[Congressional Record Volume 155, Number 39 (Thursday, March 5, 2009)]
[Senate]
[Pages S2835-S2838]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]

      By Mrs. LINCOLN (for herself, Mr. Cochran, Mr. Leahy, Mr. 
        Menendez, and Mr. Pryor):
  S. 538. A bill to increase the recruitment and retention of school 
counselors, school social workers, and

[[Page S2836]]

school psychologists by low-income local educational agencies; to the 
Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions.
  Mrs. LINCOLN. Mr. President, on behalf of children in lower-income 
schools across our nation, I rise today to introduce the Increased 
Student Achievement through Increased Student Support Act.
  Each day, teachers in our schools are tasked not only with addressing 
the academic needs of students, but also with the behavioral, social, 
and emotional needs of the children in their classrooms. When they are 
left to address these emotional and behavioral issues, they have less 
time to deliver high quality academic instruction to the rest of the 
students in their class. Additionally, teachers often do not have the 
training or expertise to deal with many of the emotional issues their 
students face. Children overcoming mental illness or family issues such 
as the deployment of a parent to a war zone, homelessness, or domestic 
abuse, need the assistance of a trained professional, such as a school 
psychologist, school counselor, or school social worker.
  While student support services provided by these support personnel 
are readily available in many school districts, other low-income 
schools often lack access to these support personnel. Too many schools 
in low-income rural and urban areas have to share school counselors, 
social workers, and psychologists with many schools in the area, 
limiting their students' access to these services and placing an 
unnecessary burden on our teachers and our students.
  That is why I rise today along with my colleagues Senators Cochran, 
Leahy, Menendez, and Pryor to enthusiastically offer the Increased 
Student Achievement through Increased Student Support Act. This bill 
will authorize grant funding to form partnerships between higher 
education institutions that train school guidance counselors, social 
workers, and psychologists and qualified rural and urban low-income 
Local Education Agencies to train and place these important school 
support professionals in under-served schools across the country.
  This bipartisan bill also authorizes grant funding to universities to 
recruit and hire faculty to train graduate students to become school 
counselors, school social workers, and school psychologists. 
Additionally, it provides tuition credits to such graduate students, 
and offers student loan forgiveness to program graduates employed as 
school counselors, social workers, or psychologists by rural or urban 
low-income Local Education Agencies for a minimum of five years.
  By increasing the number of student support personnel in our 
country's under-served schools, we will provide students with the 
social and emotional support they need to succeed in the classroom. We 
will also provide teachers the assistance they need so they can 
concentrate on providing the academic instruction our children need.
  By taking these steps to improve student access to school counselors, 
school social workers, and school psychologists, I am confident we can 
make strides in raising academic achievement in schools across the 
country.
  As we move forward, I want to encourage my colleagues to support 
America's children by supporting this important piece of legislation.
  Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the text of the bill be 
printed in the Record.
  There being no objection, the text of the bill was ordered to be 
placed in the Record, as follows:

                                 S. 538

       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 ``Increased Student 
     Achievement Through Increased Student Support Act''.

     SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

       Congress finds the following:
       (1) Research shows that socioeconomic status and family 
     background characteristics are highly correlated with 
     educational outcomes, with a concentration of low-performing 
     schools in low-income and under-served communities.
       (2) Teachers cite poor working conditions, student 
     behavior, lack of student motivation, and lack of 
     administrative support as key reasons why they choose to 
     leave the teaching profession.
       (3) Teachers and principals working for low-income local 
     educational agencies are increasingly tasked with addressing 
     not only the academic needs of a child, but also the social, 
     emotional, and behavioral needs of a child that require the 
     services of a school counselor, school social worker, and 
     school psychologist, and these needs often interfere with 
     delivering quality instruction and raising student 
     achievement.
       (4) Rates of abuse and neglect of young children in 
     military families have doubled with the increased military 
     involvement of the United States abroad since October 2002; 
     likewise, adolescents with deployed parents report increased 
     perceptions of uncertainty and loss, role ambiguity, negative 
     changes in mental and behavioral health, and increased 
     relationship conflict, raising concerns about the impact of 
     deployment on military personnel and their families and 
     whether schools that serve a large number of children with 
     deployed parents have sufficient staff and expertise to meet 
     these challenges.
       (5) Children of military families in rural communities are 
     often geographically isolated, and schools that were already 
     experiencing understaffing of school counselors, school 
     social workers, and school psychologists face even greater 
     challenges meeting the increased needs of students enduring 
     the stress that comes along with having a deployed parent or 
     parents.
       (6) Schools served by low-income local educational agencies 
     suffer disproportionately from a lack of services, with many 
     schools sharing a single school counselor, school social 
     worker, or school psychologist with neighboring schools.
       (7) Too few school counselors, school social workers, and 
     school psychologists per student means that such personnel 
     are often unable to effectively address the needs of 
     students.
       (8) The American School Counselor Association and American 
     Counseling Association recommend having at least 1 school 
     counselor for every 250 students.
       (9) The School Social Work Association of America 
     recommends having at least 1 school social worker for every 
     400 students.
       (10) The National Association of School Psychologists 
     recommends having at least 1 school psychologist for every 
     1,000 students.
       (11) Recent research of victimization of children ages 2 to 
     17 suggests that more than one-half of the children 
     experienced a physical assault in the study year. More than 1 
     in 4 experienced a property offense, more than 1 in 8 
     experienced a form of child maltreatment, 1 in 12 experienced 
     a sexual victimization, and more than 1 in 3 had been a 
     witness to violence or experienced another form of indirect 
     victimization. Only 29 percent of the children had no direct 
     or indirect victimization.
       (12) Principals and teachers see signs of trauma-related 
     stress in many students including hostile outbursts, sliding 
     grades, poor test performance, and the inability to pay 
     attention.
       (13) It is estimated, based on recent data on the number of 
     children in foster care, that more than 500,000 children are 
     in the foster care system each year, with 289,000 exiting the 
     system each year due to aging out or adoption.

     SEC. 3. PURPOSE.

       The purpose of this Act is to increase the recruitment and 
     retention of school counselors, school social workers, and 
     school psychologists by low-income local educational agencies 
     in order to--
       (1) support all students who are at risk of negative 
     educational outcomes;
       (2) improve student achievement, which may be measured by 
     growth in academic achievement on tests required by the 
     applicable State educational agency, persistence rates, 
     graduation rates, and other appropriate measures;
       (3) improve retention of teachers who are highly qualified;
       (4) increase and improve outreach and collaboration between 
     school counselors, school social workers, and school 
     psychologists and parents and families served by low-income 
     local educational agencies;
       (5) increase and improve collaboration among teachers, 
     principals, school counselors, school social workers, and 
     school psychologists and improve professional development 
     opportunities for teachers and principals in the area of 
     strategies related to improving classroom climate and 
     classroom management; and
       (6) improve working conditions for all school personnel.

     SEC. 4. GRANT PROGRAM TO INCREASE THE NUMBER OF SCHOOL 
                   COUNSELORS, SCHOOL SOCIAL WORKERS, AND SCHOOL 
                   PSYCHOLOGISTS EMPLOYED BY LOW-INCOME LOCAL 
                   EDUCATIONAL AGENCIES.

       (a) Grant Program Authorized.--The Secretary of Education 
     shall award grants on a competitive basis to eligible 
     partnerships that receive recommendations from the peer 
     review panel established under subsection (d), to enable such 
     partnerships to carry out pipeline programs to increase the 
     number of school counselors, school social workers, and 
     school psychologists employed by low-income local educational 
     agencies by carrying out any of the activities described by 
     subsection (g).
       (b) Grant Period.--A grant awarded under this section shall 
     be for a 5-year period and may be renewed for additional 5-
     year periods upon a showing of adequate progress, as the 
     Secretary determines appropriate.

