II 

117TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. 2198 

To amend the Carl D. Perkins Career and Technical Education Act of 

2006 to give the Department of Education the authority to award competitive grants to eligible entities to establish, expand, or support schoolbased mentoring programs to assist at-risk students in middle school 

and high school in developing cognitive and social-emotional skills to 

prepare them for success in high school, postsecondary education, and 

the workforce. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

JUNE 23, 2021 

Mr. DURBIN (for himself and Ms. DUCKWORTH) introduced the following bill; 

which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions 

A BILL 

To amend the Carl D. Perkins Career and Technical Education Act of 2006 to give the Department of Education 

the authority to award competitive grants to eligible entities to establish, expand, or support school-based mentoring programs to assist at-risk students in middle 

school and high school in developing cognitive and socialemotional skills to prepare them for success in high 

school, postsecondary education, and the workforce. 

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 


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1 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

2 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Mentoring to Succeed 

3 Act of 2021’’. 

4 SEC. 2. PURPOSE. 

5 The purpose of this Act is to make assistance avail6 able for school-based mentoring programs for at-risk stu7 dents in order to— 

8 (1) establish, expand, or support school-based 

9 mentoring programs; 

10 (2) assist at-risk students in middle school and 

11 high school in developing cognitive and social-emo12 tional skills; and 

13 (3) prepare such at-risk students for success in 

14 high school, postsecondary education, and the work15 force. 

16 SEC. 3. SCHOOL-BASED MENTORING PROGRAM. 

17 Part C of title I of the Carl D. Perkins Career and 

18 Technical Education Act of 2006 (20 U.S.C. 2351 et seq.) 

19 is amended by adding at the end the following: 

20 ‘‘SEC. 136. DISTRIBUTION OF FUNDS FOR SCHOOL-BASED 

21 MENTORING PROGRAMS. 

22 ‘‘(a) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 

23 ‘‘(1) AT-RISK STUDENT.—The term ‘at-risk stu24 dent’ means a student who— 

25 ‘‘(A) is failing academically or at risk of 

26 dropping out of school; 


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1 ‘‘(B) is pregnant or a parent; 

2 ‘‘(C) is a gang member; 

3 ‘‘(D) is a child or youth in foster care or 

4 a youth who has been emancipated from foster 

5 care, but is still enrolled in high school; 

6 ‘‘(E) is or has recently been a homeless 

7 child or youth; 

8 ‘‘(F) is chronically absent; 

9 ‘‘(G) has changed schools 3 or more times 

10 in the past 6 months; 

11 ‘‘(H) has come in contact with the juvenile 

12 justice system in the past; 

13 ‘‘(I) has a history of multiple suspensions 

14 or disciplinary actions; 

15 ‘‘(J) is an English learner; 

16 ‘‘(K) has one or both parents incarcerated; 

17 ‘‘(L) has experienced one or more adverse 

18 childhood experiences, traumatic events, or 

19 toxic stressors, as assessed through an evi20 dence-based screening; 

21 ‘‘(M) lives in a high-poverty area with a 

22 high rate of community violence; 

23 ‘‘(N) has a disability; or 


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1 ‘‘(O) shows signs of alcohol or drug misuse 

2 or abuse or has a parent or guardian who is 

3 struggling with substance abuse. 

4 ‘‘(2) DISABILITY.—The term ‘disability’ has the 

5 meaning given the term for purposes of section 

6 602(3) of the Individuals with Disabilities Education 

7 Act (20 U.S.C. 1401(3)). 

8 ‘‘(3) ELIGIBLE ENTITY.—The term ‘eligible en9 tity’— 

10 ‘‘(A) means a high-need local educational 

11 agency, high-need school, or local government 

12 entity; and 

13 ‘‘(B) may include a partnership between 

14 an entity described in subparagraph (A) and a 

15 nonprofit, community-based, or faith-based or16 ganization, or institution of higher education. 

17 ‘‘(4) ENGLISH LEARNER.—The term ‘English 

18 learner’ has the meaning given the term in section 

19 8101 of the Elementary and Secondary Education 

20 Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 7801). 

21 ‘‘(5) FOSTER CARE.—The term ‘foster care’ has 

22 the meaning given the term in section 1355.20 of 

23 title 45, Code of Federal Regulations. 

24 ‘‘(6) HIGH-NEED LOCAL EDUCATIONAL AGEN25 CY.—The term ‘high-need local educational agency’ 


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1 means a local educational agency that serves at least 

2 one high-need school. 

3 ‘‘(7) HIGH-NEED SCHOOL.—The term ‘high4 need school’ has the meaning given the term in sec5 tion 2211(b) of the Elementary and Secondary Edu6 cation Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 6631(b)). 

7 ‘‘(8) HOMELESS CHILDREN AND YOUTHS.—The 

8 term ‘homeless children and youths’ has the mean9 ing given the term in section 725 of the McKinney10 Vento Homeless Assistance Act (42 U.S.C. 11434a). 

