sswaa policy and advocacy

On The Hill

Federal Advocacy Update

Student Debt

The Supreme Court is hearing legal challenges to President Biden’s Executive Order from August 2022. Following over a year of internal debate, the president ordered the cancellation of $10,000 in student debt for borrowers making less than $125,000 a year and couples making less than $250,000 a year. The Executive Order also expanded the debt forgives to a maximum of $20,000 for borrowers that had received Pell Grants.

The Supreme Court is now reviewing whether the plan exceeded President Biden and the Education Department’s legal authority, with a final decision coming in the early summer. However, the Biden Administration has secured some relief for millions of borrowers after fundamentally altering payment repayment programs tied to an individual’s income. Now, more borrowers will become eligible for $0 payments under the new revenue rules. The administration has streamlined loan forgiveness for people who work in the public sector, canceled the debts of students taken advantage of by predatory colleges and universities, and unveiled an income-driven repayment plan that could reduce how much borrowers have to pay.

Educator Shortages / Apprenticeships

In August 2022, the White House announced new efforts to combat the national teacher shortage. In addition to partnerships with key private sector job sites such as Indeed, Glassdoor, and ZipRecruiter and partnerships with union stakeholders such as AFT and NEA, the White House announced a new program with the Department of Labor and Department of Education. The program, a national teaching apprenticeship, would allow individuals looking to transition into a teaching career an alternate pathway to attaining the necessary certifications.

The White House announcement included language stating that the number of school social workers in our nation’s schools had increased by 54% as a result of ARP funds. As this number, though impressive, seemed higher than SSWAA members had generally been reporting, our team has reached out directly to Maureen Tracey Mooney, President Biden’s Education Policy Advisor, to request clarification. SSWAA has met with this advisor in the past to discuss ARP ESSER implementation. We await final feedback from their office on these statistics but will share any clarification we receive with SSWAA.

School Social Workers Improving Student Success (SSWISS) Act (HR 1415)

During School Social Work Week in March 2023, Congresswoman Gwen Moore (D-WI) re-introduced the School Social Workers Improving Student Success Act HR 1415, which would create a grant program that would allow schools to hire and retain school social workers. The bill would also provide technical assistance for school social work. As of March 2023, the bill has one cosponsor.

One of SSWAA’s strongest allies on Capitol Hill is the Congressional Social Work Caucus, led by Congresswoman Barbara Lee. The CSWC works in tandem with the National Association of Social Workers, the National Association of Black Social Workers, the Council on Social Work Education, and other stakeholders to advance social work in America’s schools and communities.

Want to get involved Nationally?

To get more involved in national advocacy efforts, contact SSWAA's Advocacy and Legislative Action Committee co-chairs Robert Lucio (robert.utk@saintleo.edu) or Emilie Souhrada (emiliejsouhrada@gmail.com).

Need Legislative Consultation on a State Level?

We look forward to consulting with individual states to address specific legislative and policy needs. We are available to discuss advocacy strategies, review legislation, provide feedback, and connect with other states to share their successes and challenges. Contact the Advocacy and Legislative Action Committee co-chairs, Robert Lucio (robert.utk@saintleo.edu) or Emilie Souhrada (emiliejsouhrada@gmail.com).

Legislative impact

2024 SSWAA Legislative Priorities

Workforce Diversity and Development: School social workers face increased demands in today’s environment and serve an increasingly large and diverse population of students and faculty. Policies should address the quality and quantity of training programs for mental and behavioral health professions and seek to address shortages in the school mental health services workforce.

Action Requested:

Pass the FY2024 Labor/HHS/Education Appropriations bill in a timely manner so existing federal workforce development programs can receive the additional funding they need before the start of the school year.
Pass comprehensive mental health legislation that addresses the shortages in behavioral and mental health workforce disciplines, including school social work.
Fund federal grants to support graduate programs in the mental and behavioral health professions.
Create tax incentives encouraging and rewarding mental health professionals to perform services in underserved communities.
Promote policies that address disproportionality and increase diversity within the school social work workforce.