[[Page S2837]]

       (c) Application.--To be eligible to receive a grant under 
     this section, an eligible graduate institution, on behalf of 
     an eligible partnership, shall submit to the Secretary a 
     grant application, including--
       (1) an assessment of the existing ratios of school 
     counselors, school social workers, and school psychologists 
     to students enrolled in schools in each low-income local 
     educational agency that is part of the eligible partnership; 
     and
       (2) a detailed description of--
       (A) a plan to carry out a pipeline program to train, place, 
     and retain school counselors, school social workers, or 
     school psychologists, or any combination thereof, as 
     applicable, in low-income local educational agencies; and
       (B) the proposed allocation and use of grant funds to carry 
     out activities described by subsection (g).
       (d) Peer Review Panel.--
       (1) Establishment of panel.--The Secretary shall establish 
     a peer review panel to evaluate applications for grants under 
     subsection (c) and make recommendations to the Secretary 
     regarding such applications.
       (2) Evaluation of applications.--In making its 
     recommendations, the peer review panel shall take into 
     account the purpose of this Act and the application 
     requirements under subsection (c), including the quality of 
     the proposed pipeline program.
       (3) Recommendation of panel.--The Secretary may award 
     grants under this section only to eligible partnerships whose 
     applications receive a recommendation from the peer review 
     panel.
       (4) Membership of panel.--
       (A) The peer review panel shall include at a minimum the 
     following members:
       (i) One clinical, tenured, or tenure track faculty member 
     at an institution of higher education with a current 
     appointment to teach courses in the subject area of school 
     counselor education.
       (ii) One clinical, tenured, or tenure track faculty member 
     at an institution of higher education with a current 
     appointment to teach courses in the subject area of school 
     social worker education.
       (iii) One clinical, tenured, or tenure track faculty member 
     at an institution of higher education with a current 
     appointment to teach courses in the subject area of school 
     psychology education.
       (iv) One clinical, tenured, or tenure track faculty member 
     at an institution of higher education with a current 
     appointment to teach courses in the subject area of teacher 
     education.
       (v) One individual with expertise in school counseling who 
     works or has worked in public schools.
       (vi) One individual with expertise in school social work 
     who works or has worked in public schools.
       (vii) One individual with expertise in school psychology 
     who works or has worked in public schools.
       (viii) One administrator who works or has worked for a low-
     income local educational agency.
       (ix) One highly qualified teacher who has substantial 
     experience working for a low-income local educational agency.
       (B) At least one of the members described in subparagraph 
     (A) shall be a clinical faculty member.
       (e) Distribution of Grants.--From among the applications 
     receiving a recommendation by the peer review panel, the 
     Secretary shall--
       (1) award the first 5 grants to eligible partnerships from 
     5 different States;
       (2) to the extent practicable, distribute grants equitably 
     among eligible partnerships that propose to train graduate 
     students in each of the three professions of school 
     counseling, school social work, and school psychology; and
       (3) to the extent practicable, equitably distribute the 
     grants among eligible partnerships that include an urban low-
     income local educational agency and partnerships that include 
     a rural low-income local educational agency, with a minimum 
     of 16.3 percent of the funds (representing the percent of 
     low-income children served by rural local educational 
     agencies according to the United States Bureau of Census 
     Small Area Income Poverty Estimates, 2006) awarded to 
     eligible partnerships that include a rural low-income local 
     educational agency.
       (f) Priority.--The Secretary shall give priority to 
     eligible partnerships that--
       (1) propose to use the grant funds to carry out the 
     activities described under paragraphs (1) through (3) of 
     subsection (g) in schools that have higher numbers or 
     percentages of low-income students and students not meeting 
     the proficient level of achievement (as described by section 
     1111 of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 
     (20 U.S.C. 6311)) in comparison to other schools that are 
     served by the low-income local educational agency that is 
     part of the eligible partnership;
       (2) include a low-income local educational agency that has 
     fewer school counselors, school social workers, and school 
     psychologists per student than other eligible partnerships;
       (3) include one or more eligible graduate institutions that 
     offer graduate programs in the greatest number of the 
     following areas:
       (A) school counseling;
       (B) school social work; and
       (C) school psychology; and
       (4) propose to collaborate with other institutions of 
     higher education with similar programs, including sharing 
