I 

117TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 614 

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 

JANUARY 28, 2021 

Ms. SA ́NCHEZ (for herself and Mrs. HAYES) introduced the following bill; 

which was referred to the Committee on Education and Labor 

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 D of title I of the Elementary and Secondary 

4 Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 6421 et seq.) is amend5 ed by adding at the end the following: 

6 ‘‘Subpart 4—Demonstration Project for Additional 

7 Secondary School Counselors 

8 ‘‘SEC. 1441. FINDINGS. 

9 ‘‘The Congress finds the following: 

10 ‘‘(1) Nationally, only 85 percent of students 

11 graduate from high school with a regular high school 

12 diploma. 

13 ‘‘(2) Every school year, 523,000 American high 

14 school students drop out without earning a high 

15 school diploma or an alternative credential. 

16 ‘‘(3) Only about 67 percent of American stu17 dents with limited English proficiency graduated on 

18 time from high school. 

19 ‘‘(4) Only about 79 percent of Black students, 

20 81 percent of Hispanic students, and 74 percent of 

21 American Indian/Alaska Native students graduate 

22 on time from high school with a regular diploma, 

23 compared to 89 percent of White students and 92 

24 percent of Asian/Pacific Islander students. 


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1 ‘‘(5) Only about 67 percent of American stu2 dents with disabilities graduated on time from high 

3 school. 

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

5 adulthood and the world of work as students begin 

6 defining their independence and forging their own 

7 pathways. As our next generation of leaders, our 

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

9 many challenges, including peer pressure and bul10 lying, high-stakes testing, the challenges of college 

11 admissions, the scholarship and financial aid appli12 cation process, and entrance into an ever more com13 petitive job market. Students need guidance and 

14 skills to help them navigate these complex decisions, 

15 which have serious and life changing consequences. 

16 ‘‘(7) School counseling programs are essential 

17 for students to achieve optimal personal growth, ac18 quire positive social skills and values, set appropriate 

19 career goals, and realize full academic potential to 

20 become productive, contributing members of the 

21 world community. 

22 ‘‘(8) Professional secondary school counselors 

23 are highly qualified educators with a mental health 

24 perspective who understand and respond to the chalVerDate Sep 11 2014 04:28 Feb 20, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H614.IH H614

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1 lenges presented by today’s diverse student popu2 lation. 

3 ‘‘(9) The professional secondary school coun4 selor holds a master’s degree or higher in school 

5 counseling (or the substantial equivalent), and is 

6 certified or licensed by the State in which the coun7 selor works. 

8 ‘‘(10) Professional secondary school counselors 

9 are integral to the total educational program. They 

10 provide proactive leadership that engages all stake11 holders in the delivery of programs and services to 

12 help the student achieve success in school. Profes13 sional secondary school counselors align and work 

14 with the school’s mission to support the academic 

15 achievement of all students as they prepare for the 

16 ever-changing world of the 21st century. 

17 ‘‘(11) Professional secondary school counselors’ 

18 opportunities to assist students are often hindered 

19 by extraordinarily high student-to-counselor ratios. 

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

21 America’s public schools is 430 to 1. The American 

22 School Counselor Association, the American Coun23 seling Association, and the National Association for 

24 College Admissions Counseling all recommend a 

25 ratio of one school counselor to 250 students and a 


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1 lower ratio for counselors working primarily with 

2 students at risk. 

3 ‘‘SEC. 1442. DEMONSTRATION PROJECT. 

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

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

6 demonstration project under which the Secretary makes 

7 grants on a competitive basis to secondary schools that 

8 receive funds under this title and have a four-year ad9 justed cohort graduation rate of 60 percent or lower. 

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

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

12 ‘‘(1) to provide additional school counselors 

13 during that period; and 

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

15 professional development expenses or travel expenses 

16 for home visits, and any services and materials re17 ferred to in subsection (d)) and to pay overhead ex18 penses. 