Recognition for the School Social Work Profession: School social workers are the vital link between the home, school, and community and provide services to support students’ academic, social, emotional, behavioral, and mental health success. They work with school administrators, teachers, students, and families, providing leadership in forming school discipline policies, mental health intervention, support services, academic success plans, and crisis management.

Action Requested:

Ensure that legislation related to educators and school support staff explicitly mentions school social workers.
Address the definition of highly qualified school social workers by including in legislation/regulations the requirement of a graduate degree in social work from a CSWE-accredited program and meeting all other state and local credentialing requirements for practicing as a school social worker.
Ensure school social work titled positions are only filled by those with a social work degree from a CSWE-accredited program.
Develop legislation that recognizes the importance of the school social work profession and the wide variety of roles we play in supporting students’ academic, social, physical, and emotional needs.
Pass the School Social Workers Improving Student Success Act, which would provide funding and support for local school districts to increase and develop their school social work workforce.

Federal Funding for Education: Providing federal funding to support state and local education agencies is critical to ensuring that school social workers have the tools needed to do their jobs and that students have equitable access to resources and opportunities.

Action Requested:

Pass legislation that supports full funding of critical programs such as ESSA Title I, ESSA Title IV-A, and the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act. Examples of comprehensive education funding bills include the Keep Our PACT Act and the IDEA Full Funding Act.
Pass the FY2024 Labor/HHS/Education Appropriations bill in a timely manner so students and schools can receive the additional funding they need before the next school year.

School-Based Mental Health Services: The mental health needs of students have been growing and have exacerbated recent challenges, which highlighted the need for increased mental health funding throughout America’s schools. Alarmingly high rates of mental health challenges such as depression and anxiety have left school-based mental health services personnel overburdened with higher caseloads, yet severe workforce shortages and tight budgets have left schools unable to expand these services quickly enough to meet demand.

Action Requested:

Support the EDUCATORS for America, Save Education Jobs Act, and other legislative items that provide school districts with the resources to hire and retain LEA/district-employed school social workers and other qualified mental health professionals.
Support the Increasing Access to Mental Health in Schools Act and the Mental Health Services for Students Act, which would provide funding and support for on-site mental health services for youth in schools nationwide.
Define LEA/district-employed mental health professionals to include school social workers.
Ensure that support for student mental health programs administered by LEA/district-employed mental health professionals (e.g., school social workers) is included in any comprehensive mental health reform legislation that is developed.
Recognize publicly that child and adolescent mental health legislation should be addressed as an urgent legislative priority in Congress.
Support telehealth access to mental health and social work services administered by LEA/district-employed mental health professionals.

Student and Family Wellbeing: School social workers are responsible for advocating for the students we serve, whether on the individual or Congressional level. Issues such as homelessness, hunger, inequitable opportunities, and harmful immigration policies have detrimentally impacted our students at an alarmingly increasing rate. Policies that promote housing and food security, LGBTQIA+ rights, pathways to citizenship, educational equity, and racial justice would have a profoundly positive effect on students’ ability to succeed.

Action Requested:

Implement measures supporting housing security, more affordable housing, and rental assistance.
Expand support and increase funding for school-provided meals in communities with food insecurity.
Pass the Counseling Not Criminalization in Schools Act and other legislation that fosters educational equity for all students through a social justice framework.
Support legislation that promotes culturally responsive restorative and trauma-informed practices in schools.
Support culturally responsive restorative disciplinary practices.
Protect the rights of LGBTQIA+ students by passing legislation such as the Therapeutic Fraud Prevention Act and by ensuring that Title IX is interpreted to cover discrimination on the basis of sex, gender identity, and transgender status.
Create clear paths to citizenship for students with undocumented status, and end immigration policies that are detrimental to child and adolescent mental health.
Support legislation such as the School Shooting Safety and Preparedness Act that develops programs and policies to ensure that students and staff are safe at school.

