[Congressional Bills 119th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 3968 Introduced in House (IH)]
<DOC>
119th CONGRESS
1st Session
H. R. 3968
To authorize the establishment of a comprehensive school-based violence
prevention program to assist youth at highest risk for involvement in
gun violence in local communities and schools, and for other purposes.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
June 12, 2025
Mrs. Hayes (for herself, Mr. Johnson of Georgia, Ms. Norton, Mr.
Magaziner, Mr. Fields, Mr. Moulton, Mrs. Ramirez, Ms. Schakowsky, Mrs.
Cherfilus-McCormick, Ms. Crockett, Ms. Lee of Pennsylvania, Mr.
Thanedar, Ms. Tlaib, Mr. Goldman of New York, Mr. Case, Ms. Moore of
Wisconsin, Mr. Kennedy of New York, Ms. Dean of Pennsylvania, Mr.
Lynch, and Mr. Bell) introduced the following bill; which was referred
to the Committee on Energy and Commerce
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To authorize the establishment of a comprehensive school-based violence
prevention program to assist youth at highest risk for involvement in
gun violence in local communities and schools, and for other purposes.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the
United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the ``School Violence Prevention Act''.
SEC. 2. COMPREHENSIVE SCHOOL-BASED VIOLENCE PREVENTION PROGRAM.
(a) Technical Amendments.--The second part G (relating to services
provided through religious organizations) of title V of the Public
Health Service Act (42 U.S.C. 290kk et seq.) is amended--
(1) by redesignating such part as part J; and
(2) by redesignating sections 581 through 584 as sections
596 through 596C, respectively.
(b) Grants Authorized.--Section 581 of the Public Health Service
Act (42 U.S.C. 290hh) (relating to children and violence) is amended to
read as follows:
``SEC. 581. COMPREHENSIVE SCHOOL-BASED VIOLENCE PREVENTION PROGRAM.
``(a) In General.--The Secretary, in consultation with the
Secretary of Education, shall award grants to eligible entities to
establish or expand a comprehensive school-based violence prevention
program to assist youth at highest risk for involvement in gun violence
in local communities and schools (including schools funded by the
Bureau of Indian Education).
``(b) Activities.--Grants awarded under subsection (a), shall, as
appropriate, be used for--
``(1) the implementation of school-based violence
prevention programs that--
``(A) are primarily focused on providing services
to students enrolled in kindergarten through 12th grade
or youth younger than 19; and
``(B) use strategies that are evidence-based,
culturally competent, trauma-informed, and
linguistically and developmentally inclusive, and have
demonstrated effectiveness at preventing or reducing
violence among youth at highest risk for involvement in
gun violence, including strategies that--
``(i) promote community engagement that
supports healthy development, including
emphasizing self-esteem and cultural or ethnic
pride;
``(ii) promote healing from trauma and
other adverse childhood experiences that
increase a young person's risk for involvement
in gun violence;
``(iii) strengthen the interpersonal and
emotional skills of youth, such as
communication, problem-solving, empathy, and
conflict management;
``(iv) connect youth to mental health
professionals, counselors, mentors, community
leaders, crisis intervention professionals,
community violence interrupters, or educators
trained in trauma-informed care and activities;
``(v) foster community engagement and safe
community environments; or
``(vi) lessen harms of escalating violence
and prevent future risk of violence, including
gun violence;
``(2) technical assistance to local educational agencies
and community-based nonprofit organizations with respect to the
development of programs described in paragraph (1);
``(3) facilitating community partnerships among youth,
families, schools, local businesses, and agencies with respect
to such programs;
``(4) increasing teacher, school leader, and other school
personnel access to evidence-based trauma support services,
social and emotional learning, and mental health services
through professional development; and
``(5) collecting data in accordance with subsection (g).
``(c) Eligibility.--To be eligible for a grant under subsection
(a), an entity shall be a partnership that includes--
``(1) a State educational agency, in coordination with 1 or
more local educational agencies located in a municipality or
other local government--
``(A) that, for not fewer than 2 of the 3 years
preceding the grant application--
``(i) experienced 35 or more homicides per
year;
``(ii) experienced 20 or more homicides per
year and had a homicide rate that was not less
than double the national average;
``(iii) had high rates of violent injury or
injury recidivism among youth as determined by
the State; or
``(iv) had a juvenile arrest rate for
violent crime that was not less than double the
national average; or
``(B) that demonstrates a unique and compelling
need for additional resources to address youth gun
violence; and
``(2) at least 1 community-based nonprofit organization
that serves the youth or families of the youth of the 1 or more
local educational agencies referred to in paragraph (1).
