After recent school shootings in Parkland and Texas,

Sen. Bill Nelson says he’ll file legislation to add more mental health professionals on campuses.

U.S. Sen. Bill Nelson, citing recent school shootings in Florida and Texas, said late Monday that he’ll file legislation to hire more mental health professionals on campuses across the country.

“We can’t allow what happened in Parkland and in Texas to become the new normal in this country,” the Florida Democrat said. “We have to do more to protect our kids in school and ensure that any student who needs mental health services is able to get them.”

Nelson referred to a 2016 report from the Florida Association of School Psychologists showing that the state has one school psychologist for every 1,983 students — roughly a fourth of the recommended number.

The legislation, which Nelson says he plans to file as early as Wednesday, would require the U.S. Department of Education to determine which areas of the country have a shortage of school mental health professionals — including counselors, social workers and psychologists. It also would provide federal education grants to colleges that partner with lowincome school districts to train mental health professionals, and it would forgive student loans for those who work at least five years in low-income schools.

Nelson said he started working on the measure in the wake of the Feb. 14 shootings at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, which left 17 dead, but that last week’s shooting at a high school in Santa Fe, Texas, created a new sense of urgency.

Following the Parkland tragedy, Florida lawmakers approved spending $69 million to provide additional mental health resources in the state’s schools, but Nelson said more is needed.

He did not give an immediate estimate of how much his proposal would cost.