HR35 Summary

• Expresses legislative support for the Southern Regional Education Board (SREB) Crisis Recovery Support Network, a coordinated regional effort to provide long-term counseling support to schools and institutions recovering from crises such as natural disasters, school shootings, and public emergencies.

• Recognizes that recovery is a long-term healing process requiring at least one year of dedicated support, and that schools and districts lack adequate capacity to provide sustained mental health services to all students in need, particularly rural areas with fewer counselors.

• Supports deployment of SREB counselors with specialized psychological first aid training to schools in extreme need to support healing for students, teachers, and staff, with research showing students receiving adequate crisis support are more likely to succeed academically and remain in school.

• Directs SREB to work in close collaboration with governors' offices, state education agencies, local districts, and postsecondary institutions to complement existing crisis management efforts and focus on long-term psychological resilience.

• Authorizes SREB to hire a network coordinator and cover travel costs for counselors during training and deployment activities.