Supporting Useful Career Counseling in Elementary and Secondary Schools (SUCCESS) Act of 2018

Summary: Supporting Useful Career Counseling in Elementary and Secondary Schools (SUCCESS) Act of 2018 This bill amends the Carl D. Perkins Career and Technical Education Act of 2006 to direct the Department of Education (ED) to award competitive grants to enable institutions of higher education or other entities that provide state-recognized elementary and secondary school counseling credentials to:  consult with state or local boards to assess local and regional employment needs and trends;  develop best practices for training school counselors to provide&nbsp;career counseling based on those trends; and&nbsp; implement curricula, training modules, or materials to train school counselors based on those best practices.   ED shall publish and disseminate the best practices. The Government Accountability Office shall report on school counselor certification requirements and&nbsp;the impact of those requirements on the availability of effective&nbsp;career counseling. 

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Supporting Useful Career Counseling 
in Elementary and Secondary Schools (SUCCESS) Act of 2018''.

SEC. 2. BEST PRACTICES FOR SECONDARY SCHOOL COUNSELORS TRAINING GRANT.

    Section 114 of the Carl D. Perkins Career and Technical Education 
Act of 2006 (20 U.S.C. 2324) is amended--
            (1) by redesignating subsection (e) as subsection (g);
            (2) in subsection (d)--
                    (A) in paragraph (2)(A), by striking ``subsection 
                (e)'' and inserting ``subsection (g)''; and
                    (B) in paragraph (4)(A), by striking ``subsection 
                (e)'' and inserting ``subsection (g)''; and
            (3) by inserting after subsection (d) the following:
    ``(e) Best Practices for Elementary and Secondary School Counselors 
Training Grant.--
            ``(1) In general.--
                    ``(A) Grant activities.--The Secretary shall award 
                grants, on a competitive basis, to institutions of 
                higher education or other entities that provide State-
                recognized elementary and secondary school counseling 
                credentials (referred to in this subsection as 
                `grantees') to enable those grantees to--
                            ``(i) consult with State boards or local 
                        boards (as those terms are defined in section 3 
                        of the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act 
                        (29 U.S.C. 3102)) to assess local and regional 
                        employment needs and trends;
                            ``(ii) not later than 6 months after 
                        receipt of the award, develop best practices 
                        for training elementary and secondary school 
                        counselors on career counseling based on those 
                        trends;
                            ``(iii) develop curricula, training 
                        modules, or materials to train elementary and 
                        secondary school counselors based on those best 
                        practices; and
                            ``(iv) not later than 12 months after 
                        receipt of the award, start carrying out the 
                        best practices described in clause (ii) using 
                        the curricula, modules, or materials described 
                        in clause (iii) at one or more counselor 
                        training sites.
                    ``(B) Best practices.--The best practices developed 
                through grants under this subsection shall aim to 
                improve--
                            ``(i) elementary and secondary school 
                        counselor awareness of both postsecondary 
                        education and postsecondary career options, 
                        including 2-year programs at institutions of 
                        higher education, short-term credentials, 
                        apprenticeship programs, and other skilled job 
                        training programs that lead to in-demand 
                        occupations;
                            ``(ii) the ability of elementary and 
                        secondary school counselors to communicate to 
                        students the career opportunities and 
                        employment trends identified under subparagraph 
                        (A)(i); and
                            ``(iii) the ability of elementary and 
                        secondary school counselors to discuss a 
                        comprehensive range of options for financing 
                        postsecondary education that will minimize 
                        student debt burden.
            ``(2) Evaluation of best practices.--
                    ``(A) Annual analysis.--Beginning not later than 24 
                months after receiving a grant award under this 
                subsection, each grantee shall--
                            ``(i) annually analyze the results of the 
                        activities carried out under the grant, 
                        including--
                                    ``(I) changes in the skills and 
                                knowledge of school counselors 
                                resulting from the grant program;
                                    ``(II) the number of students who 
                                receive career counseling from 
                                elementary and secondary school 
                                counselors who received training that 
                                was developed with assistance from the 
                                grant program;
                                    ``(III) changes in the number of 
                                students who enroll in postsecondary 
                                programs discussed by those counselors; 
                                and
                                    ``(IV) any other results, as 
                                determined by the Secretary; and
                            ``(ii) determine, using the results of that 
                        analysis, the extent to which the best 
                        practices developed with a grant under this 
                        subsection are evidence-based.
                    ``(B) Assessment.--Beginning not later than 4 years 
                after the award of a grant under this subsection, and 
                continuing annually for 5 additional years, each 
                grantee shall submit an assessment of the grant program 
                to the Secretary, which shall include--
                            ``(i) a description of the best practices 
                        that are determined to be evidenced-based in 
                        accordance with subparagraph (A)(ii); and
                            ``(ii) a description of the best practices 
                        that are determined to require further review 
                        in order to determine whether those practices 
                        are evidence-based.
            ``(3) Dissemination of best practices.--Beginning not later 
        than 4 years after the award of a grant under this subsection, 
        and continuing annually for 5 additional years, the Secretary 
        shall--
                    ``(A) post on the website of the Department and the 
                website of the Perkins Collaborative Resource Network 
                the best practices that are identified in an assessment 
                under subparagraph (B)(i); and
                    ``(B) disseminate those best practices to States, 
                State boards and local boards, institutions of higher 
                education, local educational agencies, and other 
                entities, as determined by the Secretary.
    ``(f) National Analysis of State Policy for Counselor Training 
Requirements.--The Comptroller General shall prepare and submit a 
report on State elementary and secondary school counselor certification 
and recertification requirements. The report shall discuss the impact 
of those requirements on the availability of career counseling that 
effectively informs elementary and secondary school students about 
postsecondary options that lead to in-demand occupations and that 
minimize student debt.''.