[Congressional Bills 103th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 1142 Introduced in Senate (IS)]

103d CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                S. 1142

     To improve counseling services for elementary school children.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                             June 22, 1993

  Mr. Harkin introduced the following bill; which was read twice and 
         referred to the Committee on Labor and Human Resources

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
     To improve counseling services for elementary school children.

    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 ``Elementary School Counseling 
Demonstration Act''.

SEC. 2. FINDINGS AND PURPOSE.

    (a) Findings.--The Congress finds that--
            (1) elementary school children are being subjected to 
        unprecedented social stresses, including fragmentation of the 
        family, drug and alcohol abuse, child abuse, poverty, and 
        violence, and experts indicate that intervention at an early 
        age is the most beneficial;
            (2) an increasing number of elementary school children are 
        exhibiting symptoms of distress, such as substance abuse, 
        emotional disorders, academic underachievement, disruptive 
        behavior, juvenile delinquency, and suicide;
            (3) elementary school counselors, school psychologists and 
        school social workers can contribute to the personal growth, 
        educational development, and emotional well-being of elementary 
        school children by providing professional counseling, 
        intervention, and referral services;
            (4) the average ratio of elementary school counselors to 
        students is 1 to 1,000, the average ratio of school 
        psychologists to students is 1 to 2,500, and the average ratio 
        of school social workers to students is 1 to 2,500;
            (5) when there is 1 counselor to 1,000 students, 1 school 
        psychologist to 2,500 students, and 1 school social worker to 
        2,500 students, elementary school counseling programs are 
        seldom adequate;
            (6) the Federal Government can help reduce the risk of 
        academic, social, and emotional problems among elementary 
        school children by stimulating the development of model 
        elementary school counseling programs; and
            (7) the Federal Government can help reduce the risk of 
        future unemployment and assist the school to work transition by 
        stimulating the development of model elementary school 
        counseling programs that include comprehensive career 
        development.
    (b) Purpose.--It is the purpose of this Act to enhance the 
availability and quality of counseling services for elementary school 
children by providing grants to local educational agencies to enable 
such agencies to establish effective and innovative elementary school 
counseling programs that can serve as national models.

SEC. 3. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.

    There are authorized to be appropriated $10,000,000 for each of the 
fiscal years 1994, 1995, 1996, 1997, and 1998 to carry out this Act.

SEC. 4. PROGRAM AUTHORITY.

    (a) In General.--From amounts appropriated pursuant to the 
authority of section 3 in any fiscal year, the Secretary shall make 
grants to local educational agencies having applications approved under 
section 5 to initiate or expand school counseling programs for 
elementary school children.
    (b) Priority.--In awarding grants under this Act, the Secretary 
shall give special consideration to applications describing programs 
that--
            (1) demonstrate the greatest need for new or additional 
        counseling services among the children in the elementary 
        schools served by the applicant;
            (2) propose the most promising and innovative approaches 
        for initiating or expanding elementary school counseling; and
            (3) show the greatest potential for replication and 
        dissemination.
    (c) Equitable Distribution.--In awarding grants under this Act, the 
Secretary shall ensure an equitable geographic distribution among the 
regions of the United States and among urban, suburban, and rural 
areas.
    (d) Duration.--A grant under this Act shall be awarded for a period 
not to exceed 3 years.
    (e) Maximum Grant.--A grant under this Act shall not exceed 
$400,000 for any fiscal year.

SEC. 5. APPLICATIONS.

    (a) In General.--Each local educational agency desiring a grant 
under this Act shall submit an application to the Secretary at such 
time, in such manner, and accompanied by such information as the 
Secretary may reasonably require.
    (b) Notification of State Educational Agency.--Before submitting an 
application to the Secretary in accordance with subsection (a), a local 
educational agency shall provide the State educational agency with an 
opportunity to review and comment on the program described in such 
application. The comments of the State educational agency shall be 
appended to the application upon submission of the application to the 
Secretary.
    (c) Contents.--Each application for a grant under this Act shall--
            (1) describe the elementary school population to be 
        targeted by the program, the particular personal, social, 
        emotional, educational, and career development needs of such 
        population, and the current school counseling resources 
        available for meeting such needs;
            (2) describe the activities, services, and training to be 
        provided by the program and the specific approaches to be used 
        to meet the needs described in paragraph (1);
            (3) describe the methods to be used to evaluate the 
        outcomes and effectiveness of the program;
            (4) describe the collaborative efforts to be undertaken 
        with institutions of higher education, businesses, labor 
        organizations, community groups, social service agencies, and 
        other public or private entities to enhance the program and 
        promote school-linked services integration;
            (5) describe collaborative efforts with institutions of 
        higher education which specifically seek to enhance or improve 
        graduate programs specializing in the preparation of elementary 
        school counselors, school psychologists, and school social 
        workers;
            (6) document that the applicant has the personnel qualified 
        to develop, implement, and administer the program;
            (7) describe how any diverse cultural populations would be 
        served through the program;
            (8) assure that the funds made available under this Act for 
        any fiscal year will be used to supplement and, to the extent 
        practicable, increase the level of funds that would otherwise 
        be available from non-Federal sources for the program described 
        in the application, and in no case supplant such funds from 
        non-Federal sources; and
            (9) assure that the applicant will appoint an advisory 
        board composed of parents, school counselors, school 
        psychologists, school social workers, other pupil services 
        personnel, teachers, school administrators, and community 
        leaders to advise the local educational agency on the design 
        and implementation of the program.

