Congresswoman Sylvia Garcia Announces Two Local School Districts Will Receive a Combined $1.2 Million+ in Federal Funds for Student Mental Health Services

Washington D.C. –Today, Congresswoman Sylvia Garcia (TX-29) announced that Pasadena Independent School District (Pasadena ISD) and Humble Independent School District (Humble ISD) will receive a combined total of $1,232,222 in yearly federal funding for the next five years to strengthen student mental health services. These funds will specifically be used to hire additional mental health providers for students with demonstrated needs.

"Students spend much of their day in schools and increasing the number of licensed mental health providers present in schools can provide major support during these early and critical years of their lives," said Congresswoman Garcia. "Ensuring our students can easily access strong mental health services and talented mental health professionals is essential to a community's public health. I have long advocated for more mental health professionals in schools, and I'm glad to see these dollars go to my district to make this happen."

"These federal funds were generated by two federal laws, the Fiscal Year 2022 Appropriations Act and the Bipartisan Safer Communities Act, both of which I proudly supported in the 117^th Congress," added Congresswoman Garcia. "I put people over politics and voted in support of these laws because I knew they would benefit local students."

This award is administered by the Department of Education's School-Based Mental Health Services grant program. Projects under this program intend to increase the number of talented mental health professionals in schools by increasing recruitment, retention, and retraining efforts. Additionally, increasing the cultural and linguistic competency of these professionals is a strong focus of this grant program.

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Congresswoman Sylvia R. Garcia was elected to the U.S. House of Representatives in November 2018, becoming the first Latina ever to represent the Texas 29th Congressional District. She serves on the House Judiciary, Financial Services, and Armed Services Committees.