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Bethesda, MD—The National Association of School Psychologists applauds the passage of the FY22 federal Omnibus appropriations legislation, which includes historic investments in education, including the largest increase for Title I in over a decade. This legislation makes remarkable strides toward equitably funding our public school system, providing significant mental and behavioral health supports to children and youth, and ensuring schools provide safe and supportive environments for all students. We are grateful that Congress continues to value our public education system, and we look forward to seeing this bill signed into law by President Biden.

NASP is particularly pleased with the $111 million within the School Safety National Activities program to fund new service delivery and demonstration grants to increase the number of school psychologists and other school-employed mental health professionals. This funding is a significant step toward the financial investment necessary to help all schools achieve our recommended ratio of one school psychologist for every 500 students. School psychologists partner with families, teachers, school administrators, and other professionals to create safe, healthy, and supportive learning environments that strengthen connections between home, school, and the community. They apply expertise in mental health, learning, and behavior to help children and youth succeed academically, socially, behaviorally, and emotionally. They are also important members of school safety and crisis teams. Unfortunately, increasing student needs combined with critical shortages and high ratios limit school psychologists’ availability to engage in the full scope of this valuable work.

NASP appreciates that Congress recognizes the need to address the lack of access many students have to mental health services in schools, as well as the need to invest in efforts to create and sustain a robust workforce so that every student has access to comprehensive school psychological services. Current recipients of these federal investments are already producing significant benefits for students, educators, and schools in their first competitions. We are grateful that these opportunities will be available to many more high need communities. We applaud the spending allocations noted below.

• Mental health resources for children and youth, including $120 million for Project AWARE and $82 million for the National Child Traumatic Stress Initiative
• $12.5 million for firearm injury and mortality prevention research
• $102 million for the Suicide Lifeline; $38.8 million for Garrett Lee Smith Youth Suicide Prevention Grants
• $17.5 billion for Title I Grants to local educational agencies, an increase of $1 billion above the FY21 enacted level and the largest increase in the program in over a decade
• $14.5 billion for special education, which includes $13.3 billion for IDEA Part B grants to states
• $2.2 billion for Supporting Effective Instruction State Grants (Title II-A)
• $1.3 billion for Student Support and Academic Enrichment State Grants (Title IV-A), which support availability of a well-rounded curriculum, safety and health programming, and the effective use of education technology
• $75 million for the Full-Service Community Schools program to provide comprehensive services that meet the needs of children, families, and communities; $30 million for school-based health centers, a remarkable increase of $25 million over its FY21 funding level

NASP remains committed to working with Congress to ensure that FY22 federal appropriations are implemented properly to provide high-quality public education, in environments that are safe and supportive for all students. We look forward to sustaining these investments as Congress begins work on FY23 appropriations.

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