U.S. Department of Education Awards Over $208 Million in Mental Health Grants

Today, the U.S. Department of Education announced over $208 million in new grant awards for the Mental Health Service Professional Demonstration and School-Based Mental Health programs. The new awards are going to a total of 65 recipients and will increase the number of credentialed school-based mental health service providers, delivering mental health services to students in high-need local educational agencies.

These awards come after the Department non-continued over 200 school-based mental health and provider grants earlier this year that placed ideology above serving students and included priorities out of line with the Trump Administration. Grants the Department determined should not be continued prioritized the racial characteristics of providers and divisive ideologies instead of focusing on competent provision of proven mental health interventions for students.

Trump Administration policies seek to encourage merit-based personnel hiring and evidence-based student services. To that end, published grant priorities for mental health programs include "increas(ing) the number of credentialed school psychologists" and "building necessary capacity and local support to ensure the provision of intensive mental health services beyond the life of the grant."

"Under the Biden Administration, it was more important to shape the racial and gender identities of mental health providers than it was to focus resources on high-quality, credentialed school psychologists who are best positioned to serve American students when they are at their most vulnerable," said U.S. Secretary of Education Linda McMahon. "While there was doubt that the Trump Administration could right this wrong and re-compete these dollars before the end of the year, we are proud to announce that we did exactly that. Today, over $200 million is being awarded directly to states and school districts to support student mental health - a meaningful win for our education system."

Of the 65 new awards, 33 serve rural communities, allocating more than $120 million to rural states and school districts. With the focus on rural and high-needs areas, these new awards will better address shortages and empower states to implement unique solutions to their school-based mental health needs.

Background:

In April 2025, the Department exercised its discretionary authority and announced the non-continuation of mental health grants that:

• Explicitly used racial preferencing in hiring processes;
• Required trainings that promoted discrimination based on immutable characteristics and affirmed radical gender ideology;
• Spent tens of thousands of taxpayer dollars for staff to complete DEI certificates; and
• Practiced racial quotas in staffing and recruitment.

Some of these non-continuation decisions have since been set aside while litigation by 16 Democratic States Attorney Generals continues in court.

In July, the Department proposed new priorities for the programs that would address these concerns and ensure that taxpayer dollars were spent in ways that best suited students within the framework of the law. After receiving and responding to thousands of public comments, those new priorities were finalized in September. The Department announced awards under the new grant competitions today.

As part of the new competition priorities, the Department also updated eligibility requirements so that funds are only sent to state or local educational agencies who then partner with colleges and universities, rather than providing funds directly to institutions of higher education. This update ensures that state and local school leaders are in the driver's seat when it comes to determining the best approach for meeting their students' unique needs.

The new awards announced today will provide support to programs that:

• Enhance rural and high-need area capacity to deliver evidence-based interventions;
• Lower student-to-school psychologist ratios;
• Support provider recruitment and retainment through bonuses, stipends, and community support; and
• Strengthen and sustain the school-based mental health workforce.

Contact

Tags