[Congressional Bills 107th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 1508 Introduced in House (IH)]







107th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                H. R. 1508

To amend title X of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 
  to provide for elementary and secondary school counseling programs.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                             April 4, 2001

 Mrs. Roukema introduced the following bill; which was referred to the 
                Committee on Education and the Workforce

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
To amend title X of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 
  to provide for elementary and secondary school counseling programs.

    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 and Secondary Counseling 
Improvement Act of 2001''.

SEC. 2. ELEMENTARY AND SECONDARY SCHOOL COUNSELING PROGRAMS.

    Section 10102 of title X of the Elementary and Secondary Education 
Act of 1965 is amended to read as follows:

``SEC. 10102. ELEMENTARY AND SECONDARY SCHOOL COUNSELING PROGRAMS.

    ``(a) Findings.--Congress finds as follows:
            ``(1) The Surgeon General reported in January 2001 that 1 
        in 10 children suffer from mental illnesses severe enough to 
        impair development and fewer than 1 in 5 children get treatment 
        for mental illnesses.
            ``(2) The Surgeon General reported that the burden of 
        suffering by children with mental health needs and their 
        families has created a health crisis in this country. Growing 
        numbers of children are suffering needlessly because their 
        emotional, behavioral, and developmental needs are not being 
        met by the very institutions and systems that were created to 
        take care of them.
            ``(3) As a result of the concern about the failure of the 
        healthcare system to reach children and adolescents with mental 
        illnesses, there is currently great interest in developing new 
        models for the delivery of mental health and counseling 
        services that can reach underserved groups efficiently.
            ``(4) Schools are a sensible point of intervention because 
        of their central position in many children's lives and 
        development, especially when families are unable to assume a 
        leading role.
            ``(5) School-based mental health and counseling services 
        allow for the identification of children in need of treatment 
        much earlier in their development.
            ``(6) Establishing mental health and counseling services in 
        schools provides access to underserved youth with or at risk of 
        emotional or behavioral problems.
            ``(7) The Surgeon General's 2000 report on youth violence 
        concludes that effective treatment can divert a significant 
        proportion of delinquent and violent youths from future 
        violence and crime.
            ``(8) Mental health and counseling services can play an 
        important role in violence prevention on all levels, including 
        preventing problem behaviors from developing; identifying and 
        serving specific, at-risk populations; and reducing the 
        deleterious effects of violence on victims and witnesses.
            ``(9) An evaluation of the model program for the elementary 
        school counseling demonstration program established pursuant to 
        this section prior to the date of enactment of the Elementary 
        and Secondary Counseling Improvement Act of 2001 found that the 
        number of referrals to the principal's office decreased by 
        nearly half, the use of force, weapons, and threatening of 
        others also decreased, school suspensions were reduced, and 
        students felt safer.
            ``(10) The report produced by the Institute of Medicine, 
        `Schools and Health: Our Nation's Investment', recommended a 
        student-to-school counselor ratio of 250:1, student-to-school 
        psychologist ratio of 1000:1, and a student-to-school social 
        worker ratio of 800:1. The United States average student-to-
        counselor ratio is 551:1. Ratios for school psychologists and 
        school social workers also exceed the recommended levels.
    ``(b) Grants Authorized.--
            ``(1) In general.--The Secretary may use funds provided 
        under this section to award grants to local educational 
        agencies to enable such agencies to establish or expand 
        elementary and secondary school counseling programs which meet 
        the requirements of subsection (c).
            ``(2) Priority.--In awarding grants under this section, the 
        Secretary shall give special consideration to applications 
        describing programs which--
                    ``(A) demonstrate the greatest need for new or 
                additional counseling services among children in the 
                schools served by the applicant, in part, by providing 
                information on current ratios of students to school 
                counselors, students to school social workers, and 
                students to school psychologists;
                    ``(B) propose the most promising and innovative 
                approaches for initiating or expanding school 
                counseling; and
