II 111th CONGRESS 2d Session S. 3559 IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES June 30, 2010 Mr. Dodd 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 strengthen mentoring programs, and for other purposes.

1.

Short title

This Act may be cited as the Mentoring America’s Children Act of 2009.

2.

Amendments to mentoring programs

(a)

Purpose; definitions

Section 4130(a) of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 7140(a)) is amended— (1)in paragraph (1)— (A)in subparagraph (B), by striking achievement of such children and inserting outcomes of such children by improving their school connectedness, decreasing absenteeism, and increasing academic performance; (B)in subparagraph (D), by striking and after the semicolon; (C)in subparagraph (E), by striking the period and inserting ; and; and (D)by adding at the end the following: (F)to foster character education. ; (2)in paragraph (2)(A), by striking or who lacks strong positive role models and inserting who lacks strong positive role models, who is a foster youth, or who has 1 or both parents incarcerated; (3)in paragraph (2)(B)(iii), by striking a partnership between a local educational agency and a nonprofit, community-based organization and inserting a consortium between or among 1 or more local educational agencies, nonprofit community-based organizations, and other partners, such as corporations, universities, or foster care group homes; and (4)in paragraph (2)(C)(iii), by inserting and successful after responsible. (b)

Grant program

Section 4130(b) of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 7140(b)) is amended— (1)in the matter preceding subparagraph (A) of paragraph (1), by striking this subpart under section 4003(2) and inserting this section under subsection (d); (2)in paragraph (1)(A), by striking (particularly and all that follows through failure) and inserting , particularly children living in rural, suburban, or urban areas facing high rates of crime, gang involvement, drug use, school dropouts, or youth suicides,; (3)in paragraph (1)(B), by striking clauses (vi) and (viii) and inserting the following: (vi)Encourage setting goals and planning for the future, including encouragement of graduation from secondary school, planning for postsecondary education or training, and participating in internships. (vii)Discourage involvement in gangs. ; (4)in paragraph (4)— (A)by striking subparagraph (D) and inserting the following: (D)an assurance that each mentor will be assigned to not more than 3 children, and that when assigned to more than 1 child (which is preferable where practicable), the assignment shall not undermine the mentor’s ability to be an effective mentor or to establish a close relationship with each mentored child; ; (B)in subparagraph (I), by striking and after the semicolon; (C)in subparagraph (J)(iv), by striking the period and inserting a semicolon; and (D)by adding at the end the following: (K)information regarding the staffing plan and levels the eligible entity will use to monitor the mentor and mentee match over the duration of the match; and (L)information regarding how the eligible entity will meet the matching funds requirement described in paragraph (7). ; (5)in paragraph (5)— (A)in subparagraph (B), by striking clause (i) and inserting the following: (i)serves children with greatest need who live in rural areas, high-crime areas, troubled home environments, or communities with a high rate of youth suicide, who attended a school with violence problems, or who are foster children; ; (B)in subparagraph (C)— (i)in clause (i), by striking urban and rural and inserting urban, suburban, and rural; (ii)in clause (ii)(II), by inserting children, after organizations,; and (iii)in clause (iii), by inserting and sustain the mentoring program for the duration of the grant and beyond after mentoring program; and (C)by adding at the end following: (E)

Subsequent grants

In awarding grants under subparagraph (A), the Secretary shall consider eligible entities who have received funding in a prior grant cycle for a new grant only if each of the following criteria is met: (i)Performance during the initial grant was satisfactory in terms of program design and numbers of children served. (ii)The subsequent grant will exclusively support expanded service to a new geographic area or target population. (iii)The eligible entity demonstrates that the eligible entity is able to provide the matching funds required under paragraph (7)(B) for all years of the new grant. (F)

Policy on one entity receiving two grants at same time

(i)

In general

Except as provided in clause (ii), in awarding grants under subparagraph (A) the Secretary may have in effect a policy under which an eligible entity is prohibited from receiving 2 grants under this subsection at the same time. (ii)

Exception

The policy described in clause (i) shall not prohibit an eligible entity from receiving 2 grants under this subsection at the same time when the periods of the 2 grants overlap by 3 months or less. ; and (6)by adding at the end the following: (7)

Matching funds

Each eligible entity receiving a grant under this subsection shall provide, toward the cost of the activities assisted under the grant, matching funds in an amount that— (A)in the case of the first multiyear grant awarded to the eligible entity under this subsection— (i)in the first year of the grant, is not less than 10 percent of the grant amount awarded for that year; (ii)in the second year of the grant, is not less than 25 percent of the grant amount awarded for that year; and (iii)in the third year of the grant, is not less than 50 percent of the grant amount awarded for that year; and (B)in the case of the eligible entity receiving subsequent grant funding under paragraph (5)(E) for a year, is not less than 50 percent of the grant amount awarded for that year. . (c)

