HR 8961 Re-checks Congress.gov for new actions and updates the bill's status, and fills in any sponsors, committees, or related bills that are missing. It does not re-pull sponsors/cosponsors/committees/related — those rarely change — and it skips all work if nothing has changed upstream, so it's cheap to click.
Student Suicide Prevention Awareness Act of 2026
To amend title V of the Public Health Service Act to provide for a public awareness campaign for schools regarding youth suicide prevention resources, and for other purposes.
Summary
This bill would amend the Public Health Service Act to require a public awareness campaign on youth suicide prevention resources, particularly the 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline. The bill requires schools to display clear, visible signage in multiple locations informing students about the 988 Lifeline, including the phone number, text and chat options, and information that the service is free and available 24/7. Required signage locations include school entrances, exits, common areas, counselor and nurse offices, gyms, auditoriums, art and music rooms, libraries, restrooms, locker rooms, and digital bulletin boards. The campaign includes public outreach to develop and implement these awareness materials.
AI-generated plain-language summary of the bill text — neutral, and may be imperfect. See the full text below for the exact wording.
Sponsor (1)
2 cosponsors
Money behind the sponsor
Top reported contributors to Troy A. Carter’s campaign committee (2024 cycle) — who funds the bill’s sponsor, not a claim about this bill. Data from FEC.
- NULL $30,950
- OCHSNER HEALTH $19,350
- RIVER BIRCH, LLC $13,200
- AKD LAW $10,800
- CENTRAL MANAGEMENT $10,000
Organizations whose employees gave the most — itemized individual contributions grouped by the donor’s reported employer (FEC Schedule A). Full finance for Troy A. Carter → · Outside spending →
Actions (2)
- May 21, 2026 Referred to the House Committee on Energy and Commerce. · house
- May 21, 2026 Introduced in House
Similar bills (6)
Bills with similar text or summary — includes reintroductions across Congresses. Ranked by semantic similarity of the bill text (computed locally); a neutral discovery aid, not a claim the bills are duplicates.
Full text
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
May 21, 2026
Mr. Carter of Louisiana (for himself and Mr. Moylan) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Energy and Commerce
A BILL
To amend title V of the Public Health Service Act to provide for a public awareness campaign for schools regarding youth suicide prevention resources, 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 “Student Suicide Prevention Awareness Act of 2026”.
SEC. 2. PUBLIC AWARENESS CAMPAIGN FOR SCHOOLS REGARDING YOUTH SUICIDE PREVENTION RESOURCES.
Section 520B of the Public Health Service Act (42 U.S.C. 290bb-32) is amended—
(1) in subsection (a)—
(A) in paragraph (2), by striking “and” at the end;
(B) by redesignating paragraph (3) as paragraph
(4); and
(C) by inserting after paragraph (2) the following:
“(3) carrying out, in coordination with the Secretary, a public awareness campaign on youth suicide prevention resources, including the 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline, that—
“(A) includes public outreach with respect to the development of such campaign; and
“(B) provides support to schools to update signage relating to the availability of such resources that meets the requirements specified in subsection (d); and”;
(2) by redesignating subsections (d) through (g) as subsections (e) through (h), respectively;
(3) by inserting after subsection (c) the following:
“(d) Signage on Availability of Resources.—The requirements specified in this subsection with respect to signage relating to the availability of youth suicide prevention resources are that the signage be clear and visible signage that—
“(1) includes—
“(A) the 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline phone number;
“(B) information that students can access support by—
“(i) calling or sending a text message to such phone number; or
“(ii) using digital chat services provided by the 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline;
“(C) language encouraging students experiencing emotional distress to seek help; and
“(D) language indicating that the 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline is free, confidential, and available 24 hours per day and 7 days per week; and
“(2) is displayed, or digitally posted, as applicable, in locations easily visible to students, including—
“(A) entrances and exits of the school;
“(B) student common areas;
“(C) school counselor offices;
“(D) school nurse offices;
“(E) gymnasiums;
“(F) auditoriums;
“(G) art rooms;
“(H) music rooms;
“(I) libraries;
“(J) student restrooms (including bathroom stalls and sinks) and locker rooms; and
“(K) digital school bulletin boards, as applicable.”; and
(4) in subsection (g), as so redesignated, by striking “2024” and inserting “2027”. <all>
Comments