UT Tyler gets over $1.3 million in mental health funds for students

TYLER – The University of Texas at Tyler has been awarded more than $1.3 million from the U.S. Department of Education’s Mental Health Service Professionals Demonstration program to help support the mental health needs of students in East Texas district schools. According to a news release, the program was recently authorized by U.S. Senator John Cornyn’s (R-TX) Bipartisan Safer Communities Act, which was signed into law in June 2022. Officials say it addresses specific concerns that have led to violence in schools, including the need for additional mental health services. “We are extremely grateful to Sen. Cornyn and the Department of Education for this funding, which helps UT Tyler support mental health care for the young people of East Texas,” said UT Tyler President Dr. Kirk A. Calhoun, as quoted in the release.

Through the five-year grant, UT Tyler will partner with the Brownsboro, Tyler, and Winona Independent School Districts, in a developed “Mental Health Matters” project, to enhance their capacity to provide mental health services to their students, according to the release. Officials say each year, the project will place UT Tyler graduate-level school counseling and clinical mental health counseling students or counselors in training, or CITs, at 15 high-needs schools within the three partnering local education agencies. An announcement from Sen. Cornyn’s office late last month mentioned $262,537 in funding. UT Tyler clarifies that that will cover the first year of the program.