     facilities, faculty members, and administrative costs.
       (g) Use of Grant Funds.--Grant funds awarded under this 
     section may be used--
       (1) to pay the administrative costs (including supplies, 
     office and classroom space, supervision, mentoring, and 
     transportation stipends as necessary and appropriate) related 
     to--
       (A) having graduate students of school counseling, school 
     social work, and school psychology placed in schools served 
     by participating low-income local educational agencies to 
     complete required field work, credit hours, internships, or 
     related training as applicable for the degree, license, or 
     credential program of each such student; and
       (B) offering required graduate course work for graduate 
     students of school counseling, school social work, and school 
     psychology on the site of a participating low-income local 
     educational agency;
       (2) for not more than the first 3 years after participating 
     graduates receive a masters or other graduate degree or 
     obtain a State license or credential in school counseling, 
     school social work, or school psychology, to hire and pay all 
     or part of the salaries of such participating graduates to 
     work as school counselors, school social workers, and school 
     psychologists in schools served by participating low-income 
     local educational agencies;
       (3) to increase the number of school counselors, school 
     social workers, and school psychologists per student in 
     schools served by participating low-income local educational 
     agencies to work towards the student support personnel target 
     ratios;
       (4) to recruit, hire, and retain culturally or 
     linguistically under-represented graduate students in school 
     counseling, school social work, and school psychology for 
     placement in schools served by participating low-income 
     educational agencies;
       (5) to recruit, hire, and pay faculty as necessary to 
     increase the capacity of a participating eligible graduate 
     institution to train graduate students in the fields of 
     school counseling, school social work, and school psychology;
       (6) to develop coursework that will--
       (A) encourage a commitment by graduate students in school 
     counseling, school social work, or school psychology to work 
     for low-income local educational agencies;
       (B) give participating graduates the knowledge and skill 
     sets necessary to meet the needs of--
       (i) students and families served by low-income local 
     educational agencies; and
       (ii) teachers, administrators, and other staff who work for 
     low-income local educational agencies;
       (C) enable participating graduates to meet the unique needs 
     of students at-risk of negative educational outcomes, 
     including students who--
       (i) are English language learners;
       (ii) have a parent or caregiver who is a migrant worker;
       (iii) have a parent or caregiver who is a member of the 
     Armed Forces or National Guard who has been deployed or 
     returned from deployment;
       (iv) are homeless, including unaccompanied youth;
       (v) have come into contact with the juvenile justice system 
     or adult criminal justice system, including students 
     currently or previously held in juvenile detention facilities 
     or adult jails and students currently or previously held in 
     juvenile correctional facilities or adult prisons;
       (vi) have been identified as eligible for services under 
     the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (20 U.S.C. 
     1400 et seq.) or the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 (29 U.S.C. 
     701 et seq.);
       (vii) have been a victim to or witnessed domestic violence 
     or violence in their community; and
       (viii) are foster care youth, youth aging out of foster 
     care, or former foster youth; and
       (D) utilize best practices determined by the American 
     School Counselor Association, National Association of Social 
     Workers, School Social Work Association of America, and 
     National Association of School Psychologists;
       (7) to provide tuition credits to graduate students 
     participating in the program;
       (8) for student loan forgiveness for participating 
     graduates who are employed as school counselors, school 
     social workers, or school psychologists by participating low-
     income local educational agencies for a minimum of 5 
     consecutive years; and
       (9) for similar activities to fulfill the purpose of this 
     Act, as the Secretary determines appropriate.
       (h) Supplement Not Supplant.--Funds made available under 
     this section shall be used to supplement, not supplant, other 
     Federal, State, or local funds for the activities described 
     in subsection (g).
       (i) Reporting Requirements.--Each eligible partnership that 
     receives a grant under this section shall submit an annual 
     report to the Secretary on the progress of such partnership 
     in carrying out the purpose of this Act. Such report shall 
     include a description of--
       (1) actual service delivery provided through grant funds, 
     including--
       (A) characteristics of the participating eligible graduate 
     institution, including descriptive information on the model 
     used and actual program performance;
       (B) characteristics of graduate students participating in 
     the program, including performance on any tests required by 
     the State