                    ``(C) show the greatest potential for replication 
                and dissemination.
            ``(3) Equitable distribution.--In awarding grants under 
        this section, the Secretary shall ensure an equitable 
        geographic distribution among the regions of the United States 
        and among urban, suburban, and rural local educational 
        agencies.
            ``(4) Duration.--A grant under this section shall be 
        awarded for a period not to exceed 3 years.
            ``(5) Maximum grant.--A grant awarded under this program 
        shall not exceed $400,000 for any fiscal year.
            ``(6) Supplement.--Assistance made available under this 
        section shall be used to supplement, and may not supplant, 
        other Federal, State, or local funds used for providing school-
        based counseling and mental health services to students.
    ``(c) Requirements for Counseling Programs.--Each program funded 
under this section shall--
            ``(1) be comprehensive in addressing the counseling and 
        educational 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 and secondary 
        schools of the local educational agency;
            ``(4) expand counseling services through qualified school 
        counselors, school psychologists, school social workers, and 
        child and adolescent psychiatrists;
            ``(5) use innovative approaches to increase children's 
        understanding of peer and family relationships, work and self, 
        decisionmaking, or academic and career planning, or to improve 
        peer interaction;
            ``(6) provide counseling services in settings that meet the 
        range of needs of students;
            ``(7) include inservice training, including training for 
        teachers in appropriate identification and intervention 
        techniques for disciplining and teaching students at risk of 
        violent behavior, by school counselors, school psychologists, 
        school social workers, and child and adolescent psychiatrists;
            ``(8) involve parents of participating students in the 
        design, implementation, and evaluation of a counseling program;
            ``(9) involve community groups, social service agencies, or 
        other public or private entities in collaborative efforts to 
        enhance the program;
            ``(10) evaluate annually the effectiveness and outcomes of 
        the counseling services and activities assisted under this 
        section;
            ``(11) ensure a team approach to school counseling in the 
        elementary and secondary schools of the local educational 
        agency by working toward ratios recommended by the American 
        School Health Association of one school counselor to 250 
        students, one school social worker to 800 students, and one 
        school psychologist to 1,000 students; and
            ``(12) ensure that school counselors, school psychologists, 
        school social workers, or child and adolescent psychiatrists 
        paid from funds made available under this section spend a 
        majority of their time at the school in activities directly 
        related to the counseling process.
    ``(d) Limit on Administration.--Not more than 3 percent of the 
amounts made available under this section in any fiscal year may be 
used for administrative costs to carry out this section.
    ``(e) Definitions.--For purposes of this section--
            ``(1) 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;
            ``(2) 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;
                    ``(B) possesses State licensure or certification in 
                the State in which the individual works; or
                    ``(C) in the absence of such State licensure or 
                certification, possesses national certification by the 
                National School Psychology Certification Board;
            ``(3) the term `school social worker' means an individual 
        who--
                    ``(A) holds a master's degree in social work from a 
                program accredited by the Council on Social Work 
                Education; and
                    ``(B) is licensed or certified by the State in 
                which services are provided; or
                    ``(C) in the absence of such State licensure or 
                certification, possesses a national credential or 
                certification as a `school social work specialist' 
                granted by an independent professional organization; 
                and
            ``(4) the term `child and adolescent psychiatrist' means an 
        individual who--
                    ``(A) possesses State medical licensure; and
                    ``(B) has completed residency training programs in 
                general and child and adolescent psychiatry.
    ``(f) Report.--Not later than 1 year after assistance is made 
available under this section, the Secretary shall make publicly 
available the information from applicants regarding the ratios of 
students to school counselors, students to school social workers, and 
students to school psychologists.
    ``(g) Authorization of Appropriations.--There are authorized to be 
appropriated to carry out this section $100,000,000 for fiscal year 
2002 and such sums as may be necessary for each of the 4 succeeding 
fiscal years.
                                 <all>