11 ‘‘(9) SCHOOL-BASED MENTORING.—The term 

12 ‘school-based mentoring’ means a structured, man13 aged, evidenced-based program conducted in part14 nership with teachers, administrators, school psy15 chologists, school social workers or counselors, and 

16 other school staff, in which at-risk students are ap17 propriately matched with screened and trained pro18 fessional or volunteer mentors who provide guidance, 

19 support, and encouragement, involving meetings, 

20 group-based sessions, and educational and work21 force-related activities on a regular basis to prepare 

22 at-risk students for success in high school, postsec23 ondary education, and the workforce. 

24 ‘‘(b) SCHOOL-BASED MENTORING COMPETITIVE

25 GRANT PROGRAM.— 


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1 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall award 

2 grants on a competitive basis to eligible entities to 

3 establish, expand, or support school-based mentoring 

4 programs that— 

5 ‘‘(A) are designed to assist at-risk students 

6 in high-need schools in developing cognitive 

7 skills and promoting social-emotional learning 

8 to prepare them for success in high school, 

9 postsecondary education, and the workforce by 

10 linking them with mentors who— 

11 ‘‘(i) have received mentor training, in12 cluding on trauma-informed practices, 

13 youth engagement, cultural competency, 

14 and social-emotional learning; and 

15 ‘‘(ii) have been screened using appro16 priate reference checks and criminal back17 ground checks; 

18 ‘‘(B) provide coaching and technical assist19 ance to mentors in each such mentoring pro20 gram; 

21 ‘‘(C) seek to— 

22 ‘‘(i) improve the academic achieve23 ment of at-risk students; 


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1 ‘‘(ii) reduce dropout rates and absen2 teeism and improve school engagement of 

3 at-risk students and their families; 

4 ‘‘(iii) reduce juvenile justice involve5 ment of at-risk students; 

6 ‘‘(iv) foster positive relationships be7 tween at-risk students and their peers, 

8 teachers, other adults, and family mem9 bers; 

10 ‘‘(v) develop the workforce readiness 

11 skills of at-risk students by exploring paths 

12 to employment, including encouraging stu13 dents with disabilities to explore transition 

14 services; and 

15 ‘‘(vi) increase the participation of at16 risk students in community service activi17 ties; and 

18 ‘‘(D) encourage at-risk students to set 

19 goals and plan for their futures, including mak20 ing plans and identifying goals for postsec21 ondary education and the workforce. 

22 ‘‘(2) DURATION.—The Secretary shall award 

23 grants under this section for a period not to exceed 

24 5 years. 


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1 ‘‘(3) APPLICATION.—To receive a grant under 

2 this section, an eligible entity shall submit to the 

3 Secretary an application that includes— 

4 ‘‘(A) a needs assessment that includes 

5 baseline data on the measures described in 

6 paragraph (6)(A)(ii); and 

7 ‘‘(B) a plan to meet the requirements of 

8 paragraph (1). 

9 ‘‘(4) PRIORITY.—In selecting grant recipients, 

10 the Secretary shall give priority to applicants that— 

11 ‘‘(A) serve children and youth with the 

12 greatest need living in high-poverty, high-crime 

13 areas, or rural areas, or who attend schools 

14 with high rates of community violence; 

15 ‘‘(B) provide at-risk students with opportu16 nities for postsecondary education preparation 

17 and career development, including— 

18 ‘‘(i) job training, professional develop19 ment, work shadowing, internships, net20 working, resume writing and review, inter21 view preparation, transition services for 

22 students with disabilities, application as23 sistance and visits to institutions of higher 

24 education, and leadership development 

25 through community service; and 


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1 ‘‘(ii) partnerships with the private sec2 tor and local businesses to provide intern3 ship and career exploration activities and 

4 resources; and 

5 ‘‘(C) seek to provide match lengths be6 tween at-risk students and mentors for at least 

7 1 academic year. 

8 ‘‘(5) USE OF FUNDS.—An eligible entity that 

9 receives a grant under this section may use such 

10 funds to— 

11 ‘‘(A) develop and carry out regular train12 ing for mentors, including on— 

13 ‘‘(i) the impact of adverse childhood 

14 experiences; 

15 ‘‘(ii) trauma-informed practices and 

16 interventions; 

17 ‘‘(iii) supporting homeless children 

18 and youths; 

19 ‘‘(iv) supporting children and youth in 

20 foster care or youth who have been emanci21 pated from foster care, but are still en22 rolled in high school; 

23 ‘‘(v) cultural competency; 


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1 ‘‘(vi) meeting all appropriate privacy 

2 and confidentiality requirements for stu3 dents, including students in foster care; 

4 ‘‘(vii) working in coordination with a 

5 public school system; 

