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SB 899

School Mental Health Support Act.

2025-2026 Session Introduced by Gale Adcock and 7 co-sponsors

The act creates a School Mental Health Grant Program to fund qualified mental health personnel in public schools and a loan repayment program to recruit UNC-educated workers to hig

Passed 1st Reading
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Bill Summary · SB 899

Summary of SB 899 (Session 2025) – North Carolina

Title

School Mental Health Support Act

Purpose and Intent

SB 899 establishes two main components to bolster school-based mental health support in North Carolina:
1) Creation of a School Mental Health Grant Program to increase access to mental health support personnel in public school units.
2) Establishment of a Mental Health Worker Loan Repayment Program to recruit and retain qualified mental health professionals in high-need areas.

The act appropriates funding to support these initiatives and sets reporting and administrative provisions.

Part I: School Mental Health Grant Program

Key Provisions

  • New Statutory Section: Adds § 115C-376.6 to Article 25B of Chapter 115C.
  • Definitions
    • “Mental health support personnel” includes:
    • School counselors, school psychologists, school social workers
    • Licensed psychiatrists (per Article 1, Chapter 90)
    • Psychologists (G.S. 90-270.136(6))
    • Licensed psychological associates (G.S. 90-270.136(7))
    • Licensed clinical mental health counselors (G.S. 90-330(a))
    • Substance use disorder professionals (G.S. 90-113.31A(26))
    • Social workers engaged in clinical social work practice (G.S. 90B-3(6))
  • Program Purpose
    • Department of Public Instruction (DPI) will establish the School Mental Health Grant Program to increase student access to mental health support personnel, to the extent funds are available.
  • Applications
    • Public school units can apply; DPI will set deadlines and required information.
  • Award Criteria
    • Grants awarded based on need, with priority to units having higher shares of students with limited or no access to mental health services, including:
    • Uninsured students
    • Students with disabilities
  • Use of Funds
    • Funds must be used to contract with mental health support personnel to provide services in one or more schools within the unit.
  • Supplement Not Supplant
    • Grants must supplement, not replace, existing funding for mental health services.
  • Reporting
    • DPI must annually report by March 15 to the Joint Legislative Education Oversight Committee and the Joint Legislative Oversight Committee on Health and Human Services, including:
    • List of recipient school units
    • Amounts awarded to each unit
    • Services purchased with grant funds
    • Recommendations to improve student mental health access, especially for those with limited access

Funding

  • ** appropriation**: $50,000,000 in recurring General Fund money for FY 2025-2026 to DPI for the grants (G.S. 115C-376.6).
  • Administrative Costs: Up to $75,000 per year may be used for DPI administrative expenses related to the Program.

Part II: Mental Health Worker Loan Repayment Program

Key Provisions

  • New Section: Adds § 116-209.47 to Article 23 of Chapter 116.
  • Definitions
    • “Eligible mental health worker”: A psychologist, psychiatrist, counselor, social worker, or nurse who:
    • Is employed full-time in a high-need area in NC
    • Is a graduate of a UNC constituent institution
    • Has student debt
    • “High-need area”: Development tier 1 or tier 2 per G.S. 143B-437.08
    • “Student debt”: Total outstanding federal, state, and private student debt used for the worker’s own education
  • Program Purpose
    • Establish the Mental Health Worker Loan Repayment Program, administered by the State Education Assistance Authority, to provide loan repayment grants to eligible mental health workers, contingent on funding.
  • Eligibility Criteria
    • Recipients must be NC residents and UNC graduates
    • Standards will be set by the Authority to ensure qualified recipients
    • If funds are insufficient to cover all eligible applicants, a lottery may be used within established criteria
  • Award of Funds
    • Grants repay up to 20% of the recipient’s student debt as of the initial award date
    • Awards must be disbursed no later than October 1 each year
    • No recipient may receive more than five years of awards
  • Rulemaking Authority
    • Authority may adopt rules to implement and administer the program
  • Reporting
    • Authority must report by December 1, 2025, and annually thereafter to the Joint Legislative Education Oversight Committee on:
    • Grants awarded, including recipient demographics, counts by graduation institution, field of employment, and high-need area
    • Recommendations to improve the program and expand eligible mental health worker numbers in high-need areas

Funding

  • Funding Source: $50,000,000 in recurring General Fund funds for FY 2025-2026 to be allocated to the State Education Assistance Authority (via UNC Board of Governors) to administer the program
  • Administration: Up to $500,000 per fiscal year may be retained by the Authority to administer the program

Effective Date

  • Section 2(a)-(c) becomes effective July 1, 2025, applying to applications for disbursement beginning in the 2025-2026 fiscal year.

Part III: Effective Date

  • Unless otherwise provided, the act becomes effective July 1, 2025.

Potential Impact

  • Expands access to mental health services in public schools by funding additional qualified mental health personnel.
  • Targets funding to districts with high levels of unmet mental health needs and uninsured or disabled students.
  • Creates a scalable grant mechanism to hire or contract licensed professionals within schools.
  • Provides a structured incentive to recruit UNC-educated mental health professionals to high-need areas through loan debt relief.
  • Establishes robust reporting requirements to monitor program effectiveness and guide future policy.
  • Includes administrative cost allowances for DPI and the Authority to operate programs efficiently.

If you’d like, I can provide a quick comparison to current NC law or outline potential implementation steps and questions for district-level planning.

Compiled from official sources — confirm details with the bill’s official record.

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