II 

110TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION S. 3347 

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 SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

JULY 28, 2008 

Mr. CASEY 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 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 (a) IN GENERAL.—Part H of title I of the Elemen4 tary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 

5 6551 et seq.) is amended by adding at the end the fol6 lowing: 

7 ‘‘Subpart 3—Demonstration Project for Additional 

8 Secondary School Counselors 

9 ‘‘SEC. 1841. FINDINGS. 

10 ‘‘Congress finds the following: 

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

12 graduate from high school with a regular high school 

13 diploma. 

14 ‘‘(2) Every school day, 7,000 high school stu15 dents in the United States become dropouts. 

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

17 families drop out of school at 6 times the rate of 

18 their peers from high-income families. 

19 ‘‘(4) Only about 55 percent of African-Amer20 ican students and 52 percent of Hispanic students 

21 graduate on time from high school with a regular di22 ploma, compared to 78 percent of white students. 

23 ‘‘(5) The dropout rate for students with disabil24 ities is approximately twice that of general education 

25 students. 


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

2 adulthood and the world of work as students begin 

3 separating from parents and exploring and defining 

4 their independence. Students who are deciding who 

5 they are and what they will do when they graduate 

6 face many pressures, including high-stakes testing, 

7 the challenges of college admissions, the scholarship 

8 and financial aid application process, and entrance 

9 into a competitive job market. They need guidance 

10 in these complex decisions, which have serious and 

11 life changing consequences. 

12 ‘‘(7) School counseling programs are essential 

13 for students to achieve optimal personal growth, ac14 quire positive social skills and values, set appropriate 

15 career goals, and realize full academic potential to 

16 become productive, contributing members of the 

17 world community. 

18 ‘‘(8) Professional secondary school counselors 

19 are highly qualified educators with a mental health 

20 perspective who understand and respond to the chal21 lenges presented by today’s diverse student popu22 lation. 

23 ‘‘(9) The professional secondary school coun24 selor holds a master’s degree or higher in school 

25 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 479 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 1 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 4-year adjusted 

4 cohort graduation rate of 60 percent or lower. 

5 ‘‘(b) GRANTS.—A grant under this section 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 secondary school that receives a grant under 

16 this section should aim to provide, under subsection 

17 (b)(1), 1 additional counselor per 250 students at risk. 

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

19 counselors provided with funds under this subpart shall 

20 identify students who are at risk of not graduating in 4 

21 years and shall provide counseling primarily to those stu22 dents. The counselors may identify such students at any 

23 time, but shall strive to identify the students before the 

24 students enter grade 9. Services shall be provided as long 

25 as necessary, including to the extent allowable and approVerDate Aug 31 2005 01:39 Jul 29, 2008 Jkt 069200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S3347.IS S3347

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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 

11 identified under this subsection and with the teach12 ers, tutors, supplemental educational services pro13 viders, and parents of the student, and may also in14 clude meetings with other relevant individuals, such 

15 as a probation officer, mentor, coach, or employer of 

16 the student. 

17 ‘‘(e) SUPPLEMENT NOT SUPPLANT.—Funds provided 

18 under this subpart shall be used to supplement, and not 

19 supplant, funds from non-Federal sources available to 

20 carry out activities described in this section. The addi21 tional school counselors provided through funds under this 

22 subpart shall be in addition to any employees who work 

23 in the secondary school guidance or counseling office, such 

24 as counselors, college admissions specialists, career develVerDate Aug 31 2005 01:39 Jul 29, 2008 Jkt 069200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S3347.IS S3347

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1 opment specialists, guidance information specialists, or 

2 any other professional or paraprofessional. 

3 ‘‘(f) ADDITIONAL GRANT PERIODS.— 

4 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—A secondary school that re5 ceives a grant under this section and demonstrates 

6 adequate improvement over the period of the grant 

7 is eligible to receive a second grant for a second pe8 riod. If the secondary school again demonstrates 

9 adequate improvement over that second period, the 

10 school is eligible to receive a third grant for a third 

11 period. The third grant shall provide amounts that 

12 decrease for each year of the third period and re13 quire the school to provide corresponding increases 

14 in non-Federal funds. 

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

16 of paragraph (1), a school demonstrates adequate 

17 improvement over a grant period if the 4-year ad18 justed cohort graduation rate increases (or is pro19 jected to increase) by 10 percent or more over that 

20 period. 

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

22 demonstration project under this section in not less than 

23 10 schools. The first 5 schools selected to participate shall 

24 each be from a different State. 