Additional provisions

(1)

In general

Section 4130 of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 7140) is amended by adding at the end the following: (c)

Ensuring quality grants

(1)

Support for eligible entities

In order to ensure the strongest possible outcomes for children mentored through this section, the Secretary shall— (A)provide training and technical assistance to eligible entities that receive a grant under subsection (b), beginning in the first year of the grant and continuing throughout the duration of the grant; (B)track the mentoring practices and outcomes of all eligible entities that receive a grant under subsection (b) throughout the duration of the grant utilizing a robust online tracking and evaluation system; and (C)submit an annual report to Congress detailing the number of children served by eligible entities that receive a grant under subsection (b) and the outcomes achieved for those children. (2)

Research on school-based mentoring

In order to ensure that eligible entities that receive a grant under subsection (b) have access to the most current research-based knowledge about building and carrying out strong and effective mentoring programs, the Secretary shall carry out the following: (A)Consult with leading mentoring organizations and researchers, including the Federal Mentoring Council and the National Mentoring Working Group, to determine priorities for research on school-based mentoring and appropriate research design, with consideration for— (i)determining the ideal school environments in which school-based mentoring succeeds; (ii)identifying techniques for matching children with specific characteristics (such as age, academic situation, risk factors) with the most appropriate mentoring models; (iii)determining the ideal infrastructure needed to foster the expansion of school-based mentoring in a sustainable way; and (iv)refining best practices, match activities, and a range of mentoring models to lead to the best possible outcomes for children. (B)Award grants or contracts to high-quality research entities to perform research on the priorities identified in subparagraph (A), which research shall meet the following criteria: (i)The proposed research design shall meet accepted standards within the academic community. (ii)All research results and findings shall be widely disseminated to eligible entities that receive a grant under subsection (b) and to the larger mentoring community. (C)Award grants or contracts under subparagraph (B) only if amount the appropriated under subsection (d)(1) for each fiscal year for which such grant or contract is awarded exceeds $50,000,000. (d)

Authorization of appropriations; reservations of certain amounts

(1)

Authorization

There are authorized to be appropriated to carry out this section $100,000,000 for fiscal year 2011 and such sums as may be necessary for each succeeding fiscal year. (2)

Reservations

Each fiscal year the Secretary shall reserve— (A)not more than 5 percent of the amount appropriated for that fiscal year under paragraph (1) for expenditure on support for eligible entities as authorized by subsection (c)(1); and (B)not more than 10 percent of the amount appropriated for that fiscal year under paragraph (1) for expenditure on research as authorized by subsection (c)(2). . (2)

Conforming amendments

Section 4130(b) of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 7140(b)) is further amended— (A)in the matter preceding clause (i) of paragraph (2)(B), by striking this section and inserting this subsection; (B)in paragraph (3), by striking this section and inserting this subsection; (C)in the matter preceding subparagraph (A) of paragraph (4), by striking this section and inserting this subsection; (D)in subparagraph (A) of paragraph (5), by inserting under this subsection after grants; and (E)in subparagraph (A) of paragraph (6), by striking this section each place the term appears and inserting this subsection. (d)

Revisions to other education programs

(1)

Transition services

Section 1418(a)(2)(C) of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 6438(a)(2)(C)) is amended— (A)in clause (iv), by striking and after the semicolon; (B)in clause (v), by striking the period and inserting ; and; and (C)by adding at the end the following: (vi)youth mentoring programs. . (2)

National safe and drug-free schools programs

Section 4121(a)(2) of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 7131(a)(2)) is amended— (A)in subparagraph (C), by striking and after the semicolon; (B)in subparagraph (D), by inserting and after the semicolon; and (C)by adding at the end the following: (E)school and community-based mentoring programs; . (3)

Inclusion of mentoring for minority programs

(A)

Improvement of educational opportunities for Indian children

Section 7121(c)(1) of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 7441(c)(1)) is amended— (i)in subparagraph (E), by inserting , including mentoring programs and projects, after programs and projects; and (ii)in subparagraph (J), by inserting , including mentoring programs, after programs. (B)

Native Hawaiian education

Section 7205(a)(3) of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 7515(a)(3)) is amended— (i)in subparagraph (H)(ii), by inserting , including afterschool mentoring programs after programs; and (ii)in subparagraph (I)(iii), by inserting , mentoring, after counseling. (C)

Alaska native education

Section 7304(a)(2)(P) of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 7544(a)(2)(P)) is amended by inserting or mentoring programs after Success program.