SEC. 6. USE OF FUNDS.

    (a) In General.--Grant funds under this Act shall be used to 
initiate or expand elementary school counseling programs that comply 
with the requirements in subsection (b).
    (b) Program Requirements.--Each program assisted under this Act 
shall--
            (1) be comprehensive in addressing the personal, social, 
        emotional, educational, and career development needs of all 
        students;
            (2) use a developmental, preventive approach to counseling;
            (3) increase the range, availability, quantity, and quality 
        of counseling services in the elementary schools of the local 
        educational agency;
            (4) ensure a team approach to school counseling by 
        maintaining a ratio in the elementary schools of the local 
        educational agency that does not exceed 1 school counselor to 
        250 students, 1 school social worker to 800 students and 1 
        school psychologist to 1,000 students;
            (5) expand counseling services only through qualified 
        school counselors, school psychologists, and school social 
        workers;
            (6) use innovative approaches to increase children's 
        understanding of peer and family relationships, work and self, 
        decisionmaking, academic and career planning, or to improve 
        social functioning;
            (7) provide counseling services with the goal of developing 
        a highly skilled workforce through a range of quality 
        educational programs and work-related experiences that allow 
        students to reach high school graduation equipped to tackle 
        immediately the world of work, or to continue in some form of 
        postsecondary education or training, or both;
            (8) provide counseling services that are well-balanced 
        among classroom group and small group counseling, individual 
        counseling, and consultation with parents, teachers, 
        administrators, and other pupil services personnel;
            (9) include inservice training for school counselors, 
        school social workers, school psychologists, other pupil 
        services personnel, teachers, and instructional staff;
            (10) involve parents of participating students in the 
        design, implementation, and evaluation of a counseling program;
            (11) involve collaborative efforts with institutions of 
        higher education, businesses, labor organizations, community 
        groups, social service agencies, or other public or private 
        entities to enhance the program and promote school-linked 
        services integration;
            (12) ensure that school counselors, school psychologists or 
        school social workers paid from funds made available under this 
        Act spend at least 85 percent of their total work time in 
        activities directly related to the counseling process and not 
        more than 15 percent of such time on administrative tasks that 
        are associated with the counseling program;
            (13) provide supervision for professionals who are hired 
        under this Act by supervisors who are school counselors, school 
        social workers, and school psychologists; and
            (14) evaluate annually the effectiveness and outcomes of 
        the counseling services and activities assisted under this Act.

SEC. 7. NATIONAL ADMINISTRATION.

    (a) Office of Pupil Services.--
            (1) In general.--Title II of the Department of Education 
        Organization Act (20 U.S.C. 3411 et seq.) is amended by adding 
        at the end the following new section:

                       ``office of pupil services

    ``Sec. 216. (a) There shall be in the Department of Education an 
Office of Pupil Services, to be administered by the Director of Pupil 
Services. Such Office shall be established in accordance with section 
405A of the General Education Provisions Act.
    ``(b) The Director of Pupil Services shall be an individual of 
recognized professional qualifications and experience in the field of 
pupil services.''.
            (2) Amendment to the general education provisions act.--
        Part A of the General Education Provisions Act (20 U.S.C. 1221e 
        et seq.) is amended by inserting after section 405 the 
        following new section:

``SEC. 405A. OFFICE OF PUPIL SERVICES.