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1 ‘‘SEC. 1843. DEFINITIONS. 

2 ‘‘In this subpart: 

3 ‘‘(1) 4-YEAR ADJUSTED COHORT GRADUATION

4 RATE.—The term ‘4-year adjusted cohort graduation 

5 rate’ means the number of students who earned a 

6 regular high school diploma at the conclusion of 

7 their fourth year, before their fourth year, or during 

8 a summer session immediately following their fourth 

9 year, divided by the number of students who formed 

10 the adjusted cohort for that graduating class. 

11 ‘‘(2) ADJUSTED COHORT.— 

12 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Subject to subpara13 graphs (B), (C), (D), (E), and (F), the term 

14 ‘adjusted cohort’ means the students who en15 tered grade 9 together, and any students that 

16 transferred into the cohort in grade 9 through 

17 12 minus any students removed from the cohort 

18 as described in subparagraph (C). 

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

20 in’ means enrolls or re-enrolls after the begin21 ning of the entering cohort’s first year in high 

22 school, up to and including in grade 12. 

23 ‘‘(C) COHORT REMOVAL.—To remove stu24 dents from a cohort, the school or local edu25 cational agency shall confirm that the stu26 dent— 


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1 ‘‘(i) has transferred out; 

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

3 justice system; or 

4 ‘‘(iii) is deceased. 

5 ‘‘(D) TRANSFERS OUT.— 

6 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—Subject to clauses 

7 (ii), (iii), and (iv), the term ‘transfers out’ 

8 means transfers to another school, local 

9 educational agency, or other educational 

10 program from which the student is ex11 pected to receive a regular high school di12 ploma. 

13 ‘‘(ii) CONFIRMATION.—Confirmation 

14 of a student’s transfer to another school, 

15 local educational agency, or program re16 quires formal documentation that the stu17 dent enrolled in the receiving school. 

18 ‘‘(iii) NOT CONSIDERED TRANS19 FERS.—A student who enrolls in a GED or 

20 other alternative educational program that 

21 does not issue or provide credits toward 

22 the issuance of a regular high school di23 ploma shall not be considered to have 

24 transferred out for purposes of this sub25 paragraph. 


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1 ‘‘(iv) REMAIN IN COHORT.—A student 

2 who was enrolled in a school, but for whom 

3 there is no confirmation of transfer or 

4 completion, may not be labeled a transfer 

5 or error, but shall remain in the cohort as 

6 a non-graduate for reporting and account7 ability purposes. 

8 ‘‘(E) TREATMENT OF OTHER LEAVERS

9 AND WITHDRAWALS.—A student who was re10 tained in a grade, enrolled in a GED program, 

11 or left school for any other reason may not be 

12 counted as a transfer out for the purpose of cal13 culating graduation rates and shall remain in 

14 the adjusted cohort. 

15 ‘‘(F) SPECIAL RULE.—For those high 

16 schools that start after ninth grade, the cohort 

17 shall be calculated based on the earliest high 

18 school grade. 

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

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

21 high school diploma’ means the standard high 

22 school diploma awarded to the preponderance of 

23 students in the State that is fully aligned with 

24 State standards, or a higher diploma, and does 


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1 not include GEDs, certificates of attendance, or 

2 any lesser diploma award. 

3 ‘‘(B) SPECIAL RULE.—For a student who 

4 has a significant cognitive disability and is as5 sessed using an alternate assessment aligned to 

6 alternate achievement standards, receipt of a 

7 regular high school diploma or State-defined al8 ternate diploma aligned with completion of the 

9 student’s entitlement under the Individuals with 

10 Disabilities Education Act shall be counted as 

11 a graduate with a regular high school diploma 

12 for the purposes of this subpart. Not more than 

13 1 percent of students in a school may be count14 ed as graduates with a regular high school di15 ploma under this subparagraph. 

16 ‘‘SEC. 1844. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS. 

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

18 this subpart $6,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2008 

19 through 2011.’’. 

20 (b) TABLE OF CONTENTS.—The table of contents in 

21 section 2 of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act 

22 of 1965 is amended by inserting after the item relating 

23 to section 1830 the following: 

‘‘SUBPART 3—DEMONSTRATION PROJECT FOR ADDITIONAL SECONDARY

SCHOOL COUNSELORS

‘‘Sec. 1841. Findings. 

‘‘Sec. 1842. Demonstration project. 


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‘‘Sec. 1843. Definitions. 

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

Æ 


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