I 

114TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 2022 

To amend the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 to create 

a demonstration project to fund additional secondary school counselors 

in troubled title I schools to reduce the dropout rate. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

APRIL 23, 2015 

Ms. LINDA T. SA ́NCHEZ of California (for herself, Mr. RANGEL, Mr. RYAN

of Ohio, Mr. DAVID SCOTT of Georgia, Mr. HASTINGS, Mr. COHEN, Mr. 

GARAMENDI, Mr. GRIJALVA, Mr. HONDA, Ms. BROWN of Florida, Mr. 

CARTWRIGHT, Ms. CLARKE of New York, Ms. JUDY CHU of California, 

Mr. LOEBSACK, Mr. JOHNSON of Georgia, Mrs. NAPOLITANO, Mr. CUMMINGS, Ms. SCHAKOWSKY, Mr. PIERLUISI, Mrs. LAWRENCE, Ms. JACKSON LEE, Mr. MCNERNEY, Mr. LANGEVIN, Mr. POLIS, and Ms. BASS) 

introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on 

Education and the Workforce 

A BILL 

To amend the Elementary and Secondary Education Act 

of 1965 to create a demonstration project to fund additional secondary school counselors in troubled title I 

schools to reduce the dropout rate. 

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

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Put School Counselors 

5 Where They’re Needed Act’’. 

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1 SEC. 2. DEMONSTRATION PROJECT FOR ADDITIONAL SEC2 ONDARY SCHOOL COUNSELORS. 

3 Part H of title I of the Elementary and Secondary 

4 Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 6551 et seq.) is amend5 ed by adding at the end the following: 

6 ‘‘Subpart 3—Demonstration Project for Additional 

7 Secondary School Counselors 

8 ‘‘SEC. 1841. FINDINGS. 

9 ‘‘The Congress finds the following: 

10 ‘‘(1) Nationally, only 70 percent of students 

11 graduate from high school with a regular high school 

12 diploma. 

13 ‘‘(2) Every school day, 7,000 American high 

14 school students become dropouts. 

15 ‘‘(3) High school students living in low-income 

16 families drop out of school at three times the rate 

17 of their peers from high-income families. 

18 ‘‘(4) Only about 55 percent of African Amer19 ican students and 52 percent of Hispanic students 

20 graduate on time from high school with a regular di21 ploma, compared to 78 percent of white students. 

22 ‘‘(5) The dropout rate for students with disabil23 ities is approximately twice that of general education 

24 students. 

25 ‘‘(6) High school is the final transition into 

26 adulthood and the world of work as students begin 

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1 defining their independence and forging their own 

2 pathways. As our next generation of leaders, our 

3 youth, are deciding their futures, they are faced with 

4 many challenges, including peer pressure and bul5 lying, high-stakes testing, the challenges of college 

6 admissions, the scholarship and financial aid appli7 cation process, and entrance into an ever more com8 petitive job market. Students need guidance and 

9 skills to help them navigate these complex decisions, 

10 which have serious and life changing consequences. 

11 ‘‘(7) School counseling programs are essential 

12 for students to achieve optimal personal growth, ac13 quire positive social skills and values, set appropriate 

14 career goals, and realize full academic potential to 

15 become productive, contributing members of the 

16 world community. 

17 ‘‘(8) Professional secondary school counselors 

18 are highly qualified educators with a mental health 

19 perspective who understand and respond to the chal20 lenges presented by today’s diverse student popu21 lation. 

22 ‘‘(9) The professional secondary school coun23 selor holds a master’s degree or higher in school 

24 counseling (or the substantial equivalent), and is 

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1 certified or licensed by the State in which the coun2 selor works. 

3 ‘‘(10) Professional secondary school counselors 

4 are integral to the total educational program. They 

5 provide proactive leadership that engages all stake6 holders in the delivery of programs and services to 

7 help the student achieve success in school. Profes8 sional secondary school counselors align and work 

9 with the school’s mission to support the academic 

10 achievement of all students as they prepare for the 

11 ever-changing world of the 21st century. 

12 ‘‘(11) Professional secondary school counselors’ 

13 opportunities to assist students are often hindered 

14 by extraordinarily high student-to-counselor ratios. 