19 ‘‘(c) SENSE OF CONGRESS.—It is the sense of Con20 gress that a participating school should aim to provide, 

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

22 students at risk. 

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

24 counselors shall identify students who are at risk of not 

25 graduating in 4 years and shall provide counseling priVerDate Sep 11 2014 04:28 Feb 20, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H614.IH H614

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1 marily to those students. The counselors may identify such 

2 students at any time, but shall strive to identify them be3 fore they enter grade 9. Services shall be provided as long 

4 as necessary, including to the extent allowable and appro5 priate, after the student’s cohort graduation date. The 

6 counseling provided— 

7 ‘‘(1) may include a full panoply of services, in8 cluding an individual graduation plan and other re9 sources, such as appropriate course placement and 

10 supplemental services (to include not only supple11 mental educational services tutoring if available at 

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

13 along with supplemental books and materials); and 

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

15 identified and with the teachers, tutors, supple16 mental educational services providers, and parents of 

17 the student, and may also include meetings with 

18 other relevant individuals, such as a probation offi19 cer, mentor, coach, or employer of the student. 

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

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

22 funds from non-Federal sources. The additional school 

23 counselors provided through funds under this subpart 

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

25 secondary school guidance or counseling office, such as 


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1 counselors, college admissions specialists, career develop2 ment specialists, guidance information specialists, or any 

3 other professional or paraprofessional. 

4 ‘‘(f) ADDITIONAL GRANT PERIODS.— 

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

6 grant under this subpart and demonstrates adequate 

7 improvement over the period of the grant is eligible 

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

9 school again demonstrates adequate improvement 

10 over that second period, the school is eligible to re11 ceive a third grant for a third period. The third 

12 grant shall provide amounts that decrease for each 

13 year of the third period and require the school to 

14 provide corresponding increases in non-Federal 

15 funds. 

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

17 of paragraph (1), a school demonstrates adequate 

18 improvement over a grant period if the four-year ad19 justed cohort graduation rate increases (or is pro20 jected to increase) by 10 percent or more over that 

21 period. 

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

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

24 schools selected to participate shall each be from a dif25 ferent State. 


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1 ‘‘SEC. 1443. DEFINITION. 

2 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—For purposes of this subpart. the 

3 term ‘regular high school diploma’ means the standard 

4 high school diploma awarded to the preponderance of stu5 dents in the State that is fully aligned with State stand6 ards, or a higher diploma, and does not include GEDs, 

7 certificates of attendance, or any lesser diploma award. 

8 ‘‘(b) SPECIAL RULE.—For those students who have 

9 significant cognitive disabilities and are assessed using an 

10 alternate assessment aligned to alternate achievement 

11 standards, receipt of a regular high school diploma or 

12 State-defined alternate diploma aligned with completion of 

13 their entitlement under the Individuals with Disabilities 

14 Education Act shall be counted as graduates with a reg15 ular high school diploma for the purposes of this Act. No 

16 more than 1 percent of students can be counted as grad17 uates with a regular high school diploma under this sub18 paragraph. 

19 ‘‘SEC. 1444. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS. 

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

21 this subpart $5,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2022 

22 through 2024.’’. 

23 SEC. 3. CONFORMING AMENDMENT; TABLE OF CONTENTS. 

24 (a) CONFORMING AMENDMENT.—Section 1002(d) of 

25 the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (20 


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1 U.S.C. 6302(d)) is amended by inserting ‘‘(other than 

2 subpart 4)’’ after ‘‘part D,’’. 

3 (b) TOC.—The table of contents in section 2 of the 

4 Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 is 

5 amended by inserting after the item relating to section 

6 1432 the following: 

‘‘SUBPART 4—DEMONSTRATION PROJECT FOR ADDITIONAL SECONDARY

SCHOOL COUNSELORS

‘‘Sec. 1441. Findings. 

‘‘Sec. 1442. Demonstration project. 

‘‘Sec. 1443. Definition. 

‘‘Sec. 1444. Authorization of appropriations.’’. 

Æ 


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