1.This Act may be cited as the
Put School Counselors Where They’re
Needed Act
.
2.Demonstration
project for additional secondary school counselorsPart
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.The 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 three 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 457 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.
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 four-year adjusted cohort graduation rate of 60
percent or lower.
(b)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)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)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)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)
(1)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)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)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.
1843.For purposes of this subpart:
(1)Four-year
adjusted cohort graduation rateThe 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)
(A)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)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)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)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 withdrawalsStudents 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)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 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.
1844.Authorization
of appropriationsThere are
authorized to be appropriated to carry out this subpart $5,000,000 for each of
fiscal years 2012 through
2015.
.