ACHA Endorses the Campus Prevention and Recovery Services for Students Act

ACHA has endorsed Rep. Teresa Leger Fernández’s (D-NM) introduction of the Campus Prevention and Recovery Services for Students Act (HR 9214), which represents significant progress in ensuring the health, safety, and well-being of emerging adults across our nation’s college and university campuses. The bill is co-sponsored by Representatives David Trone (MD-06), Chris Pappas (NH-01), and Lucy McBath (GA-06).

Current federal programs regarding college alcohol and substance misuse require colleges to have “a program to prevent the misuse of alcohol and other illicit drugs by students and employees.” Under this bill, colleges and universities would be required to have “an evidence-informed program to prevent alcohol and substance misuse by students and employees.” The bill would also create an interagency between the U.S. Department of Education and HHS to guide and promote implementation.

The legislation aligns with ACHA’s efforts to prevent the misuse of alcohol and other substances on college campuses. As an organization, we also support the bill’s language which expands the allowable uses of grants to include the provision of services such as counseling, which has been proven to be a highly effective treatment for students struggling with or recovering from addiction. If adopted, the provisions within the bill would greatly contribute to the overall health and well-being of college campuses across the country.

ACHA supported a previous version of the bill, sending a letter to the House Education and Labor Committee in 2022 informing the committee of our endorsement and calling upon lawmakers to ensure that adequate funding was provided to colleges, especially colleges and universities with minimal budget flexibility, such as those located in rural areas or minority-serving institutions. This letter was developed with the input of ACHA members who voiced support for the bill while highlighting the need for funding.

The bill was bipartisan, passed through committee on voice vote, and passed the House under suspension. It almost passed in the Senate at the end of 2022; however, the Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pension Committee (HELP) voiced concerns with the language and the bill ultimately did not pass. Since then, the House Education and Workforce Committee has worked with both the US Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) and the Senate HELP Committee to modify and re-introduce the language of the bill.

According to congressional staff, the notable language changes include:

• Inserted the term “evidence-informed” in all references to “evidence-based.” The inclusion of “evidence-informed” allows for more flexibility while maintaining the need for programs to be supported by research
• Revised all references of “drug and alcohol misuse” to “alcohol and substance misuse” to align with current terminology and ensure the law addresses all SUD
• Inserted the term “overdoses” as part of the criteria that an institution must biennially review

ACHA has re-endorsed this legislation as it aligns with the ACHA policy platform, which calls for policies that help address “unhealthy habits, mental disorders, and addictions. ACHA supports efforts to reduce the use/misuse of tobacco, prescription drugs, illegal drugs, alcohol, eating disorders, and other risky/physically and emotionally damaging behaviors.”