15 Currently, the average student-to-counselor ratio in 

16 America’s public schools is 471 to 1. The American 

17 School Counselor Association, the American Coun18 seling Association, and the National Association for 

19 College Admissions Counseling all recommend a 

20 ratio of one school counselor to 250 students and a 

21 lower ratio for counselors working primarily with 

22 students at risk. 

23 ‘‘SEC. 1842. DEMONSTRATION PROJECT. 

24 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—From amounts made available to 

25 carry out this subpart, the Secretary shall carry out a 

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1 demonstration project under which the Secretary makes 

2 grants on a competitive basis to secondary schools that 

3 receive funds under this title and have a four-year ad4 justed cohort graduation rate of 60 percent or lower. 

5 ‘‘(b) GRANTS.—A grant under this subpart shall be 

6 for a period of 4 years and may be used— 

7 ‘‘(1) to provide additional school counselors 

8 during that period; and 

9 ‘‘(2) to provide additional resources (such as 

10 professional development expenses or travel expenses 

11 for home visits, and any services and materials re12 ferred to in subsection (d)) and to pay overhead ex13 penses. 

14 ‘‘(c) SENSE OF CONGRESS.—It is the sense of Con15 gress that a participating school should aim to provide, 

16 under subsection (b)(1), one additional counselor per 250 

17 students at risk. 

18 ‘‘(d) SCOPE OF COUNSELING.—The additional school 

19 counselors shall identify students who are at risk of not 

20 graduating in 4 years and shall provide counseling pri21 marily to those students. The counselors may identify such 

22 students at any time, but shall strive to identify them be23 fore they enter grade 9. Services shall be provided as long 

24 as necessary, including to the extent allowable and appromstockstill on DSK4VPTVN1PROD with BILLS

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1 priate, after the student’s cohort graduation date. The 

2 counseling provided— 

3 ‘‘(1) may include a full panoply of services, in4 cluding an individual graduation plan and other re5 sources, such as appropriate course placement and 

6 supplemental services (to include not only supple7 mental educational services tutoring if available at 

8 the school site, but also other tutoring as necessary, 

9 along with supplemental books and materials); and 

10 ‘‘(2) shall include meetings with each student so 

11 identified and with the teachers, tutors, supple12 mental educational services providers, and parents of 

13 the student, and may also include meetings with 

14 other relevant individuals, such as a probation offi15 cer, mentor, coach, or employer of the student. 

16 ‘‘(e) SUPPLEMENT NOT SUPPLANT.—Funds under 

17 this subpart shall be used to supplement, not supplant, 

18 funds from non-Federal sources. The additional school 

19 counselors provided through funds under this subpart 

20 must be in addition to any employees who work in the 

21 secondary school guidance or counseling office, such as 

22 counselors, college admissions specialists, career develop23 ment specialists, guidance information specialists, or any 

24 other professional or paraprofessional. 

25 ‘‘(f) ADDITIONAL GRANT PERIODS.— 

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1 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—A school that receives a 

2 grant under this subpart and demonstrates adequate 

3 improvement over the period of the grant is eligible 

4 to receive a second grant for a second period. If the 

5 school again demonstrates adequate improvement 

6 over that second period, the school is eligible to re7 ceive a third grant for a third period. The third 

8 grant shall provide amounts that decrease for each 

9 year of the third period and require the school to 

10 provide corresponding increases in non-Federal 

11 funds. 

12 ‘‘(2) ADEQUATE IMPROVEMENT.—For purposes 

13 of paragraph (1), a school demonstrates adequate 

14 improvement over a grant period if the four-year ad15 justed cohort graduation rate increases (or is pro16 jected to increase) by 10 percent or more over that 

17 period. 

18 ‘‘(g) SELECTION.—The Secretary shall carry out the 

19 demonstration project in at least 10 schools. The first five 

20 schools selected to participate shall each be from a dif21 ferent State. 

22 ‘‘SEC. 1843. DEFINITIONS. 

