School-Based Mental Health Services Grant Program
Key Dates
Issue Date: September 29, 2025
Deadline: October 29, 2025
The School-Based Mental Health Services (SBMH) program provides competitive grants to state educational agencies (SEAs) and local educational agencies (LEAs) to increase the number of credentialed school-based mental health service providers delivering mental health services to students in high-need LEAs. This program focuses on hiring school psychologists to meet the mental health needs of students.
Program Priorities
Absolute Priorities:
There are three Absolute Priorities for this program. The Secretary will create a funding slate for applications that meet Absolute Priorities 1 and 3 and for applications that meet Absolute Priorities 2 and 3.
The Absolute Priorities include the following:
- Priority 1: SEAs proposing to increase the number of credentialed school psychologists employed in high-need LEAs.
- Priority 2: LEAs proposing to increase the number of credentialed school psychologists employed in high-need LEAs.
- Priority 3: SEAs or LEAs increasing the number of credentialed school psychologists delivering early intervention and intensive mental health services in high-need LEAs.
To meet Priority 1 or Priority 2, applicants must include a plan to recruit and retain credentialed school psychologists.
To meet Priority 3, applicants must provide early intervention mental health services to address acute concerns and intensive mental health services to students in need. They must build the necessary capacity and local support to ensure the services remain beyond the grant period.
Competitive Preference Priorities:
There are two Competitive Preference Priorities. Applicants may receive 3 additional points for meeting these priorities.
The Competitive Preference Priorities include the following:
- Priority 1: SEAs proposing respecialization for existing professionals to become credentialed school psychologists.
- Priority 2: Rural applicants.
To meet Priority 1, applicants must implement a respecialization plan to support professionals who hold a minimum degree in a related field (e.g., special education, clinical psychology, community counseling) to obtain a license or certification from the SEA or State regulatory body as a school psychologist.
To meet Priority 2, applicants must propose to serve a community with one or more LEAs that have either a) a National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) locale code of 32, 33, 41, 42, or 43; or (b) a NCES locale code of 41, 42, or 43.
Unallowable Program Activities
Awardees are prohibited from using program funds that support:
- Gender ideology.
- Political activism.
- Racial stereotyping.
- Hostile environments for students of particular races.
Additionally, administrative costs may not exceed 10% for SEAs and 5% for LEAs for overall program funding.
Previous Recipients
Riverside County Office of Education (CA) | 2024 | $3,000,000
Riverside County Office of Education will increase the number of school-based licensed mental health providers to increase mental health services, delivery, and resources for high-need K-12 students. They will implement professional development opportunities and a scholarship program to increase retention of providers. This program will support at least 6 LEAs, hire 27 providers, and reach 146,800 students through Tier 1, 2, and 3 mental health support.
McKinleyville Union School District (CA) | 2024 | $1,289,075
McKinleyville Union School District will increase the number of school-based mental health service providers to meet the needs of over 2,000 PK-8th graders in their rural county. They will train their staff to use trauma-informed strategies, socio-emotional learning, screeners, and data analysis. To increase retention, they will offer professional development resources. Additionally, they will support six members in their local community to earn their master’s degrees to qualify as a school mental health service provider.
Campbell County Public Schools (VA) | 2024 | $346,689
Campbell County Public Schools will increase the number of credentialed school-based mental health providers within their LEA. They will hire an additional 8 new mental health providers, which builds upon the 16 providers they hired from an existing SBMH grant award. They partnered with a local nonprofit organization that will recruit and retain mental health providers using evidence-based strategies of employee engagement and retention.
Link
Opportunity Summary
Release: September 29, 2025
Deadline: October 29, 2025
Eligibility: State educational agencies (SEAs), local educational agencies (LEAs), or a consortia of LEAs
Est.# of awards: 25-35
Award info. & Duration Up to $1.75M / 4 years ($1.75M total)