``(d) Geographical Distribution.--The Secretary shall ensure that
grants under subsection (a) are distributed equitably among the regions
of the United States.
``(e) Duration of Awards.--A grant under subsection (a) shall be
for a period of 5 years, and may be renewed by the Secretary.
``(f) Evaluation and Measures of Outcomes.--
``(1) In general.--
``(A) Development of evaluation process.--The
Secretary, in coordination with the Secretary of
Education, shall develop a process for evaluating
activities carried out through a grant under this
section. Such process shall include--
``(i) the development of guidelines for the
submission of program data by grantees;
``(ii) the development of measures of
outcomes (in accordance with subparagraph (B))
to be applied by grantees in evaluating
programs carried out through a grant under this
section; and
``(iii) the submission of regular reports
by grantees concerning the impacts of programs
carried out through a grant under this section.
``(B) Measures of outcomes.--The Secretary shall
develop measures of outcomes to be applied by grantees
under this section--
``(i) to evaluate the impacts of programs
carried out through a grant under this section,
including outcomes related to the students,
families, and local educational systems
supported under this section; and
``(ii) to disaggregate data on such
outcomes by the subgroups of students listed in
section 1111(c)(2) of the Elementary and
Secondary Education Act of 1965.
``(C) Submission of data.--Not later than the end
of each of the second and last academic years covered
by the period of a grant under this section, the
grantee shall submit to the Secretary and the Director
of the Institute of Education Sciences a report that--
``(i) includes data to evaluate the success
of the program carried out by the grantee based
on whether such program is achieving the
purposes of the program; and
``(ii) utilizes the measures of outcomes
developed under subparagraph (B), including
high school graduation rates, employment rates,
and rates of enrollment in postsecondary
education and trade schools, in a reasonable
manner to demonstrate the progress of the
program in achieving such purposes.
``(D) Evaluation by secretary and the director of
the institute of education sciences.--Based on the data
submitted under subparagraph (C), the Secretary and the
Director of the Institute of Education Sciences shall
submit to Congress a report at least once every three
years concerning the results and impacts of the
programs carried out with assistance received under
this section, including recommendations on how to
conduct gun violence prevention activities with limited
resources following a co-occurring emergency (such as a
national public health emergency or a natural
disaster).
``(2) Independent researcher.--The Secretary shall contract
with independent researchers, including researchers with
expertise in violence prevention programs, to evaluate the
performance and impacts of selected programs funded through
grants under this section. Such evaluations shall be made
publicly available on the internet website of the Centers for
Disease Control and Prevention.
``(g) Information and Education.--The Secretary shall disseminate
best practices to the public based on the findings resulting from
programs funded through grants under this section.
``(h) ESEA Terms Defined.--In this section, the terms `local
educational agency' and `State educational agency' have the meanings
given such terms, respectively, in section 8101 of the Elementary and
Secondary Education Act of 1965.
``(i) Funding.--
``(1) Authorization of appropriations.--To carry out this
section, there is authorized to be appropriated $25,000,000 for
each of fiscal years 2025 through 2031.
``(2) Evaluation activities.--
``(A) By grantees.--To carry out evaluation
activities under subsection (f)(1), an eligible entity
receiving a grant under this section shall use not more
than 20 percent of the total amount received through
the grant.
``(B) Independent researcher.--To carry out
subsection (f)(2) for a fiscal year, the Secretary may
reserve not more than 5 percent of the funds made
available to carry out this section for such fiscal
year.''.
(c) Conforming Amendment.--Part G of title V of the Public Health
Service Act (42 U.S.C. 290hh et seq.), as amended by subsection (b), is
further amended by striking the part designation and heading and
inserting the following:
``PART G--COMPREHENSIVE SCHOOL-BASED VIOLENCE PREVENTION PROGRAM''.
<all>