The U.S. Department of Education announced on Thursday more than $208 million in new grants to expand school-based mental health services, while formally shifting funding priorities away from diversity, equity, and inclusion initiatives favored under the Biden administration.
The money, awarded through the Mental Health Service Professional Demonstration and School-Based Mental Health programs, will go to 65 recipients and is aimed at increasing the number of credentialed school-based mental health providers in high-need districts, including $120 million directed to rural communities.
The new awards follow the department's earlier decision this year to discontinue more than 200 existing grants it said had "placed ideology above serving students," including programs that used racial preferences in hiring, funded DEI certifications, or required trainings that the department argued promoted discrimination and "radical gender ideology."
Education Secretary Linda McMahon said the Trump administration's goal is to restore a focus on merit-based hiring and evidence-based interventions.
McMahon said the re-competed grants will prioritize expanding the supply of credentialed school psychologists, lowering student-to-provider ratios, and helping states and districts build long-term capacity to deliver intensive mental health services.
Under updated eligibility rules, funds will now flow only to state or local education agencies that then partner with colleges and universities, rather than directly to higher-education institutions, giving local school leaders more control over how programs are designed.
"While there was doubt that the Trump administration could right this wrong and re-compete these dollars before the end of the year," McMahon said, adding, "we are proud to announce that we did exactly that — a meaningful win for our education system."
James Morley III ✉
James Morley III is a writer with more than two decades of experience in entertainment, travel, technology, and science and nature.
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