Key Bills

Student Mental Health Helpline Act

Therapeutic fraud prevention act
(HR 4146/S 2242)

counseling not criminalization in schools act
(HR 4011/S 2125)

increasing access to mental health in schools act
(HR 3572/S 1811)

School-Based Mental Health Demonstration and Personnel Grants Letter

See all SSWAA Bills, Letter Sign-Ons, Comments, & Action Alerts

SSWAA Macro Advocacy Toolkit

take action now

The new Senate Mental Health Caucus is a bipartisan forum for Senators and their staff to work together, hold events to raise awareness of critical mental health issues, promote bipartisan mental health solutions, and reduce stigma.

We need your help to email your Senators to join this new Caucus today. The more members who join, the greater power the Caucus has to find bipartisan policy solutions to improve mental health and save lives.

Founded by U.S. Senators Alex Padilla (D-Calif.), Thom Tillis (R-N.C.), Joni Ernst (R-Iowa), and Tina Smith (D-Minn.), the bipartisan Caucus aims to improve prevention and early intervention efforts, expand the country’s mental health professional workforce, enhance our nation’s crisis response services, and increase access to evidence-based mental health treatment and common-sense solutions.

Please take action now to ask your members of Congress to join the Senate Mental Health Caucus!

Follow this link here to take action now!

List of Current Action Alerts

Find Your Members of Congress

Email Template

[Elected official’s name]:

I am a school social worker in [city or school district] writing to you in [opposition to/support of] [bill title or policy issue], which would [effect of bill, i.e.: set aside funding for schools to provide comprehensive school-based mental health services].

[This is where you make the case for your stance on the bill. Include 2-3 of the strongest points that support your position, either by demonstrating there is a problem which this bill can help to solve, or by explaining what harm the bill would cause. This could be statistics, qualitative statements, or anything else you’d like to highlight.]

[If you’d like, include a personal story here of your experiences and how this legislation would positively or negatively affect you, your students and their families, your school district, and/or your community.]

[If there is a specific action/vote taking place on the bill, mention it here.] I encourage you to show your support for [the school social work profession/children and families/student mental health/etc.] by voting [Yes/No] on [bill title].

Thank you,

[your name]

Call Script

“Hello, my name is [name], and I am a school social worker in [city/district]. I’m calling to ask that [Senator/Representative Name] vote [yes/no] on [bill title], which would [effect of bill]. This bill will [describe how the bill will affect you, your students and their families, and/or the community]. [If there is a specific action/vote taking place on the bill, mention it.] I hope to see the [Senator/Representative] [support/oppose] this legislation. Thank you for your time!”

Example Call Script

“Hello, my name is Jane Smith and I am a school social worker in Spokane. I am calling to ask that Senator Murray vote yes on SB 100, the School Nutrition Act, which would provide additional funding for free dinner programs in schools. Many of my students struggle with food insecurity, and it has a serious impact on their academic, social, and physical well-being. Funding this program would help to eliminate these barriers and ensure the success of my students and youth around the country. The bill will be up for a vote on the Senate floor on January 21st, and I hope to see the Senator support this legislation. Thank you for your time!”

sswaa policy and advocacy

On The Hill

Federal Advocacy Update

Legislative impact

2024 SSWAA Legislative Priorities

Key Bills

Student Mental Health Helpline Act

Therapeutic fraud prevention act (HR 4146/S 2242)

counseling not criminalization in schools act (HR 4011/S 2125)

increasing access to mental health in schools act (HR 3572/S 1811)

School-Based Mental Health Demonstration and Personnel Grants Letter

See all SSWAA Bills, Letter Sign-Ons, Comments, & Action Alerts

SSWAA Macro Advocacy Toolkit

take action now

Therapeutic fraud prevention act
(HR 4146/S 2242)

counseling not criminalization in schools act
(HR 4011/S 2125)

increasing access to mental health in schools act
(HR 3572/S 1811)