[Congressional Bills 118th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 182 Introduced in Senate (IS)]

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118th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                 S. 182

 To amend the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 to award 
  grants to eligible entities to establish, expand, or support school-
based mentoring programs to assist at-risk middle school students with 
           the transition from middle school to high school.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                            January 31, 2023

  Mr. Booker (for himself and Mr. Menendez) 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 award 
  grants to eligible entities to establish, expand, or support school-
based mentoring programs to assist at-risk middle school students with 
           the transition from middle school to high school.

    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 ``Transition-to-Success Mentoring 
Act''.

SEC. 2. TRANSITION-TO-SUCCESS MENTORING PROGRAM.

    (a) Transition-to-Success Mentoring Program.--Part D of title I of 
the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 6421 et 
seq.) is amended by adding at the end the following:

          ``Subpart 4--Transition-to-Success Mentoring Program

``SEC. 1441. TRANSITION-TO-SUCCESS MENTORING PROGRAM.

    ``(a) In General.--The Secretary shall award grants to eligible 
entities to establish, expand, or support school-based mentoring 
programs to assist eligible students with the transition from middle 
school to high school.
    ``(b) Application.--
            ``(1) In general.--To receive a grant under this section, 
        an eligible entity shall submit an application to the Secretary 
        at such time, in such manner, and containing such information 
        as the Secretary may require.
            ``(2) Priority.--In selecting grant recipients, the 
        Secretary shall give priority to eligible entities that--
                    ``(A) serve children and youth with the greatest 
                need living in high-poverty, high-crime areas, or rural 
                areas, or who attend schools with high rates of 
                community violence;
                    ``(B) provide eligible students with opportunities 
                for postsecondary education preparation and career 
                development, including--
                            ``(i) job training, professional 
                        development, work shadowing, internships, 
                        networking, resume writing and review, 
                        interview preparation, transition services for 
                        students with disabilities, application 
                        assistance and visits to institutions of higher 
                        education, and leadership development through 
                        community service; and
                            ``(ii) partnerships with the private sector 
                        and local businesses to provide internship and 
                        career exploration activities and resources;
                    ``(C) seek to provide match lengths between 
                eligible students and success coaches for at least 1 
                academic year; and
                    ``(D) indicate how, and the degree to which, 
                children were consulted and engaged in the development, 
                design, and implementation of the school-based 
                mentoring program.
    ``(c) Uses of Funds.--
            ``(1) Required uses of funds.--An eligible entity that 
        receives a grant under this section shall use the grant funds 
        to establish a school-based mentoring program, or to expand or 
        provide technical support to an existing school-based mentoring 
        program, in all middle schools served by the entity, under 
        which each eligible student is assigned to a success coach 
        who--
                    ``(A) creates a plan for success for the student 
                that--
                            ``(i) is created with the student, mentor, 
                        relevant school staff (such as a teacher or 
                        school counselor), and parents of the student;
                            ``(ii) includes, for each academic year, 
                        the student's academic, personal, college, and 
                        career exploration goals, and a strategy on how 
                        to accomplish such goals;
                            ``(iii) identifies the student's strengths, 
                        areas for improvement, and academic progress; 
                        and
                            ``(iv) includes a plan to educate and 
                        support the student's college or career 
                        exploration goals;
                    ``(B) enters into a signed, written agreement with 
                the parents of the student that describes how the 
                parents should assist the student in carrying out the 
                plan for success;
                    ``(C) meets with the student at least once per 
                month to--
                            ``(i) assist the student in achieving the 
                        goals under the plan for success;
                            ``(ii) identify the student's academic 
                        areas for improvement;
                            ``(iii) connect the student with the tools 
                        and resources necessary to help improve the 
                        student's potential for academic success;
                            ``(iv) ensure the student's successful 
                        transition from middle school to high school by 
                        identifying opportunities to help the student 
                        develop a positive attitude toward school, 
                        improve classroom behavior, complete 
                        coursework, and socialize with peers; and
                            ``(v) in the case of a student with 
                        behavioral issues, assist the student in 
                        behavior management techniques;
                    ``(D) at least quarterly, meets with the student 
                and the parents, teachers, or counselors of the student 
                to--
                            ``(i) evaluate the student's progress in 
                        achieving the goals under the plan for the 
                        current academic year; and
                            ``(ii) revise or establish new goals for 
                        the next academic year; and
                    ``(E) assists the student in exploring higher 
                education and career exposure opportunities.
            ``(2) Authorized uses of funds.--An eligible entity that 
        receives a grant under this section may use such funds to--
                    ``(A) develop and carry out regular training for 
                success coaches, including on--
                            ``(i) the impact of adverse childhood 
                        experiences;
                            ``(ii) trauma-informed practices and 
                        interventions;
                            ``(iii) supporting homeless children and 
                        youths;
                            ``(iv) supporting children and youth in 
                        foster care;
                            ``(v) cultural competency;
                            ``(vi) meeting all appropriate privacy and 
                        confidentiality requirements for students, 
                        including students in foster care;
                            ``(vii) working in coordination with a 
                        public school system;
                            ``(viii) positive youth development and 
                        engagement practices; and
                            ``(ix) disability inclusion practices to 
                        ensure access and participation by students 
                        with disabilities;
                    ``(B) recruit, screen, match, compensate, and train 
