[Congressional Bills 110th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 3439 Introduced in House (IH)]







110th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                H. R. 3439

To amend the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 to create a 
demonstration project to fund additional secondary school counselors in 
          troubled title I schools to reduce the dropout rate.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                             August 3, 2007

Ms. Linda T. Sanchez of California (for herself, Ms. Bordallo, and Ms. 
  Corrine Brown of Florida) introduced the following bill; which was 
            referred to the Committee on Education and Labor

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
To amend the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 to create a 
demonstration project to fund additional secondary school counselors in 
          troubled title I schools to reduce the dropout rate.

    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 ``Put School Counselors Where They're 
Needed Act''.

SEC. 2. DEMONSTRATION PROJECT FOR ADDITIONAL SECONDARY SCHOOL 
              COUNSELORS.

    Part H (20 U.S.C. 6551 et seq.) of title I of the Elementary and 
Secondary Education Act of 1965 is amended by adding at the end the 
following:

  ``Subpart 3--Demonstration Project for Additional Secondary School 
                               Counselors

``SEC. 1841. FINDINGS.

    ``Congress finds the following:
            ``(1) Nationally, only 70 percent of students graduate from 
        high school with a regular high school diploma.
            ``(2) Every school day, 7,000 American high school students 
        become dropouts.
            ``(3) High school students living in low-income families 
        drop out of school at six times the rate of their peers from 
        high-income families.
            ``(4) Only about 55 percent of African American students 
        and 52 percent of Hispanic students graduate on time from high 
        school with a regular diploma, compared to 78 percent of white 
        students.
            ``(5) The dropout rate for students with disabilities is 
        approximately twice that of general education students.
            ``(6) High school is the final transition into adulthood 
        and the world of work as students begin separating from parents 
        and exploring and defining their independence. Students who are 
        deciding who they are and what they will do when they graduate 
        face many pressures, including high-stakes testing, the 
        challenges of college admissions, the scholarship and financial 
        aid application process, and entrance into a competitive job 
        market. They need guidance in these complex decisions, which 
        have serious and life changing consequences.
            ``(7) School counseling programs are essential for students 
        to achieve optimal personal growth, acquire positive social 
        skills and values, set appropriate career goals, and realize 
        full academic potential to become productive, contributing 
        members of the world community.
            ``(8) Professional secondary school counselors are highly 
        qualified educators with a mental health perspective who 
        understand and respond to the challenges presented by today's 
        diverse student population.
            ``(9) The professional secondary school counselor holds a 
        master's degree or higher in school counseling (or the 
        substantial equivalent), and is certified or licensed by the 
        State in which the counselor works.
            ``(10) Professional secondary school counselors are 
        integral to the total educational program. They provide 
        proactive leadership that engages all stakeholders in the 
        delivery of programs and services to help the student achieve 
        success in school. Professional secondary school counselors 
        align and work with the school's mission to support the 
        academic achievement of all students as they prepare for the 
        ever-changing world of the 21st Century.
            ``(11) Professional secondary school counselors' 
        opportunities to assist students are often hindered by 
        extraordinarily high student-to-counselor ratios. Currently, 
        the average student-to-counselor ratio in America's public 
        schools is 479 to 1. The American School Counselor Association, 
        the American Counseling Association, and the National 
        Association for College Admissions Counseling all recommend a 
        ratio of one school counselor to 250 students and a lower ratio 
        for counselors working primarily with students at risk.

``SEC. 1842. DEMONSTRATION PROJECT.

