Evidence-Based Youth Suicide Prevention Act of 2026

This Act may be cited as the “Evidence-Based Youth Suicide Prevention Act of 2026”.

Congress finds that—

(1) suicide is the second-leading cause of death among children and adolescents, and schools are often the first place warning signs emerge;

(2) in 2023, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention found that, of the high school students nationwide—

(A) 40 percent had reported persistent feelings of sadness or hopelessness;

(B) 18 percent had experienced major depression; and

(C) 10 percent had attempted suicide; and

(3) school districts face an urgent need to actively manage mental health crises, yet communities still lack access to clear, comparable evidence on which approaches are proven to reduce suicide attempts and deaths when implemented at scale.

Title V of the Public Health Service Act (42 U.S.C. 290aa et seq.) is amended by inserting after section 520C (42 U.S.C. 290bb–34) the following new section:

“520D. Youth suicide prevention program.—

(a) In general.— The Secretary shall, directly or through grants, contracts, or cooperative agreements with eligible entities, carry out demonstration programs to develop, implement, and evaluate evidence-based strategies to prevent suicide among children and adolescents.

(b) Settings.— A demonstration program carried out under this section shall—

(1) prioritize implementation in schools, other educational institutions, and other child- and youth-support settings; and

(2) require coordination with State, Tribal, and local educational agencies and public health organizations.

(c) Eligible entity.— In this section, the term “eligible entity” means—

(1) a State;

(2) a State educational agency or local educational agency (as such terms are defined in section 8101 of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965);

(3) a public organization or private nonprofit organization designated by a State or Indian Tribe (as defined in section 4 of the Indian Self-Determination and Education Assistance Act); or

(4) an institution of higher education (as defined in section 1010 of the Higher Education Act of 1965).

(d) Activities.— Activities under this section may include—

(1) piloting, implementing, and scaling of evidence-based suicide prevention programs in elementary and secondary schools;

(2) evaluation of existing suicide prevention protocols, practices, and strategies used by schools, health systems, and community-based organizations, including assessments of effectiveness, implementation, and outcomes; and

(3) such other activities as the Secretary determines appropriate to study the prevention of suicide among children and adolescents.

(e) Technical assistance.— The Secretary shall provide technical assistance to recipients of assistance under this section, including assistance related to outcome identification, data collection, evaluation design, and reporting.

(f) Evidence-Based programs.—

(1) In general.— In this section, the term “evidence-based” means, when used with respect to a program, an intervention—

(A) that—

(i) demonstrates a statistically significant and sustained positive impact on relevant outcomes in a real-world or community setting, based on the totality of available evidence; or

(ii) describes how an intervention is implemented in practice and informs its replication or scaling; and

(B) is supported by strong evidence, moderate evidence, or promising evidence.

(2) Strong evidence.— In paragraph (1), the term “strong evidence” means an intervention that—

(A) meets the criteria described in paragraph (1)(A) through not fewer than—

(i) 2 well-designed and well-implemented experimental studies;

(ii) 1 large, multi-site randomized controlled trial; or

(iii) at the discretion of the Secretary, 1 or more quasi-experimental studies that meet rigorous standards for causal inference and are widely accepted in peer-reviewed literature; and

(B) has demonstrated effectiveness in a population or setting similar to the population or setting in which the intervention is proposed to be implemented.

(3) Moderate evidence.— In paragraph (1), the term “moderate evidence” means an intervention that—

(A) meets the criteria described in paragraph (1)(A) through—

(i) not fewer than 1 well-designed and well-implemented experimental study; or

(ii) 1 quasi-experimental study capable of establishing a causal relationship between the intervention and the relevant outcomes; and

(B) has demonstrated effectiveness in a population or setting similar to the population or setting in which the intervention is proposed to be implemented, to the extent practicable.

(4) Promising evidence.— In paragraph (1), the term “promising evidence” means an intervention that—

(A) is informed by relevant theory, prior research, or evidence-informed practice; and

(B) is accompanied by a plan for rigorous evaluation to determine the effectiveness of the intervention.

(5) Interpretation.— For purposes of this section, the term “evidence-based” shall be interpreted by the Secretary, to the extent feasible, to pursue alignment with similar definitions of the term “evidence-based” issued by the Department of Health and Human Services and other Federal definitions governing mental health programs.

(g) Prioritization of evidence.— The Secretary shall—

(1) allocate funding made available under this section based on the strength of evidence supporting a proposed intervention, consistent with the definition of the term “evidence-based” in subsection (f); and

(2) prioritize such funding for interventions supported by higher levels of evidence, while also reserving a portion of funds to support promising and innovative approaches that are accompanied by rigorous evaluation plans.

(h) Identifying and monitoring outcomes.— In carrying out this section, the Secretary shall identify and monitor outcome measures that reflect both mental health outcomes and broader student success, including—

(1) student mental health and safety outcomes, such as suicide attempts, suicidal ideation, crisis interventions, and help-seeking behaviors;

(2) academic outcomes, including grades and academic achievement;

(3) social-emotional learning indicators, such as student well-being, resilience, and school connectedness;

(4) student engagement indicators, including attendance and enrollment;

(5) access and reach metrics, including the number and characteristics of students served; and

(6) implementation metrics, including staff participation and training completion.

(i) Community engagement.— In carrying out this section, the Secretary shall meet community engagement requirements, including in any notice of funding opportunity issued pursuant to this section, in accordance with section 200.202 of title 2, Code of Federal Regulations (or any successor regulation), to ensure that demonstration programs under this section are developed in consultation with the communities benefitting from or impacted by the programs.

(j) Federal program evaluation standards.— The Secretary shall ensure that evaluations of the program carried out under this section are conducted in accordance with the Federal program evaluation standards set forth by the Office of Management and Budget in OMB Memorandum M–20–12, dated March 10, 2020 (or any successor standards).

(k) Reports to Congress.— Not later than 90 days after the date of enactment of this section, and annually thereafter during the term of the program, the Secretary shall submit to Congress a report on the results of the activities carried out under this section, including a summary of evaluation findings, implementation lessons, and implications for future Federal investments in school-based youth suicide prevention.

(l) Authorization of appropriations.— There are authorized to be appropriated to carry out this section such sums as may be necessary for each of the fiscal years 2027 through 2032.”.