WASHINGTON – U.S. Senator John Cornyn (R-TX) released the following statement after the U.S. Department of Education announced that Education Service Center, Region 20, which covers Bexar County and surrounding areas, was awarded a federal grant of $647,156 through the Mental Health Service Professional (MHSP) Demonstration Grant Program, which helps recruit, train, and employ mental health service providers in schools to address the mental health crisis affecting our youth and implement evidence-backed mental health services for students:

“Schools remain one of the most consistent and accessible places for students to receive mental health support, yet they often lack the appropriate staffing or resources necessary to adequately respond to the growing complexity of students’ needs,” said Sen. Cornyn. “These critical resources will help close this gap by increasing the recruitment, training, and retention of mental health professionals in schools, ensuring they are better equipped to identify signs of crisis.”

A significant portion of MHSP funding was authorized by Sen. Cornyn’s school safety and mental health legislation, which was signed into law in 2022 and is the largest investment in community-based mental health care in U.S. history. This award is one of 65 grant recipients that the Trump administration is encouraging to focus on “merit-based personnel hiring and evidence-based student services.” The purpose of the grants is to hire more school psychologists and to build the necessary infrastructure so the mental health resources can continue after the grant.