1.This Act may be cited as the
Put School Counselors Where They’re
Needed Act
.
2.Demonstration
project for additional secondary school counselors
(a)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:
3Demonstration
project for additional secondary school counselors
1841.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.
1842.
(a)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)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)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)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)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)
(1)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)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)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.
1843.In this subpart:
(1)4-year adjusted
cohort graduation rateThe
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)
(A)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)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)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)
(i)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 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)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)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 withdrawalsA 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)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)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)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.
1844.Authorization
of appropriationsThere are
authorized to be appropriated to carry out this subpart $6,000,000 for each of
fiscal years 2008 through
2011.
.
(b)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.
.