Fitzpatrick offers bill addressing critical shortage of school-based mental health providers

U.S. Rep. Brian Fitzpatrick (R-PA) on June 28 sponsored bipartisan legislation that would establish the Mental Health in Schools Excellence Program to increase the recruitment and retention of school-based mental health services providers, including school psychologists, social workers and counselors.

“Ensuring students have access to mental health resources is vital to their current and future success, along with that of their peers,” Rep. Fitzpatrick said. “Even in states with the greatest access to mental health services in America, over 38 percent of youth are not receiving the mental health services they need.” 

To increase the number of school-based mental health professionals, Rep. Fitzpatrick sponsored the Mental Health in Schools Excellence Program Act, H.R. 4198, with original cosponsor U.S. Rep. Josh Gottheimer (D-NJ). 

If enacted, the measure would authorize partnerships to be established between the U.S. Department of Education and eligible graduate programs to cover up to 50 percent of attendance costs for students attaining graduate degrees in the field of school psychology, according to a bill summary provided by Rep. Fitzpatrick’s office.

“As a co-chair of the Bipartisan Addiction and Mental Health Task Force, I am proud to support the Mental Health in Schools Excellence Program Act,” said Rep. Fitzpatrick, who continues to make school safety a top priority in Congress.

In January, for instance, the congressman joined U.S. Rep. Scott Peters (D-CA) to introduce the bipartisan Suicide and Threat Assessment Nationally Dedicated to Universal Prevention (STANDUP) Act of 2021, H.R. 586, which would encourage schools to expand evidence-based suicide prevention training to students in grades 6 through 12. The U.S. House of Representatives approved the bill in May and it is now under consideration in the U.S. Senate.

Rep. Fitzpatrick’s Mental Health in Schools Excellence Program Act has garnered support from the National Association of School Psychologists and the 2021 National School Psychologist of the Year Julia Szarko.