Washington, D.C. – Congressman Brian Fitzpatrick (PA-01), Co-Chair of the Bipartisan Mental Heath and Substance Use Disorder Task Force, led a bipartisan coalition of lawmakers in calling for answers from the Department of Education regarding reports the agency intends to reallocate $1 billion in Congressionally appropriated funding designated to address the nationwide shortage of school-based mental health professionals.

In a letter sent to Secretary Linda McMahon, Fitzpatrick and the members emphasized that the Bipartisan Safer Communities Act, passed with broad bipartisan support, provided historic investments precisely to expand access to mental health care in schools.

“Now is not the time to turn back on investing in our children’s mental health and the mental health workforce,” the lawmakers wrote. “Uncertainty jeopardizes the work that has been done to increase comprehensive youth mental and behavioral health services, and the availability of school-based mental health professionals across the country.”

The impact of these investments is clear. In just nine months of implementation, these two federal grant programs delivered measurable results, including:

• Mental Health Services Professional Demonstration (MHSP) Grants:
• Trained 1,767 school mental health professionals
• Placed 1,191 graduate trainees in high-need schools
• Hired 133 new providers
• School-Based Mental Health Services (SBMH) Grants:
• Hired 1,163 school mental health professionals
• Retained 13,155 existing staff
• Provided services to more than 774,000 students

These gains are critical as student-to-mental health professional ratios remain more than double recommended levels nationwide. Research shows students are six times more likely to receive care if services are available on campus.

The letter calls on the Department to provide a comprehensive response by July 14, 2025, detailing:

• The Department’s strategy to address the youth mental health crisis
• How any reallocation or recompete process will sustain or expand services to students
• Assurances that funding will continue reaching school-based programs Congress specifically established

“These funds were never intended to be a theoretical exercise—they were designed to confront an urgent crisis affecting millions of children,” said Congressman Fitzpatrick (R-PA-1). “With youth mental health challenges at an all-time high, any disruption or diversion of resources threatens to reverse hard-won progress and leave communities without critical supports. It is important for the Department to share a clear plan to ensure these resources remain dedicated to expanding mental health support for students.”

"Increasing access to school psychologists and other school mental health professionals is critical to supporting student learning and well-being. The U.S. Department of Education must continue prioritizing efforts that address the nationwide shortage of these professionals by reinstating grant programs that have already proven their impact. We are grateful for Representative Fitzpatrick's continued leadership in support of these programs and look forward to the Department's timely response. NASP stands ready to work with our partners in the federal government to ensure that every student has access to school psychologists and the critical services we provide,” said National Association of School Psychologists President, Dr. Peter Faustino.

“As the only psychologist in Congress and a former educator for over 20 years, I know firsthand how important school psychologists are to the mental health and well-being of students. And yet we currently have a nationwide shortage of school psychologists, with an average of over 1,000 students for every 1 school psychologist—a far cry from the recommended ratio of 500 to 1,” said Congresswoman Judy Chu (D-CA-28). “At a time when about 1 in 5 students struggles with a mental health disorder, we should be increasing, not decreasing, our investments to ensure students have access to the help they need. I’m proud to join my colleagues in sending this letter, and I look forward to getting answers from the Department of Education on why they recently discontinued $1 billion in federal grants for schools to hire more mental health professionals and what their plan is to address the youth mental health crisis.”

Read the full letter here and below:

The Honorable Linda McMahon

Secretary U.S. Department of Education

400 Maryland Avenue SW

Washington, D.C. 20202

Dear Secretary McMahon:

We are writing to inquire about recent reporting that the Department of Education is reallocating approximately $1 billion in federal grant funding which was specifically allocated by Congress through the Bipartisan Safer Communities Act to help schools hire more psychologists, counselors and other mental health workers. Given the impact this action would have on the health and wellbeing of children from across the nation, we are requesting more information on the Department of Education’s decision and the Department’s plan to “re-envision and recompete” its mental health program funds.

There is currently a shortage of school-based mental health professionals in our country. National mental health organizations recommend a ratio of one school counselor and one school social worker for every 250 students, and a ratio of one school psychologist for every 500 students. Unfortunately, across each profession, the national ratio is more than double the recommendation, with some states and school districts faring even worse. These critical shortages undermine the availability of high-quality services to students and families, particularly in rural, underserved, and other hard-to-staff school districts.

Students are six times as likely to receive needed mental health care when it is provided at school, and the majority of youth who receive needed services do so at school.1 This includes prevention, early detection, and early intervention efforts, which are critical components of comprehensive mental and behavioral health services and crisis prevention. Integrating mental health services in schools has helped both students and staff succeed by addressing issues such as bullying, self-esteem, and suicide, while improving schools’ capacity to identify, refer, and provide services to help students in need. School-based mental health professionals have improved staff retention, helped keep students in school, and promoted learning environments where students feel safe, supported, and ready to learn.

The Bipartisan Safer Communities Act provided $500 million each to the only two existing grant programs focused on addressing the critical shortage of school-based mental health professionals and increasing access to vital school-based services: the Mental Health Services Professional Demonstration Grant and the School-Based Mental Health Services Program. Combined, these two competitive grants address the shortage in two distinct and essential ways: by increasing the available workforce, and by helping districts support increased positions to improve access to services. Given the unprecedented needs of our students, we must build on the work of this bipartisan legislation.

The Mental Health Services Professional Demonstration Grant (MHSP) and the School-Based Mental Health Services Grant (SBMH) programs have proven to be extremely effective at addressing the root causes of shortages in school mental health professionals and increasing access to comprehensive school mental health services. The MHSP strengthens and expands the workforce pipeline by supporting innovative partnerships between institutions of higher education and high-needs school districts to train school mental health professionals. In just one cohort of grantees’ first project year (from May to December 2023), MHSP funding supported:

• The training of 1,767 school mental health professionals;
• The placement of 1,191 graduate students in a supervised practicum/internship, immediately increasing services to students in high-need school districts; and
• The hiring of 133 school mental health providers in high-need school districts.

Building upon this work, the SBMH supports state and local education agencies in recruiting, hiring, and retaining school mental health professionals. In just one cohort of grantees’ first year (also from May to December 2023), SBMH funding:

• Supported the hiring of 1,163 school mental health professionals;
• Supported the retention of 13,155 school mental health professionals; and
• Provided mental and behavioral health services to 774,385 students.

This data shows the impact of just one cohort of the MHSP and SBMH grantees in the first nine months of their projects. Now is not the time to turn back on investing in our children’s mental health and the mental health workforce. Uncertainty jeopardizes the work that has been done to increase comprehensive youth mental and behavioral health services, and the availability of school-based mental health professionals across the country.

With these concerns in mind, we respectfully request that the Department of Education provide answers to the following questions by Monday, July 14th, 2025:

1. What is the Department’s plan for addressing the youth mental health crisis?

2. Please provide a detailed plan on how the Department plans to re-envision and recompete its mental health program funds to, as the Department says, “more effectively support student’s behavioral health needs.”

3. Please provide details on how the Department plans to increase comprehensive youth mental and behavioral health services, and the availability of school-based mental health professionals across the country.

Thank you for your attention to this urgent matter. We look forward to your prompt response.

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