LANSING, MI (WTVB) – Michigan House Bill 6106 has advanced through the House Committee on Education and Workforce, aiming to expand the state’s Student Mental Health Apprenticeship Retention and Training (SMART) internship grant program.
Originally established in 2022 to combat widespread staffing shortages, the SMART program provides graduate-level interns working toward school-based mental health credentials with financial stipends while serving in public schools.
The new legislation introduces technical and practical updates designed to increase funding flexibility and make it easier for high-need school districts to access available state dollars without increasing overall costs.
A major highlight of the bill is a provision extending stipend eligibility to a third internship year. Advocates from the Michigan Association of School Psychologists testified that because school counseling and psychology graduate tracks require three years of study, adding a third year of stipend eligibility aligns the financial support with their full training timeline.
Speaking on behalf of The Michigan Association of School Psychologists Jennifer James said “We’re hoping to keep that momentum and get more schools, ISDs and universities interested in providing these stipends for students to really increase mental health supports in schools”.
Supporters emphasize that the extension alleviates severe financial strains on graduate students, ultimately injecting much-needed, long-term mental health care resources directly into the classroom.
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