    ``(a) In General.--From amounts made available to carry out this 
subpart, the Secretary shall carry out a demonstration project under 
which the Secretary makes grants on a competitive basis to secondary 
schools that receive funds under this title and have a four-year 
adjusted cohort graduation rate of 60 percent or lower.
    ``(b) Grants.--A grant under this subpart shall be for a period of 
4 years and may be used--
            ``(1) to provide additional school counselors during that 
        period; and
            ``(2) to provide additional resources (such as professional 
        development expenses or travel expenses for home visits, and 
        any services and materials referred to in subsection (d)) and 
        to pay overhead expenses.
    ``(c) Sense of Congress.--It is the sense of Congress that a 
participating school should aim to provide, under subsection (b)(1), 
one additional counselor per 250 students at risk.
    ``(d) Scope of Counseling.--The additional school counselors shall 
identify students who are at risk of not graduating in 4 years and 
shall provide counseling primarily to those students. The counselors 
may identify such students at any time, but shall strive to identify 
them before they enter grade 9. Services shall be provided as long as 
necessary, including to the extent allowable and appropriate, after the 
student's cohort graduation date. The counseling provided--
            ``(1) may include a full panoply of services, including an 
        individual graduation plan and other resources, such as 
        appropriate course placement and supplemental services (to 
        include not only supplemental educational services tutoring if 
        available at the school site, but also other tutoring as 
        necessary, along with supplemental books and materials); and
            ``(2) shall include meetings with each student so 
        identified and with the teachers, tutors, supplemental 
        educational services providers, and parents of the student, and 
        may also include meetings with other relevant individuals, such 
        as a probation officer, mentor, coach, or employer of the 
        student.
    ``(e) Supplement Not Supplant.--Funds under this subpart shall be 
used to supplement, not supplant, funds from non-Federal sources. The 
additional school counselors provided through funds under this subpart 
must be in addition to any employees who work in the secondary school 
guidance or counseling office, such as counselors, college admissions 
specialists, career development specialists, guidance information 
specialists, or any other professional or paraprofessional.
    ``(f) Additional Grant Periods.--
            ``(1) In general.--A school that receives a grant under 
        this subpart and demonstrates adequate improvement over the 
        period of the grant is eligible to receive a second grant for a 
        second period. If the school again demonstrates adequate 
        improvement over that second period, the school is eligible to 
        receive a third grant for a third period. The third grant shall 
        provide amounts that decrease for each year of the third period 
        and require the school to provide corresponding increases in 
        non-Federal funds.
            ``(2) Adequate improvement.--For purposes of paragraph (1), 
        a school demonstrates adequate improvement over a grant period 
        if the four-year adjusted cohort graduation rate increases (or 
        is projected to increase) by 10 percent or more over that 
        period.
    ``(g) Selection.--The Secretary shall carry out the demonstration 
project in at least 10 schools. The first five schools selected to 
participate shall each be from a different State.

``SEC. 1843. DEFINITIONS.

    ``For purposes of this subpart:
            ``(1) Four-year adjusted cohort graduation rate.--The term 
        `four-year adjusted cohort graduation rate' means the number of 
        students who earned a regular high school diploma at the 
        conclusion of their fourth year, before their fourth year, or 
        during a summer session immediately following their fourth 
        year, divided by the number of students who formed the adjusted 
        cohort for that graduating class.
            ``(2) Adjusted cohort.--
                    ``(A) In general.--Subject to the other 
                subparagraphs of this paragraph, the term `adjusted 
                cohort' means the students who entered grade 9 
                together, and any students that transferred into the 
                cohort in grade 9 through 12 minus any students removed 
                from the cohort.
                    ``(B) Transfers in.--The term `transfers in' means 
                the students who enroll or re-enroll after the 
                beginning of the entering cohort's first year in high 
                school, up to and including in grade 12.
                    ``(C) Cohort removal.--To remove students from the 
                cohort, the school or local educational agency must 
                confirm that the student--
                            ``(i) has transferred out;
                            ``(ii) is in the custody of the juvenile 
                        justice system; or
                            ``(iii) is deceased.
                    ``(D) Transfers out.--The term `transfers out' 
                means the students the school or local educational 
                agency has confirmed have transferred to another 
                school, local educational agency, or other educational 
                program for which they are expected to receive a 
                regular high school diploma. Confirmation of a 
                student's transfer to another school, local educational 
                agency, or program requires formal documentation that 
                the student enrolled in the receiving school. Students 
                enrolled in a GED or other alternative educational 
                program that does not issue or provide credits toward 
                the issuance of a regular high school diploma are not 
                considered transfers out. Students who were enrolled, 
                but for whom there is no confirmation of transfer or 
                completion, may not be labeled transfers or errors, but 
                must remain in the cohort as non-graduates for 
                reporting and accountability purposes.
                    ``(E) Treatment of other leavers and withdrawals.--
                Students who were retained in grade, enrolled in a GED 
                program, or left school for any other reason may not be 
                counted as transfers out for the purpose of calculating 
                graduation rates and must remain in the adjusted 
                cohort.
                    ``(F) Special rule.--For those high schools that 
                start after ninth grade, the cohort shall be calculated 
                based on the earliest high school grade.
            ``(3) Regular high school diploma.--
                    ``(A) In general.--The term `regular high school 
                diploma' means the standard high school diploma awarded 
                to the preponderance of students in the State that is 
                fully aligned with State standards, or a higher 
                diploma, and does not include GEDs, certificates of 
                attendance, or any lesser diploma award.
                    ``(B) Special rule.--For those students who have 
                significant cognitive disabilities and are assessed 
                using an alternate assessment aligned to alternate 
                achievement standards, receipt of a regular high school 
                diploma or State-defined alternate diploma aligned with 
                completion of their entitlement under the Individuals 
                with Disabilities Education Act shall be counted as 
                graduates with a regular high school diploma for the 
                purposes of this Act. No more than one percent of 
                students can be counted as graduates with a regular 
                high school diploma under this subparagraph.

``SEC. 1844. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.

    ``There are authorized to be appropriated to carry out this subpart 
$3,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2008 through 2011.''.
                                 <all>