6 ‘‘(viii) positive youth development and 

7 engagement practices; and 

8 ‘‘(ix) disability inclusion practices to 

9 ensure access and participation by students 

10 with disabilities; 

11 ‘‘(B) recruit, screen, match, and train 

12 mentors; 

13 ‘‘(C) hire staff to perform or support the 

14 objectives of the school-based mentoring pro15 gram; 

16 ‘‘(D) provide inclusive and accessible youth 

17 engagement activities, such as— 

18 ‘‘(i) enrichment field trips to cultural 

19 destinations; 

20 ‘‘(ii) career awareness activities, in21 cluding job site visits, informational inter22 views, resume writing, interview prepara23 tion, and networking; and 

24 ‘‘(iii) academic or postsecondary edu25 cation preparation activities, including 


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1 trade or vocational school visits, visits to 

2 institutions of higher education, and assist3 ance in applying to institutions of higher 

4 education; and 

5 ‘‘(E) conduct program evaluation, includ6 ing by acquiring and analyzing the data de7 scribed under paragraph (6). 

8 ‘‘(6) REPORTING REQUIREMENTS.— 

9 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 6 

10 months after the end of each academic year 

11 during the grant period, an eligible entity re12 ceiving a grant under this section shall submit 

13 to the Secretary a report that includes— 

14 ‘‘(i) the number of students who par15 ticipated in the school-based mentoring 

16 program that was funded in whole or in 

17 part with the grant funds; 

18 ‘‘(ii) data on the academic achieve19 ment, dropout rates, truancy, absenteeism, 

20 outcomes of arrests for violent crime, sum21 mer employment, and postsecondary edu22 cation enrollment of students in the pro23 gram; 

24 ‘‘(iii) the number of group sessions 

25 and number of one-to-one contacts between 


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1 students in the program and their men2 tors; 

3 ‘‘(iv) the average attendance of stu4 dents enrolled in the program; 

5 ‘‘(v) the number of students with dis6 abilities connected to transition services; 

7 ‘‘(vi) data on social-emotional develop8 ment of students as assessed with a vali9 dated social-emotional assessment tool; and 

10 ‘‘(vii) any other information that the 

11 Secretary may require to evaluate the suc12 cess of the school-based mentoring pro13 gram. 

14 ‘‘(B) STUDENT PRIVACY.—An eligible enti15 ty shall ensure that the report submitted under 

16 subparagraph (A) is prepared in a manner that 

17 protects the privacy rights of each student in 

18 accordance with section 444 of the General 

19 Education Provisions Act (commonly referred 

20 to as the ‘Family Educational Rights and Pri21 vacy Act of 1974’) (20 U.S.C. 1232g). 

22 ‘‘(7) MENTORING RESOURCES AND COMMUNITY

23 SERVICE COORDINATION.— 


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1 ‘‘(A) TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE.—The Sec2 retary shall work with the Office of Juvenile 

3 Justice and Delinquency Prevention to— 

4 ‘‘(i) refer grantees under this section 

5 to the National Mentoring Resource Center 

6 to obtain resources on best practices and 

7 research related to mentoring and to re8 quest no-cost training and technical assist9 ance; and 

10 ‘‘(ii) provide grantees under this sec11 tion with information regarding transi12 tional services for at-risk students return13 ing from correctional facilities and transi14 tion services for students with disabilities. 

15 ‘‘(B) COORDINATION.—The Secretary 

16 shall, to the extent possible, coordinate with the 

17 Corporation for National and Community Serv18 ice, including through entering into an inter19 agency agreement or a memorandum of under20 standing, to support mentoring and community 

21 service-related activities for at-risk students. 

22 ‘‘(c) AUTHORIZATION OF FUNDS.—There are author23 ized to be appropriated to carry out this section such sums 

24 as may be necessary for each of fiscal years 2022 through 

25 2027.’’. 


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1 SEC. 4. INSTITUTE OF EDUCATION SCIENCES STUDY ON 

2 SCHOOL-BASED MENTORING PROGRAMS. 

3 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary of Education, act4 ing through the Director of the Institute of Education 

5 Sciences, shall conduct a study to— 

6 (1) identify successful school-based mentoring 

7 programs and effective strategies for administering 

8 and monitoring such programs; 

9 (2) evaluate the role of mentors in promoting 

10 cognitive development and social-emotional learning 

11 to enhance academic achievement and to improve 

12 workforce readiness; and 

13 (3) evaluate the effectiveness of the grant pro14 gram under section 136 of the Carl D. Perkins Ca15 reer and Technical Education Act of 2006, as added 

16 by section 3, on student academic outcomes and 

17 youth career development. 

18 (b) TIMING.—Not later than 3 years after the date 

19 of enactment of this Act, the Secretary of Education, act20 ing through the Director of the Institute of Education 

21 Sciences, shall submit the results of the study to the ap22 propriate congressional committees. 

Æ 


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