[[Page S2838]]

     educational agency for credentialing or licensing, 
     demographic characteristics, and graduate student retention 
     rates;
       (C) characteristics of students of the participating low-
     income local educational agency, including performance on any 
     tests required by the State educational agency, demographic 
     characteristics, and promotion, persistence, and graduation 
     rates, as appropriate;
       (D) an estimate of the annual implementation costs of the 
     program; and
       (E) the numbers of students, schools, and graduate students 
     participating in the program;
       (2) outcomes that are consistent with the purpose of the 
     grant program, including--
       (A) internship and post-graduation placement;
       (B) graduation and professional career readiness 
     indicators; and
       (C) characteristics of the participating low-income local 
     educational agency, including changes in hiring and retention 
     of highly qualified teachers and school counselors, school 
     psychologists, and school social workers;
       (3) the instruction, materials, and activities being funded 
     under the grant program; and
       (4) the effectiveness of any training and ongoing 
     professional development provided--
       (A) to students and faculty in the appropriate departments 
     or schools of the participating eligible graduate 
     institution;
       (B) to the faculty, administration, and staff of the 
     participating low-income local educational agency; and
       (C) to the broader community of providers of social, 
     emotional, behavioral, and related support to students and to 
     those who train such providers.
       (j) Evaluations.--
       (1) Interim evaluations.--The Secretary may conduct interim 
     evaluations to determine whether each eligible partnership 
     receiving a grant is making adequate progress as the 
     Secretary considers appropriate. The contents of the annual 
     report submitted to the Secretary under subsection (i) may be 
     used by the Secretary to determine whether an eligible 
     partnership receiving a grant is demonstrating adequate 
     progress.
       (2) Final evaluation.--The Secretary shall conduct a final 
     evaluation to--
       (A) determine the effectiveness of the grant program in 
     carrying out the purpose of this Act; and
       (B) compare the relative effectiveness of each of the 
     various activities described by subsection (g) for which 
     grant funds may be used.
       (k) Report.--Not sooner than 5 years nor later than 6 years 
     after the date of enactment of this Act, the Secretary shall 
     submit to Congress a report containing the findings of the 
     evaluation conducted under subsection (j)(2), and such 
     recommendations as the Secretary considers appropriate.
       (l) Authorization of Appropriations.--
       (1) There is authorized to be appropriated to carry out 
     this section $30,000,000 for each of the fiscal years 2010 to 
     2020.
       (2) From the total amount appropriated to carry out this 
     section each fiscal year, the Secretary shall reserve not 
     more than 3 percent of that appropriation for evaluations 
     under subsection (j).

     SEC. 5. STUDENT LOAN FORGIVENESS FOR INDIVIDUALS WHO ARE 
                   EMPLOYED FOR 5 OR MORE CONSECUTIVE SCHOOL YEARS 
                   AS SCHOOL COUNSELORS, SCHOOL SOCIAL WORKERS, 
                   SCHOOL PSYCHOLOGISTS, OR OTHER QUALIFIED 
                   PSYCHOLOGISTS OR PSYCHIATRISTS BY LOW-INCOME 
                   LOCAL EDUCATIONAL AGENCIES.

