[Congressional Bills 107th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 620 Introduced in Senate (IS)]
107th CONGRESS
1st Session
S. 620
To amend the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 regarding
elementary school and secondary school counseling.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES
March 26, 2001
Mr. Harkin (for himself and Mr. Wellstone) introduced the following
bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Health,
Education, Labor, and Pensions
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To amend the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 regarding
elementary school and secondary school counseling.
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 School
Counseling Improvement Act of 2001''.
SEC. 2. FINDINGS AND PURPOSE.
(a) Findings.--Congress finds that--
(1) elementary and secondary school children are being
subjected to unprecedented social stresses, including
fragmentation of the family, drug and alcohol abuse, violence,
child abuse, and poverty;
(2) an increasing number of elementary and secondary school
children are exhibiting symptoms of distress, such as substance
abuse, emotional disorders, violent outbursts, disruptive
behavior, juvenile delinquency, and suicide;
(3) between 1984 and 1994, the homicide rate for
adolescents doubled, while the rate of nonfatal violent crimes
committed by adolescents increased by almost 20 percent;
(4) according to the National Institute of Mental Health,
up to one in five children and youth have psychological
problems severe enough to require some form of professional
help, yet only 20 percent of youth with mental disorders or
their families receive help;
(5) the Institute of Medicine has identified psychological
counseling as the most serious school health need for the
normal development of our Nation's children and youth;
(6) school counselors, school psychologists, and school
social workers can contribute to the personal growth,
educational development, and emotional well-being of elementary
and secondary school children by providing professional
counseling, intervention, and referral services;
(7) the implementation of well designed school counseling
programs has been shown to increase students' academic success;
(8) the national average student-to-counselor ratio in
elementary and secondary schools is 531 to 1, and the average
student-to-psychologist ratio is 2300 to 1;
(9) it is recommended that to effectively address students'
mental health and development needs, schools have 1 full-time
counselor for every 250 students, 1 psychologist for every
1,000 students, and 1 school social worker for every 800
students;
(10) the population of elementary and secondary school
students in the United States is expected to increase
dramatically during the 5 to 10 years beginning with 1999;
(11) the Federal Government can help reduce the risk of
academic, social, and emotional problems among elementary and
secondary school children by stimulating the development of
model school counseling programs; and
(12) the Federal Government can help reduce the risk of
future unemployment and assist the school-to-work transition by
stimulating the development of model 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 and
secondary school children by providing grants to local educational
agencies to enable such agencies to establish or expand effective and
innovative counseling programs that can serve as national models.
SEC. 3. SCHOOL COUNSELING.
Title IV of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (20
U.S.C. 7101 et seq.) is amended--
(1) in section 4004 (20 U.S.C. 7104)--
(A) in paragraph (1), by striking ``and'' at the
end;
(B) in paragraph (2), by striking the period and
inserting ``; and''; and
(C) by adding at the end the following:
``(3) $100,000,000 for fiscal year 2002, and such sums as
may be necessary for each of the 4 succeeding fiscal years, for
grants under section 4124.''; and
(2) by adding at the end of subpart 2 of part A, the
following:
``SEC. 4124. ELEMENTARY SCHOOL AND SECONDARY SCHOOL COUNSELING
DEMONSTRATION.
``(a) Counseling Demonstration.--
``(1) In general.--The Secretary may award grants under
this section to local educational agencies to enable the local
educational agencies to establish or expand elementary school
and secondary school counseling programs.
``(2) Priority.--In awarding grants under this section, the
Secretary shall give special consideration to applications
describing programs that--
``(A) demonstrate the greatest need for new or
additional counseling services among the children in
the schools served by the applicant;
``(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 areas.
``(4) Duration.--A grant under this section shall be
awarded for a period not to exceed three years.
``(5) Maximum grant.--A grant under this section shall not
exceed $400,000 for any fiscal year.
``(b) Applications.--
``(1) In general.--Each local educational agency desiring a
grant under this section shall submit an application to the
Secretary at such time, in such manner, and accompanied by such
information as the Secretary may reasonably require.
``(2) Contents.--Each application for a grant under this
section shall--
``(A) describe the 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;
``(B) 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
subparagraph (A);
``(C) describe the methods to be used to evaluate
the outcomes and effectiveness of the program;
``(D) 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;
``(E) describe collaborative efforts with
institutions of higher education which specifically
seek to enhance or improve graduate programs
specializing in the preparation of school counselors,
school psychologists, and school social workers;
``(F) document that the applicant has the personnel
qualified to develop, implement, and administer the
program;
``(G) describe how any diverse cultural
populations, if applicable, would be served through the
program;
``(H) assure that the funds made available under
this part 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
``(I) 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.
``(c) Use of Funds.--
``(1) In general.--From amounts made available under
section 4004(3) to carry out this section, the Secretary shall
award grants to local education agencies to be used to initiate
or expand elementary or secondary school counseling programs
that comply with the requirements of paragraph (2).
``(2) Program requirements.--Each program assisted under
this section shall--
``(A) be comprehensive in addressing the personal,
social, emotional, and educational needs of all
students;
``(B) use a developmental, preventive approach to
counseling;
``(C) increase the range, availability, quantity,
and quality of counseling services in the schools of
the local educational agency;
``(D) expand counseling services only through
qualified school counselors, school psychologists, and
school social workers;
``(E) 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 social
functioning;
``(F) 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;
``(G) include inservice training for school
counselors, school social workers, school
psychologists, other pupil services personnel,
teachers, and instructional staff;
``(H) involve parents of participating students in
the design, implementation, and evaluation of a
counseling program;
``(I) 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; and
``(J) evaluate annually the effectiveness and
outcomes of the counseling services and activities
assisted under this section.
``(3) Report.--The Secretary shall issue a report
evaluating the programs assisted pursuant to each grant under
this subsection at the end of each grant period in accordance
with section 14701.
``(4) Dissemination.--The Secretary shall make the programs
assisted under this section available for dissemination, either
through the National Diffusion Network or other appropriate
means.
``(5) Limit on administration.--Not more than 5 percent of
the amounts made available under this section in any fiscal
year shall be used for administrative costs to carry out this
section.
``(d) Definitions.--For purposes of this section:
``(1) School counselor.--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) School psychologist.--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) School social worker.--The term `school social
worker' means an individual who--
``(A)(i) holds a master's degree in social work
from a program accredited by the Council on Social Work
Education; and
``(ii) is licensed or certified by the State in
which services are provided; or
``(B) in the absence of such licensure or
certification, possess a national certification or
credential as a school social work specialist that has
been awarded by an independent professional
organization.
``(4) Supervisor.--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.''.
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