School Mental Health Support Act.

GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF NORTH CAROLINA
SESSION 2025
S 1
SENATE BILL 783

Short Title: School Mental Health Support Act. (Public)
Sponsors: Senator Bradley (Primary Sponsor).
Referred to: Rules and Operations of the Senate
April 22, 2026
*S783-v-1*
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED 1
AN ACT TO APPROPRIAT E FUNDS FOR A SCHOOL -BASED MENTAL HEALTH 2
GRANT PROGRAM AND TO ESTABLISH A MENTAL HEALTH WORKER LOAN 3
REPAYMENT PROGRAM. 4
The General Assembly of North Carolina enacts: 5
6
PART I. SCHOOL-BASED MENTAL HEALTH GRANT PROGRAM 7
SECTION 1.(a) Article 25B of Chapter 115C of the General Statutes is amended by 8
adding a new section to read: 9
"§ 115C-376.6. School-Based Mental Health Grant Program. 10
(a) Definitions. – For purposes of this section, the term "mental health support personnel" 11
refers to any of the following: 12
(1) School counselors, school psychologists, and school social workers. 13
(2) Psychiatrists licensed in accordance with Article 1 of Chapter 90 of the 14
General Statutes. 15
(3) Psychologists, as defined in G.S. 90-270.136(6). 16
(4) Licensed psychological associates, as defined in G.S. 90-270.136(7). 17
(5) Licensed clinical mental health counselors, as defined in G.S. 90-330(a). 18
(6) Substance use disorder professionals, as defined in G.S. 90-113.31A(26). 19
(7) Social wo rkers engaged in clinical social work practice , as defined in 20
G.S. 90B-3(6). 21
(b) Program; Purpose. – The Department of Public Instruction shall establish the 22
School-Based Mental Health Grant Program (Program) for the purpose of increasing student 23
access to mental health support personnel in public school units . To the extent funds are made 24
available for the Program, it shall be administered in accordance with this section. 25
(c) Applications. – The Department shall make grant applications available to public 26
school units pursuant to this section. The Department shall establish (i) deadlines for receipt of 27
applications and the award of funds and (ii) any information to be included in the applications. 28
(d) Award of Funds. – The Department shall award funds to selected public school units 29
based on the need of the public school unit. In evaluating the need of the unit, the Department 30
shall prioritize the award of funds to units with a greater proportion of students who have limited 31
or no access to mental health services, including students who do not have health insurance and 32
students with disabilities. 33
(e) Use of Funds. – A public school unit shall use funds received pursuant to the Program 34
to contract with mental health support personnel to provide mental health services in one or more 35
schools in the public school unit. 36
General Assembly Of North Carolina Session 2025
Page 2 Senate Bill 783-First Edition
(f) Supplement Not Supplant. – Grants provided to public school units pursuant to the 1
Program shall be used to supplement and not supplant funds from an y other source already 2
provided for mental health services in schools. 3
(g) Report. – No later than March 15 of each year of the Program, the Department shall 4
report to the Joint Legislative Education Oversight Committee and the Joint Legislative 5
Oversight Committee on Health and Human Services at least the following information: 6
(1) The public school units that received a grant through the Program. 7
(2) The amount of funding received by each public school unit. 8
(3) The services purchased with grant funds by each public school unit. 9
(4) Recommendations for the implementation of additional measures to improve 10
student mental health, especially among students with limited or no access to 11
mental health services." 12
SECTION 1.(b) There is appropriated from the General Fund to the Department of 13
Public Instruction for the 2026-2027 fiscal year the sum of fifty million dollars ($50,000,000) in 14
recurring funds to provide grants for school mental health services in public school units in 15
accordance with G.S. 115C-376.6, as enacted by this act. The Department may use up to 16
seventy-five thousand dollars ($75,000) of these funds each year for administrative costs related 17
to the Program. 18
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PART II. SCHOOL MENTAL HEALTH WORKER LOAN REPAYMENT PROGRAM 20
SECTION 2.(a) Part 1 of Article 23 of Chapter 116 of the General Statutes is 21
amended by adding the following new section to read: 22
"§ 116-209.47. School Mental Health Worker Loan Repayment Program. 23
(a) Definitions. – The following definitions apply in this section: 24
