Expanding Student Access to Mental Health Services Act

The "Expanding Student Access to Mental Health Services Act" aims to significantly improve mental health support for students by amending the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965. It expands the permissible uses of federal funds for states to include various activities focused on student mental health. Specifically, states can now use funds for identifying and disseminating best practices for mental health first aid , assisting in emergency planning with response teams, and establishing coordination agreements with local health agencies . The bill also explicitly allows for the provision of telehealth services to students. Furthermore, local educational agency applications must detail how funds will be utilized for mental health services, and the bill promotes the use of technology to improve mental health services , including an exception for technology infrastructure used for this purpose.