1.This Act may be referred to as the
Teen Parent Graduation and College Achievement Act
.
2.Congress makes the following
findings:
(1)Each year, nearly 750,000 American
teenagers ages 15 through 19 become pregnant, giving the United States the
highest teenage pregnancy rate of all industrialized nations.
(2)Overall, there has been an impressive
decline in teen pregnancy and birth rates since the early 1990s. Between 2005
and 2006, however, teen pregnancy rates increased for the first time in 14
years.
(3)Seventy percent of teenagers who become
pregnant drop out of high school, and teenage fathers tend to complete, on
average, one semester of high school fewer than men who delay fatherhood until
they are 21 years or older. Fewer economic opportunities are available to these
teenage parents.
(4)Some teenagers drop out of school as a
result of subsequent pregnancies. In 2006, subsequent pregnancies accounted for
85,000, or almost 20 percent, of all teenage pregnancies.
(5)Marginalized racial or ethnic minority and
immigrant communities generally have less access to the education, support, and
services needed for healthy growth and development, and are at high risk for
teenage pregnancy.
(6)The high rate of teenage pregnancy in
racial or ethnic minority and immigrant communities can lead to a
disproportionate dropout rate in those communities. School systems in many such
communities lack the funding and expertise to effectively counter high school
teenage pregnancy dropout rates.
(7)Fifty-two percent of Latina teens and 50
percent of African-American teen girls will become pregnant at least once
before they are 20 years old. Birth rates among Latina and African-American
youth ages 15 through 17 are more than twice the birth rates of Caucasian youth
in the same age range.
(8)The 2005 Youth
Risk Behavior Survey contained the surprising finding that sexually active
lesbian, gay, and bisexual youth are three times as likely to face an unwanted
pregnancy as their heterosexual peers.
(9)Only 51 percent of all teenage mothers, and
38 percent of teenage mothers who have a child before they turn 18, have a high
school diploma, compared to 89 percent of all other women.
(10)Parenthood is a
leading cause of school dropout among teenage women. Of all teenage women who
have dropped out of high school, 30 percent cited pregnancy or parenthood as a
reason they dropped out, including 36 percent of Latina women and 38 percent of
African-American women.
(11)Two-thirds of all
teenage births occur among teenagers ages 18 and 19. Birth rates among women of
those ages have declined less significantly than among teenage women of other
ages. These older teenage parents would benefit from the increased availability
of services at institutions of higher education, particularly at community
colleges.
(12)The
responsibilities of pregnancy and parenting can interfere with the attainment
of a college degree. Sixty-one percent of women who have children after
enrolling in community college do not graduate. Women who do not have children
after enrollment graduate at a 65 percent higher rate than women who do.
(13)Comprehensive
support through schools, public agencies, and community-based organizations can
reduce high school dropout rates and ensure that more pregnant and parenting
teenagers complete high school and enroll in institutions of higher
education.
(14)More data on the
prevalence of pregnant and parenting teenagers is needed so that Federal
assistance reaches the communities in which it is most needed.
3.Grants for
assistance to pregnant and parenting students at elementary and secondary
schools
(a)Establishment of
grant programPart H of title
I of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 6301 et
seq.) is amended—
(1)in section 1803
(20 U.S.C. 6553)—
(A)by striking
this part
and inserting subparts 1 and 2
;
(B)by inserting
(a)
before the first sentence; and
(C)by adding at the
end the following new subsection:
(b)For the purpose of carrying out subpart 3,
there are authorized to be appropriated $75,000,000 for each of fiscal years
2011 through
2015.
;
(2)in section 1822(a)
(20 U.S.C. 6561a(a)), by striking 1803
each place it appears and
inserting 1803(a)
; and
(3)by adding at the
end the following new subpart:
3Grants for
Assistance to Pregnant and Parenting Students
1840.Grants for
assistance to pregnant and parenting students
(a)The Secretary
shall establish a program to award grants to local educational agencies to help
pregnant and parenting students stay in school by expanding their access to
services, including—
(1)tutoring;
(2)pregnancy-related
healthcare;
(3)child care;
(4)transportation;
(5)after-school
support;
(6)academic
counseling;
(7)school social work
services; or
(8)family planning
services, including services for subsequent pregnancy prevention.
(b)In
awarding grants under subsection (a), the Secretary shall give priority to a
local educational agency that, in the determination of the Secretary—
(1)is eligible for
assistance under part A;
(2)serves a school
that will have a significant percentage of pregnant and parenting students in
the period for which the grant is awarded; and
(3)will expand the
access of pregnant and parenting students to each service described in
subsection (a).
