 billion grant program for school districts. Districts that end their police contracts can get the money. The money pays for counselors, social workers, psychologists, and trauma help.
Who it affects
School districts, counselors, social workers, psychologists, and trauma helpers are hit. Black, Latino, Native American, disabled, and LGBTQI+ students get focus. These students face more arrests in schools than other students.
One thing to notice
The bill says removing police and adding mental health staff will help schools. It does not say what happens to police paid by states or local money.
From the analysis of the bill text, linked under Primary records below.
Where it stands
4 cosponsors: 4 Democrats.
- Sep 23, 2026 — Introduced · Congress.gov: “Introduced in Senate”
- Sep 23, 2026 — 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.
Words to know
- grant program — Money the federal government gives to districts that apply and meet rules.
- trauma help — Care that knows how past harm shapes how a person acts and learns.
- social workers — People who help students and families with problems at home or school.
How this was measured
Analysis — Quorum's AI read the bill text published by Congress.gov (19,804 characters) on Oct 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.
As of — page rendered 2026-10-20.
“Federal money moves from school police to counselors and mental health” QuorumCivic. https://share.quorumcivic.app/bill/119/s5468/simple Report an error
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