H.R. 3968

[Congressional Bills 119th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 3968 Introduced in House (IH)]

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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''.

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