(c)Limitation on
amount of grantThe amount of
a grant awarded under subsection (a) shall not exceed $500,000.
(d)As a condition of
receiving a grant under subsection (a), a local educational agency—
(1)shall agree to enter into partnerships and
share grant funds, when appropriate, with public agencies or with
community-based organizations to carry out the purpose for which the grant is
awarded; and
(2)shall not use more
than 10 percent of the amount of the grant for administrative costs.
(e)Uses of funds from a grant awarded under subsection (a) may
include—
(1)compensating
teachers and other employees for performing additional services in carrying out
the purpose of the grant; and
(2)encouraging
training practicums for graduate students in social work to carry out the
purpose of the grant.
(f)To be eligible to receive a grant under
subsection (a), a local educational agency shall submit an application to the
Secretary at such time, in such manner, and containing such information as the
Secretary may require.
(g)
(1)The
Secretary shall submit to Congress a report on the program established under
subsection (a), including the information specified in paragraph (2), on the
following dates:
(A)A date that is not
later than September 30, 2013.
(B)A date that is not
later than January 1, 2016.
(2)A
report submitted under paragraph (1) shall include the following information,
as determined by the Secretary:
(A)The number and
graduation rate of pregnant and parenting students who benefit from the
program, and their rate of enrollment in institutions of higher
education.
(B)The effectiveness of the program, in the
long term, in reducing costs to the Federal government, including the costs of
providing, to individuals affected by the program, benefits under the Medicaid
program under title XIX of the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 1396 et seq.),
the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program established under the Food and
Nutrition Act of 2008 (7 U.S.C. 2011 et seq.), and Federal foster care
programs, and other income-tested or need-based
benefits.
.
(b)The table of
contents in section 2 of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (20
U.S.C. 6301 note) is amended by inserting after the item relating to section
1830 the following:
Subpart 3—Grants for Assistance to
Pregnant and Parenting Students
Sec. 1840. Grants for assistance to
pregnant and parenting
students.
.
4.Grants for
assistance to pregnant and parenting students at institutions of higher
educationPart A of title IV
of the Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1001 et seq.) is amended by
adding at the end the following new subpart:
11Grants for
Assistance to Pregnant and Parenting Students
420S.Grants for
assistance to pregnant and parenting students
(a)The Secretary
shall establish a program to award grants to institutions of higher education
to help pregnant and parenting students stay in school by expanding their
access to services, including—
(1)tutoring;
(2)pregnancy-related
healthcare;
(3)child care;
(4)transportation;
(5)after-school
support;
(6)academic
counseling;
(7)school social work
services; or
(8)family planning
services, including services for subsequent pregnancy prevention.
(b)In
awarding grants under subsection (a), the Secretary shall give priority to an
institution of higher education that, in the determination of the
Secretary—
(1)will have a
significant percentage of pregnant and parenting students in the period for
which the grant is awarded; and
(2)will expand the
access of pregnant and parenting students to each service described in
subsection (a).
(c)Limitation on
amount of grantThe amount of
a grant awarded under subsection (a) shall not exceed $500,000.
(d)As a condition of
receiving a grant under subsection (a), an institution of higher
education—
(1)shall agree to enter into partnerships and
share grant funds, when appropriate, with public agencies or with
community-based organizations to carry out the purpose for which the grant is
awarded; and
(2)may use no more
than 10 percent of the amount of the grant for administrative costs.
(e)Uses of funds from a grant awarded under subsection (a) may
include—
(1)compensating
teachers and other employees for performing additional services in carrying out
the purpose of the grant; and
(2)encouraging
training practicums for graduate students in social work to carry out the
purpose of the grant.
(f)To be eligible to receive a grant under
subsection (a), an institution of higher education shall submit an application
to the Secretary at such time, in such manner, and containing such information
as the Secretary may require.
(g)
(1)The
Secretary shall submit to Congress a report on the program established under
subsection (a), including the information specified in paragraph (2), on the
following dates:
(A)A date that is not
later than September 30, 2013.
(B)A date that is not
later than January 1, 2016.
(2)A
report submitted under paragraph (1) shall include the following information,
as determined by the Secretary:
(A)The number and
graduation rate of pregnant and parenting students who benefit from the
program.
(B)The effectiveness of the program, in the
long term, in reducing costs to the Federal government, including the costs of
providing, to individuals affected by the program, benefits under the Medicaid
program under title XIX of the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 1396 et seq.),
the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program established under the Food and
Nutrition Act of 2008 (7 U.S.C. 2011 et seq.), and Federal foster care
programs, and other income-tested or need-based benefits.
(h)Authorization of
appropriationsThere are authorized to be appropriated to carry
out this section $75,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2011 through
2015.
.