23 ‘‘For purposes of this subpart: 

24 ‘‘(1) FOUR-YEAR ADJUSTED COHORT GRADUA25 TION RATE.—The term ‘four-year adjusted cohort 

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1 graduation rate’ means the number of students who 

2 earned a regular high school diploma at the conclu3 sion of their fourth year, before their fourth year, or 

4 during a summer session immediately following their 

5 fourth year, divided by the number of students who 

6 formed the adjusted cohort for that graduating 

7 class. 

8 ‘‘(2) ADJUSTED COHORT.— 

9 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Subject to the other 

10 subparagraphs of this paragraph, the term ‘ad11 justed cohort’ means the students who entered 

12 grade 9 together, and any students that trans13 ferred into the cohort in grades 9 through 12 

14 minus any students removed from the cohort. 

15 ‘‘(B) TRANSFERS IN.—The term ‘transfers 

16 in’ means the students who enroll or re-enroll 

17 after the beginning of the entering cohort’s first 

18 year in high school, up to and including in 

19 grade 12. 

20 ‘‘(C) COHORT REMOVAL.—To remove stu21 dents from the cohort, the school or local edu22 cational agency must confirm that the stu23 dent— 

24 ‘‘(i) has transferred out; 

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1 ‘‘(ii) is in the custody of the juvenile 

2 justice system; or 

3 ‘‘(iii) is deceased. 

4 ‘‘(D) TRANSFERS OUT.—The term ‘trans5 fers out’ means the students the school or local 

6 educational agency has confirmed have trans7 ferred to another school, local educational agen8 cy, or other educational program for which they 

9 are expected to receive a regular high school di10 ploma. Confirmation of a student’s transfer to 

11 another school, local educational agency, or pro12 gram requires formal documentation that the 

13 student enrolled in the receiving school. Stu14 dents enrolled in a GED or other alternative 

15 educational program that does not issue or pro16 vide credits toward the issuance of a regular 

17 high school diploma are not considered trans18 fers out. Students who were enrolled, but for 

19 whom there is no confirmation of transfer or 

20 completion, may not be labeled transfers or er21 rors, but must remain in the cohort as non22 graduates for reporting and accountability pur23 poses. 

24 ‘‘(E) TREATMENT OF OTHER LEAVERS

25 AND WITHDRAWALS.—Students who were remstockstill on DSK4VPTVN1PROD with BILLS

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1 tained in grade, enrolled in a GED program, or 

2 left school for any other reason may not be 

3 counted as transfers out for the purpose of cal4 culating graduation rates and must remain in 

5 the adjusted cohort. 

6 ‘‘(F) SPECIAL RULE.—For those high 

7 schools that start after ninth grade, the cohort 

8 shall be calculated based on the earliest high 

9 school grade. 

10 ‘‘(3) REGULAR HIGH SCHOOL DIPLOMA.— 

11 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The term ‘regular 

12 high school diploma’ means the standard high 

13 school diploma awarded to the preponderance of 

14 students in the State that is fully aligned with 

15 State standards, or a higher diploma, and does 

16 not include GEDs, certificates of attendance, or 

17 any lesser diploma award. 

18 ‘‘(B) SPECIAL RULE.—For those students 

19 who have significant cognitive disabilities and 

20 are assessed using an alternate assessment 

21 aligned to alternate achievement standards, re22 ceipt of a regular high school diploma or State23 defined alternate diploma aligned with comple24 tion of their entitlement under the Individuals 

25 with Disabilities Education Act shall be counted 

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1 as graduates with a regular high school diploma 

2 for the purposes of this Act. No more than one 

3 percent of students can be counted as graduates 

4 with a regular high school diploma under this 

5 subparagraph. 

6 ‘‘SEC. 1844. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS. 

7 ‘‘There are authorized to be appropriated to carry out 

8 this subpart $5,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2016 

9 through 2019.’’. 

10 SEC. 3. TABLE OF CONTENTS. 

11 The table of contents in section 2 of the Elementary 

12 and Secondary Education Act of 1965 is amended by in13 serting after the item relating to section 1830 the fol14 lowing: 

‘‘Subpart 3—Demonstration Project for Additional Secondary School 

Counselors 

‘‘Sec. 1841. Findings. 

‘‘Sec. 1842. Demonstration project. 

‘‘Sec. 1843. Definitions. 

‘‘Sec. 1844. Authorization of appropriations.’’. 

Æ 

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