[Congressional Bills 110th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 3347 Introduced in Senate (IS)]







110th CONGRESS
  2d Session
                                S. 3347

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 SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                             July 28, 2008

   Mr. Casey 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 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.

    (a) In General.--Part H of title I of the Elementary and Secondary 
Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 6551 et seq.) 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 high school students in the 
        United States become dropouts.
            ``(3) High school students living in low-income families 
        drop out of school at 6 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 1 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 4-year adjusted 
cohort graduation rate of 60 percent or lower.
    ``(b) Grants.--A grant under this section 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 
secondary school that receives a grant under this section should aim to 
provide, under subsection (b)(1), 1 additional counselor per 250 
students at risk.
    ``(d) Scope of Counseling.--The additional school counselors 
provided with funds under this subpart 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 the students before the 
students 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 identified 
        under this subsection 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 provided under this subpart 
shall be used to supplement, and not supplant, funds from non-Federal 
sources available to carry out activities described in this section. 
The additional school counselors provided through funds under this 
subpart shall 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 secondary school that receives a grant 
        under this section and demonstrates adequate improvement over 
        the period of the grant is eligible to receive a second grant 
        for a second period. If the secondary 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 4-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 under this section in not less than 10 schools. The first 5 
schools selected to participate shall each be from a different State.

``SEC. 1843. DEFINITIONS.

    ``In this subpart:
            ``(1) 4-year adjusted cohort graduation rate.--The term `4-
        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 subparagraphs (B), 
                (C), (D), (E), and (F), 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 
                as described in subparagraph (C).
                    ``(B) Transfers in.--The term `transfers in' means 
                enrolls or re-enrolls 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 a 
                cohort, the school or local educational agency shall 
                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.--
                            ``(i) In general.--Subject to clauses (ii), 
                        (iii), and (iv), the term `transfers out' means 
                        transfers to another school, local educational 
                        agency, or other educational program from which 
                        the student is expected to receive a regular 
                        high school diploma.
                            ``(ii) Confirmation.--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.
                            ``(iii) Not considered transfers.--A 
                        student who enrolls in a GED or other 
                        alternative educational program that does not 
                        issue or provide credits toward the issuance of 
                        a regular high school diploma shall not be 
                        considered to have transferred out for purposes 
                        of this subparagraph.
                            ``(iv) Remain in cohort.--A student who was 
                        enrolled in a school, but for whom there is no 
                        confirmation of transfer or completion, may not 
                        be labeled a transfer or error, but shall 
                        remain in the cohort as a non-graduate for 
                        reporting and accountability purposes.
                    ``(E) Treatment of other leavers and withdrawals.--
                A student who was retained in a grade, enrolled in a 
                GED program, or left school for any other reason may 
                not be counted as a transfer out for the purpose of 
                calculating graduation rates and shall 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 a student who has a 
                significant cognitive disability and is 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 the student's entitlement under the 
                Individuals with Disabilities Education Act shall be 
                counted as a graduate with a regular high school 
                diploma for the purposes of this subpart. Not more than 
                1 percent of students in a school may 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 
$6,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2008 through 2011.''.
    (b) Table of Contents.--The table of contents in section 2 of the 
Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 is amended by inserting 
after the item relating to section 1830 the following:

  ``subpart 3--demonstration project for additional secondary school 
                               counselors

``Sec. 1841. Findings.
``Sec. 1842. Demonstration project.
``Sec. 1843. Definitions.
``Sec. 1844. Authorization of appropriations.''.
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