Establishes Military-Connected Student Mental Health Grant Program; appropriates $1 million.

S3316

SENATE, No. 3316

STATE OF NEW JERSEY

222nd LEGISLATURE

�

INTRODUCED FEBRUARY 5, 2026

Sponsored by:

Senator� CARMEN F. AMATO, JR.

District 9 (Ocean)

SYNOPSIS

���� Establishes Military-Connected Student Mental Health
Grant Program; appropriates $1 million.

CURRENT VERSION OF TEXT

���� As introduced.

��

An Act

establishing the Military-Connected Student
Mental Health Grant Program, supplementing chapter 6 of Title 18A of the New
Jersey Statutes, and making an appropriation.

����
Be It
Enacted
by the Senate and General Assembly of
the State of New Jersey:

���� 1.��� a.�
The Department of Education, in consultation with the
Department of Military and Veterans� Affairs, shall develop and administer the
Military-Connected Student Mental Health Grant Program
.
The purpose of the program shall be to award grants to school districts with
high concentrations of military-connected students to expand mental health
services.

���� b.�
The
Commissioner of Education shall award grants, within the limit of funds
appropriated or otherwise made available for the program, to selected school
districts to be used to expand mental health services, provide mental health
outreach to military-connected students, and provide counseling to
military-connected students whose parent or guardian is called to State or
federal active duty.

���� c.�
A
school district that wishes to apply for a grant shall submit an application to
the commissioner in a manner and form to be determined by the commissioner.� A
school district shall demonstrate in its application that a majority of the
schools in the district have high concentrations of military-connected
students. In addition, the application shall include:

���� (1) �an overview of the school
district�s currently available mental health services;

���� (2) �a description of the
school district�s need for additional funds to expand mental health services;

���� (3) �the number of students
that may receive mental health services as a result of the school district�s
receipt of a grant; and

���� (4) �any other information the
commissioner deems appropriate.

���� d.�
The
commissioner shall develop criteria for the evaluation of applications for
grant funds.� Based upon the criteria developed by the commissioner, and within
the limit of funds appropriated or otherwise made available for the purposes of
the program, the commissioner shall allocate to each selected school district a
grant in an amount determined by the commissioner. The commissioner may award
multi-year grants.

���� e.� As used in this section,
�military-connected student� means a student enrolled in a public school in the
State who is a dependent of:

���� (1) �a member of the armed
forces of the United States, including the Army, Navy, Air Force, Marine Corps,
Coast Guard, and Space Force;

���� (2) �a member of the National
Guard; or

���� (3) �a member of any other
reserve component of the armed forces.

���� 2.��� a.�
Within one year after receiving a grant award under the
Military-Connected
Student Mental Health Grant Program
, a school
district shall submit a report to the Commissioner of Education containing
information on the district�s use of the grant funds.� The report shall
include, at a minimum, information on the number of students provided mental
health services as a result of the grant, increases or improvements in the
provision of student mental health services as a result of the grant, and any
notable changes in school climate, attendance rates, student achievement,
school discipline, or other measures since receiving the grant.

���� b.�
The commissioner shall submit a report to the Governor, and to the Legislature
pursuant to section 2 of P.L.1991, c.164 (C.52:14-19.1), no later than two
years after the establishment of the
Military-Connected Student Mental
Health Grant Program
.� The report shall include, but
need not be limited to, information on the number of grant applicants, the
number and amounts of the grant awards, information provided by school
districts under subsection a. of this section, and any recommendations concerning
the continuation or expansion of the grant program.�

���� 3.��� There is appropriated
from the General Fund to the Department of Education the sum of $1,000,000 for
the Military-Connected Student Mental Health Grant Program established pursuant
to section 1 of this act.

���� 4.��� This act shall take
effect immediately.

STATEMENT

���� This bill establishes the
Military-Connected Student Mental Health Grant Program.

���� Under the bill, the Department
of Education, in consultation with the Department of Military and Veterans�
Affairs, is required to develop and administer the Military-Connected Student
Mental Health Grant Program. The purpose of the program is to award grants to
school districts with high concentrations of military-connected students to
expand mental health services. The Commissioner of Education would award
grants, within the limit of funds appropriated or otherwise made available for
the program, to selected school districts to be used to expand mental health
services, provide mental health outreach to military-connected students, and
provide counseling to military-connected students whose parent or guardian is
called to State or federal active duty.

���� A school district that wishes
to apply for a grant is required to submit an application to the commissioner
in a manner and form to be determined by the commissioner.� The school district
is required to demonstrate in its application that a majority of the schools in
the district have high concentrations of military-connected students. In
addition, the application would include various other information related to
how the applicant school district would use grant funds and the impact of those
funds.

���� The commissioner is required
to develop criteria for the evaluation of applications for grant funds and
determine the amounts allocated to selected school districts. The commissioner
may award multi-year grants.

���� Under the bill, each school
district that receives a grant is required to report certain information to the
Commissioner of Education and the commissioner is subsequently required to
report program-related information to the Governor and the Legislature.

���� Finally, the bill appropriates
$1 million to the Department of Education for the purposes of the program.