       (a) Establishment of Program.--The Secretary shall 
     establish a program to provide student loan forgiveness to 
     individuals who are not and have never been participants in 
     the grant program established under section 4 and who have 
     been employed for 5 or more consecutive school years as 
     school counselors, school social workers, school 
     psychologists, other qualified psychologists, or child and 
     adolescent psychiatrists by low-income local educational 
     agencies.
       (b) Authorization of Appropriations.--There are authorized 
     to be appropriated to the Secretary such sums as may be 
     necessary to carry out the program under this section.

     SEC. 6. FUTURE DESIGNATION STUDY.

       (a) In General.--The Secretary shall conduct a study to 
     identify a formula for future designation of regions with a 
     shortage of school counselors, school social workers, and 
     school psychologists to use in implementing grant programs 
     and other programs such as the programs established under 
     this Act or for other purposes related to any such 
     designation, based on the latest available data on--
       (1) the number of residents under the age of 18 in an area 
     served by a low-income local educational agency;
       (2) the percentage of the population of an area served by a 
     low-income local educational agency with incomes below the 
     poverty line;
       (3) the percentage of residents age 18 or older in an area 
     served by a low-income local educational agency with 
     secondary school diplomas;
       (4) the percentage of students identified as eligible for 
     special education services in an area served by a low-income 
     local educational agency;
       (5) the youth crime rate in an area served by a low-income 
     local educational agency;
       (6) the current number of full-time-equivalent and active 
     school counselors, school social workers, and school 
     psychologists employed by a low-income local educational 
     agency;
       (7) the number of students in an area served by a low-
     income local education agency in military families (active 
     duty and reserve duty) with parents who have been alerted for 
     deployment, are currently deployed, or have returned from a 
     deployment in the previous school year; and
       (8) such other criteria as the Secretary considers 
     appropriate.
       (b) Report.--Not later than 2 years after the date of 
     enactment of this Act, the Secretary shall submit to Congress 
     a report containing the findings of the study conducted under 
     subsection (a).

     SEC. 7. DEFINITIONS.

       In this Act:
       (1) School counseling program definitions.--The terms 
     ``child and adolescent psychiatrist'', ``school counselor'', 
     ``school psychologist'', ``school social worker'', and 
     ``other qualified psychologist'' have the meaning given the 
     terms in section 5421 of the Elementary and Secondary 
     Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 7245).
       (2) ESEA general definitions.--The terms ``State 
     educational agency'', ``local educational agency'', and 
     ``highly qualified'' have the meaning given the terms in 
     section 9101 of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 
     1965 (20 U.S.C. 7801).
       (3) Best practices.--The term ``best practices'' means a 
     technique or methodology that, through experience and 
     research related to the practice of school counseling, school 
     psychology, or school social work, has proven to reliably 
     lead to a desired result.
       (4) Eligible graduate institution.--The term ``eligible 
     graduate institution'' means an institution of higher 
     education that offers a program of study that leads to a 
     masters or other graduate degree--
       (A) in school psychology that is accredited or nationally 
     recognized by the National Association of School 
     Psychologists Program Approval Board and that prepares 
     students in such program for the State licensing or 
     certification exam in school psychology;
       (B) in school counseling that prepares students in such 
     program for the State licensing or certification exam in 
     school counseling;
       (C) in school social work that is accredited by the Council 
     on Social Work Education and that prepares students in such 
     program for the State licensing or certification exam in 
     school social work; or
       (D) any combination of (A), (B), and (C).
       (5) Eligible partnership.--The term ``eligible 
     partnership'' means--
       (A) a partnership between 1 or more low-income local 
     educational agencies and 1 or more eligible graduate 
     institutions; or
       (B) in regions in which local educational agencies may not 
     have a sufficient elementary and secondary school student 
     population to support the placement of all participating 
     graduate students, a partnership between a State educational 
     agency, on behalf of 1 or more low-income local educational 
     agencies, and 1 or more eligible graduate institutions.
                                 ______