School Mental Health

Congress should pass legislation that includes increased safeguards for minors including: age verification, transparency measures, content controls, reporting mechanisms, and personal data sharing protections, as outlined in the Children and Teen’s Online Privacy and Protection Act, the Kids Online Safety Act, and Protecting Kids on Social Media Act. Additionally, the Department of Commerce should create a program for researchers to access data from platforms for research on harms, the National Institute of Standards and Technology should conduct a study on methods to verify age of platform users, and the Federal Trade Commission should establish a Youth Privacy and Marketing Division to research and provide guidance on privacy and marketing directed toward children and teens.

The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) should clarify its May 2023 guidance on school Medicaid is not meant to supersede allowable Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA) exceptions. The Department of Education (DOE) should issue guidance that clarifies that for the purposes of audits, school Medicaid is considered an education program and local education agencies are free to release information to auditors. Absent action from CMS, Congress should ​update the FERPA statute to allow for school Medicaid exceptions.

Given the trauma and mental health impacts of mass shootings, Congress should ban the sale and possession of assault weapons and dangerous hardware including silencers, high-capacity magazines, bump stocks, and other conversion devices.[1]

Congress should fully fund the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) to ensure that all eligible children, including those with serious mental health conditions, receive the special education services they need to succeed academically.[1][2]

Congress should pass the Mental Health Services for Students Act, which would strengthen comprehensive, school-based mental health services.[1][2][7][8]

The U.S. Department of Education (DOE) should collaborate with states on student assessment programs such as Screening, Brief Intervention, and Referral to Treatment (SBIRT). SBIRT should be deployed for adolescents in middle school, high school, and college levels.[1]