                success coaches, and pay for costs related to success 
                coach and mentee participation in the program;
                    ``(C) hire staff to perform or support the 
                objectives of the school-based mentoring program;
                    ``(D) provide inclusive and accessible youth 
                engagement activities, such as--
                            ``(i) enrichment field trips to cultural 
                        destinations;
                            ``(ii) career awareness activities, 
                        including job site visits, informational 
                        interviews, resume writing, interview 
                        preparation, and networking; and
                            ``(iii) academic or postsecondary education 
                        preparation activities, including trade or 
                        vocational school visits, visits to 
                        institutions of higher education, and 
                        assistance in applying to institutions of 
                        higher education;
                    ``(E) provide activities or programming with the 
                purpose of engaging and connecting the student to the 
                school community; and
                    ``(F) conduct program evaluation, including by 
                acquiring and analyzing the data described under 
                subsection (e).
    ``(d) Grant Duration.--A grant under this section shall be awarded 
for a period of not more than 5 years.
    ``(e) Reporting Requirements.--
            ``(1) Eligible entities.--An eligible entity receiving a 
        grant under this section shall submit to the Secretary, at the 
        end of each academic year during the grant period, a report 
        that includes--
                    ``(A) the number of students who participated in 
                the school-based mentoring program that was funded in 
                whole or in part with the grant funds under this 
                section;
                    ``(B) demographic data on such students;
                    ``(C) data on the academic achievement, dropout 
                rates, truancy, absenteeism, outcomes of arrests for 
                violent crime, summer employment, and postsecondary 
                education enrollment of such students;
                    ``(D) the number of contact hours between such 
                students and their success coaches;
                    ``(E) the number of students with disabilities 
                connected to transition services;
                    ``(F) data on social-emotional development of 
                students as assessed with a validated social-emotional 
                assessment tool; and
                    ``(G) any other information that the Secretary may 
                require to evaluate the success of the school-based 
                mentoring program.
            ``(2) Secretary.--
                    ``(A) Interim report.--At the end of the third 
                fiscal year for which funds are made available to carry 
                out this section, the Secretary shall submit to 
                Congress an interim report on the success of the 
                school-based mentoring programs funded under this 
                section that includes the information received under 
                paragraph (1).
                    ``(B) Final report.--At the end of the fifth fiscal 
                year for which funds are made available to carry out 
                this section, the Secretary shall submit to Congress a 
                final report on the success of the school-based 
                mentoring programs funded under this section that 
                includes the information received under paragraph (1).
    ``(f) Mentoring Resources and Community Service Coordination.--The 
Secretary shall work with the Office of Juvenile Justice and 
Delinquency Prevention to--
            ``(1) refer grantees under this section to the National 
        Mentoring Resource Center to obtain resources on best practices 
        and research related to mentoring and to request no-cost 
        training and technical assistance; and
            ``(2) provide grantees under this section with information 
        regarding transitional services for eligible students returning 
        from correctional facilities and transition services for 
        students with disabilities.
    ``(g) Definitions.--In this section:
            ``(1) Eligible entity.--The term `eligible entity' means--
                    ``(A) a local educational agency that--
                            ``(i) receives, or is eligible to receive, 
                        funds under part A of this title; or
                            ``(ii) is a high-need local educational 
                        agency; or
                    ``(B) a partnership between a local educational 
                agency described in subparagraph (A) and a nonprofit, 
                community-based organization.
            ``(2) Eligible student.--The term `eligible student' means 
        a student who--
                    ``(A) is enrolled in a middle school served by an 
                eligible entity; and
                    ``(B) is an at-risk student.
            ``(3) High-need local educational agency.--The term `high-
        need local educational agency' means a local educational agency 
        that serves at least one high-need school.
            ``(4) High-need school.--The term `high-need school' has 
        the meaning given the term in section 2211(b)(2).
            ``(5) Middle school.--The term `middle school' means a 
        nonprofit institutional day or residential school, including a 
        public charter school, that provides middle school education, 
        as determined under State law, except that the term does not 
        include any education below grade 6 or beyond grade 9.
            ``(6) School-based mentoring.--The term `school-based 
        mentoring' means mentoring activities that--
                    ``(A) are closely coordinated with a school by 
                involving teachers, counselors, and other school staff 
                who may identify and refer students for mentoring 
                services; and
                    ``(B) assist at-risk students in improving academic 
                achievement and attitudes toward school and reducing 
                disciplinary referrals.
            ``(7) Success coach.--The term `success coach' means an 
        individual who--
                    ``(A) is--
                            ``(i) an employee or volunteer of a local 
                        educational agency in which a mentoring program 
                        receiving support under this section is being 
                        carried out; or
                            ``(ii) a volunteer or employee from a 
                        nonprofit, community-based organization that 
                        provides volunteers for mentoring programs in 
                        secondary schools; and
                    ``(B) prior to becoming a success coach--
                            ``(i) received training from an eligible 
                        entity, which, at a minimum, was 2 hours in 
                        length and covered the roles and 
                        responsibilities of a success coach; and
                            ``(ii) underwent a screening by an eligible 
                        entity that included--
                                    ``(I) appropriate job reference 
                                checks;
                                    ``(II) child and domestic abuse 
                                record checks; and
                                    ``(III) criminal background 
                                checks.''.
    (b) Table of Contents.--The table of contents in section 2 of the 
Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 6301 et seq.) 
is amended by inserting after the item relating to section 1432 the 
following:

          ``subpart 4--transition-to-success mentoring program

``Sec. 1441. Transition-to-success mentoring program.''.
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