(1) Authority. – The State Education Assistance Authority. 25
(2) Eligible school mental health worker. – A school psychologist, school 26
counselor, school social worker, or school nurse who meets all of the 27
following requirements: 28
a. Resides in North Carolina. 29
b. Graduated from a postsecondary constituent institution of The 30
University of North Carolina. 31
c. Has student debt. 32
d. Is employed by a high-need public school unit. 33
e. Has been employed in a public school unit for at least one year. 34
(3) High-need public school unit. – A public school unit that meets at least one of 35
the following criteria: 36
a. Is located, in whole or in part, in a development tier one or tier two 37
area, as defined in G.S. 143B-437.08. 38
b. Is a high-need school, as defined in G.S. 116-74.41A(5). 39
(4) Program. – The School Mental Health Worker Loan Repayment Program. 40
(5) Student debt. – The total outstanding federal, State, and private student debt 41
held by an eligible school mental health worker for his or her own education. 42
(b) Program; Purpose. – There is established the School Mental Health Worker Loan 43
Repayment Program to be administered by the Authority. The purpose of the Program is to 44
provide loan repayment grants to eligible school mental health workers to repay student debt held 45
by those workers. 46
(c) Selection; Lottery. – The Authority shall establish criteria for initial and continuing 47
eligibility to participate in the Program in accordance with subsection (a) of this secti on. The 48
Authority shall adopt appropriate standards to ensure that only qualified, potential recipients 49
receive a loan repayment grant under the Program. To the extent funds provided pursuant to this 50
section are insufficient to award loan repayment grants to all qualified applicants, the Authority 51
General Assembly Of North Carolina Session 2025
Senate Bill 783-First Edition Page 3
may establish a lottery process for selection of grant recipients from among qualified applicants 1
within criteria established by this section. As part of that process, the Authority shall prioritize 2
the award of loan repayment grants to qualified applicants who received an award in the prior 3
year. 4
(d) Award of Funds. – The Authority shall award loan repayment grants to eligible school 5
mental health workers each year. Awards shall be in an amount of twenty percent (20%) of each 6
eligible school mental health worker 's student debt as of the date of the award, up to fifteen 7
thousand dollars ($15,000) per worker. Funds shall be awarded no later than October 1 of each 8
year, and no grant recipient shall receive an award of funds for more than five total years. 9
(e) Administration; Carryforward. – To the extent funds are appropriated for the 10
Program, the following shall apply: 11
(1) The Authority may retain up to four percent (4%) of those funds each year for 12
the administration of the Program. 13
(2) The fu nds shall not revert at the end of the fiscal year in which they are 14
appropriated but shall remain available for the award of loan repayment grants 15
in the subsequent fiscal year. 16
(f) Rulemaking Authority. – The Authority may adopt rules necessary to implement, 17
administer, market, and enforce the provisions of this section. 18
(g) Report to the General Assembly. – The Authority shall report no later than December 19
1 of each year to the Joint Legislative Education Ove rsight Committee regarding the Program, 20
including at least the following information: 21
(1) Loan repayment g rants awarded under the Program, including all of the 22
following: 23
a. Demographic information for grant recipients. 24
b. Number of grant recipients by constituent institution of graduation, 25
field of employment, and type of high-need area. 26
(2) Recommendations to improve the Program and increase the number of 27
eligible school mental health workers in high-need areas." 28
SECTION 2.(b) There is appropriated from the General Fund to the Board of 29
Governors of The University of North Carolina the sum of nineteen million dollars ($19,000,000) 30
in recurring funds to be allocated to the State Education Assistance Authority for the 2026-2027 31
fiscal year to establish the School Mental Health Worker Loan Repayment Program pursuant to 32
subsection (a) of this section. 33
SECTION 2.(c) This section becomes effective July 1, 2026, and applies to 34
applications for the disbursement of funds beginning in the 2027-2028 fiscal year. 35
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PART III. EFFECTIVE DATE 37
SECTION 3. Except as otherwise provided, this act becomes effective July 1, 2026. 38