    ``(a) Establishment.--The Secretary shall establish an Office of 
Pupil Services (hereafter in this section referred to as the `Office').
    ``(b) Functions of the Office.--The Office shall be responsible 
for--
            ``(1) administering, reviewing, and monitoring pupil 
        services programs, including the programs funded under the 
        Elementary School Counseling Act; and
            ``(2) providing a national focal point for information and 
        technical assistance regarding the counseling, personal, 
        social, emotional, educational, career development and 
        psychological needs of elementary and secondary school 
        children.''.
    (b) Data Collection and Evaluation.--
            (1) In general.--The Director of the Office of Pupil 
        Services shall compile the evaluations of the programs assisted 
        under this Act and shall regularly collect such data as the 
        Secretary finds necessary to develop a profile of the use and 
        impact of funds provided under this Act.
            (2) Report.--The Secretary shall issue a report evaluating 
        the programs assisted pursuant to each grant under this section 
        at the end of each grant period, but in no case later than 
        January 30, 1998.
    (c) Dissemination.--The Secretary shall make the programs assisted 
under this Act available for dissemination, either through the National 
Diffusion Network or other appropriate means.
    (d) Limit on Administration.--Not more than 5 percent of the 
amounts appropriated pursuant to the authority of section 3 in any 
fiscal year shall be used to carry out the provisions of this section, 
including the costs of establishing the Office of Pupil Services.

SEC. 8. DEFINITIONS.

    For purposes of this Act--
            (1) the term ``comprehensive'' means, with respect to 
        counseling services, a program in which--
                     (A) a school counselor, school psychologist, or 
                school social worker uses a range of individual and 
                group techniques and resources in a planned way to meet 
                the personal, social, emotional, educational, and 
                career development needs of all elementary children in 
                a school; and
                    (B) a school counselor, school psychologist, or 
                school social worker works directly with children, 
                families, teachers, and other school or agency 
                personnel to create an optimal positive learning 
                environment and personal growth opportunities for all 
                children;
            (2) the term ``developmental'' means, with respect to a 
        school counseling program, a systematically planned program 
        that--
                     (A) provides appropriate school counseling 
                interventions to foster the social, emotional, 
                physical, moral, and cognitive growth of elementary 
                school children;
                    (B) provides intervention services to help children 
                cope with family, social, emotional, and academic 
                problems; and
                    (C) supports and enhances the efforts of families, 
                teachers, and other school personnel to provide 
                children maximum opportunity to acquire competence and 
                skill in self-understanding and appreciation, 
                interpersonal interaction, educational achievement and 
                literacy, and career awareness and personal 
                decisionmaking;
            (3) the term ``Director'' means the Director of the Office 
        of Pupil Services in the Department of Education;
            (4) the term ``elementary school'' has the meaning given 
        such term in section 1471(8) of the Elementary and Secondary 
        Education Act of 1965;
            (5) the term ``institution of higher education'' has the 
        meaning given such term in section 1201(a) of the Higher 
        Education Act of 1965;
            (6) the term ``local educational agency'' has the meaning 
        given such term in section 1471(12) of the Elementary and 
        Secondary Education Act of 1965;
            (7) the term ``parent'' has the meaning given such term in 
        section 1471(14) of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act 
        of 1965;
            (8) the term ``pupil services personnel'' has the meaning 
        given such term in section 1471(17) of the Elementary and 
        Secondary Education Act of 1965;
            (9) the term ``school counselor'' means an individual who 
        has documented competence in counseling children and 
        adolescents in a school setting and who--
                    (A) possesses State licensure or certification 
                granted by an independent professional regulatory 
                authority;
                    (B) in the absence of such State licensure or 
                certification, possesses national certification in 
                school counseling or a specialty of counseling granted 
                by an independent professional organization; or
                    (C) holds a minimum of a master's degree in school 
                counseling from a program accredited by the Council for 
                Accreditation of Counseling and Related Educational 
                Programs or the equivalent;
            (10) the term ``school psychologist'' means an individual 
        who--
                    (A) possesses a minimum of 60 graduate semester 
                hours in school psychology from an institution of 
                higher education and has completed 1,200 clock hours in 
                a supervised school psychology internship, of which 600 
                hours shall be in the school setting; and
                    (B) possess State licensure or certification in the 
                State in which the individual works; or
                    (C) in the absence of such State licensure or 
                certification, possess national certification by the 
                National School Psychology Certification Board;
            (11) the term ``school social worker'' means an individual 
        who holds a master's degree in social work and is licensed or 
        certified by the State in which services are provided or holds 
        a school social work specialist credential;
            (12) the term ``Secretary'' means the Secretary of 
        Education;
            (13) the term ``State educational agency'' has the meaning 
        given such term in section 1471(23) of the Elementary and 
        Secondary Education Act of 1965; and
            (14) the term ``supervisor'' means an individual who has 
        the equivalent number of years of professional experience in 
        such individual's respective discipline as is required of 
        teaching experience for the supervisor or administrative 
        credential in the State of such individual.

                                 <all>

S 1142 IS----2