Govwatch

[Congressional Bills 119th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 8978 Introduced in House (IH)]

<DOC>

119th CONGRESS
  2d Session
                                H. R. 8978

  To amend the Higher Education Act of 1965 to promote comprehensive 
   campus mental health and suicide prevention plans, and for other 
                               purposes.

_______________________________________________________________________

                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                              May 21, 2026

Mr. Mannion (for himself and Mr. Fitzpatrick) introduced the following 
  bill; which was referred to the Committee on Education and Workforce

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL

 
  To amend the Higher Education Act of 1965 to promote comprehensive 
   campus mental health and suicide prevention plans, and for other 
                               purposes.

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Enhancing Mental Health and Suicide 
Prevention Through Campus Planning Act''.

SEC. 2. ENCOURAGING CAMPUS COMPREHENSIVE MENTAL HEALTH AND SUICIDE 
              PREVENTION PLANS.

    Part L of title VIII of the Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 
1161l et seq.) is amended--
            (1) by redesignating section 826 as section 827; and
            (2) by inserting after section 825 the following new 
        section:

``SEC. 826. ENCOURAGING CAMPUS COMPREHENSIVE MENTAL HEALTH AND SUICIDE 
              PREVENTION PLANS.

    ``(a) In General.--The Secretary shall make efforts to encourage 
institutions of higher education to develop and implement evidence-
based comprehensive campus mental health and suicide prevention plans. 
Such efforts--
            ``(1) shall be conducted in coordination with the Secretary 
        of Health and Human Services (acting through the Assistant 
        Secretary for Mental Health and Substance Use);
            ``(2) shall align with--
                    ``(A) the efforts and approaches recommended by the 
                Suicide Prevention Resource Center; and
                    ``(B) the programs authorized under--
                            ``(i) section 9032 of the 21st Century 
                        Cures Act (42 U.S.C. 290bb-36b note; Public Law 
                        114-255);
                            ``(ii) section 520C of the Public Health 
                        Service Act (42 U.S.C. 290bb-34);
                            ``(iii) section 520E of such Act (42 U.S.C. 
                        290bb-36);
                            ``(iv) section 520E-1 of such Act (42 
                        U.S.C. 290bb-36a);
                            ``(v) section 520E-2 of such Act (42 U.S.C. 
                        290bb-36b); and
                            ``(vi) section 549 of such Act (42 U.S.C. 
                        290ee-4);
            ``(3) shall take into consideration existing Federal and 
        State efforts to address mental health and suicide prevention 
        at institutions of higher education; and
            ``(4) may be carried out in collaboration with nonprofit 
        organizations, community-based organizations that partner with 
        institutions of higher education, and other experts and 
        stakeholders in the field of campus mental health and suicide 
        prevention.
    ``(b) Reports.--The Secretary shall report to the Committee on 
Education and Workforce of the House of Representatives and the 
Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions of the Senate on 
the efforts of the Secretary carried out under this section--
            ``(1) not later than one year after the date of enactment 
        of the Enhancing Mental Health and Suicide Prevention Through 
        Campus Planning Act; and
            ``(2) three years after the date of enactment of such Act.
    ``(c) Construction.--Nothing in this section shall be construed as 
creating new statutory requirements for institutions of higher 
education or granting the Secretary new regulatory authority.''.
                                 <all>
Enhancing Mental Health and Suicide Prevention Through Campus Planning Act

Full Text
