Tomorrow, Feb. 6, U.S. Secretary of Education Miguel Cardona will travel to Bowie, Maryland, during National School Counseling Week, where he will visit Bowie State University and highlight two recent grant awards that have helped the school increase enrollment and preparation of students to become school-based mental health professionals and educators of color.

In May 2023, Bowie State University, an HBCU, received a $5 million Mental Health Service Professional (MHSP) grant to expand the supply of mental health professionals in high-need schools nationwide. Bowie State’s grant is funded through the Bipartisan Safer Communities Act (BSCA), which is investing $1 billion in schools nationwide to make school-based mental health services available to more students. Last year, the university also received a $1.5 million   August F. Hawkins Centers of Excellence Program Grant, funded for the first time by the Biden-Harris Administration, which recruits and prepares educators at Minority Serving Institutions to enter the profession and help address teacher shortages in high-need schools.

Secretary Cardona will speak to students and educators about the critical need for increasing and diversifying the school-based mental health profession and educator pipelines, and the crucial role that school counselors play in supporting the academic, mental health, and social emotional development and success of students.  
This visit comes while the U.S. Department of Education is requesting information regarding supporting student mental health and/or substance use disorder needs in higher education. More information on that effort can be found here.