II 

113TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. 282 

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

a new counseling program. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

FEBRUARY 12, 2013 

Mr. BEGICH 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 establish a new counseling program. 

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 ‘‘Counseling for Career 

5 Choice Act’’. 

6 SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 

7 Congress finds the following: 

8 (1) A career guidance and counseling program 

9 develops an individual’s competencies in self-knowlVerDate Mar 15 2010 04:57 Feb 22, 2013 Jkt 029200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S282.IS S282

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1 edge, educational and occupational exploration, and 

2 career planning. 

3 (2) Career guidance and counseling programs 

4 help individuals acquire the knowledge, skills, and 

5 experience necessary to identify options, explore al6 ternatives, and succeed in a 21st century society. 

7 (3) The American School Counselor Association 

8 recommends a student-to-counselor ratio of 250 to 

9 1. Forty-seven States do not meet this recommenda10 tion. 

11 (4) Professional school counselors design and 

12 implement comprehensive school counseling pro13 grams that include educational and career planning 

14 activities for all students that are designed to assist 

15 students in reaching academic, career, and personal 

16 goals. 

17 (5) 4 out of 5 graduates of secondary-level ca18 reer or technical education programs who pursued 

19 postsecondary education after secondary school had 

20 earned a credential or were still enrolled in postsec21 ondary education 2 years later. 

22 (6) Students at schools with highly integrated 

23 rigorous academic and career and technical edu24 cation programs have significantly higher achieveVerDate Mar 15 2010 04:57 Feb 22, 2013 Jkt 029200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S282.IS S282

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1 ment in reading, mathematics, and science than do 

2 students at schools with less integrated programs. 

3 SEC. 3. COUNSELING FOR CAREER CHOICE. 

4 Title II of the Elementary and Secondary Education 

5 Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 6601 et seq.) is amended by add6 ing at the end the following: 

7 ‘‘PART E—COUNSELING FOR CAREER CHOICE 

8 ‘‘SEC. 2501. DEFINITIONS. 

9 ‘‘In this part: 

10 ‘‘(1) COMMUNITY COLLEGE.—The term ‘com11 munity college’ means— 

12 ‘‘(A) a junior or community college, as 

13 such term is defined in section 312(f) of the 

14 Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 

15 1058(f)); or 

16 ‘‘(B) a 4-year public institution of higher 

17 education (as defined in section 101 of the 

18 Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 

19 1001)) that awards a significant number of de20 grees and certificates, as determined by the 

21 Secretary, that are not— 

22 ‘‘(i) baccalaureate degrees (or an 

23 equivalent); or 

24 ‘‘(ii) master’s, professional, or other 

25 advanced degrees. 


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1 ‘‘(2) ELIGIBLE ENTITY.—The term ‘eligible en2 tity’ means— 

3 ‘‘(A) a local educational agency, including 

4 an educational service agency; or 

5 ‘‘(B) a consortium that may consist of any 

6 combination of 2 or more local educational 

7 agencies, educational service agencies, non-prof8 it organizations with demonstrated expertise in 

9 counseling or career and technical education, or 

10 tribal organizations. 

11 ‘‘(3) INDUSTRY-RECOGNIZED.—The term ‘in12 dustry-recognized’, when used with respect to a cre13 dential, means a credential that— 

14 ‘‘(A) is sought or accepted by employers 

15 within the industry or sector involved as a rec16 ognized, preferred, or required credential for re17 cruitment, screening, hiring, retention, or ad18 vancement purposes; and 

19 ‘‘(B) where appropriate, is endorsed by a 

20 nationally recognized trade association or orga21 nization representing a significant part of the 

22 industry or sector. 

23 ‘‘(4) LOCAL WORKFORCE INVESTMENT

24 BOARD.—The term ‘local workforce investment 

25 board’ means a local workforce investment board esVerDate Mar 15 2010 04:57 Feb 22, 2013 Jkt 029200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S282.IS S282

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1 tablished under section 117 of the Workforce Invest2 ment Act of 1998 (29 U.S.C. 2832). 

3 ‘‘(5) SCHOOL COUNSELOR.—The term ‘school 

4 counselor’ has the meaning given the term in section 

5 5421. 

6 ‘‘(6) STAKEHOLDERS.—The term ‘stakeholders’ 

7 includes local educational agencies, school coun8 selors, secondary schools, institutions of higher edu9 cation (including community colleges), the State 

10 workforce investment board, the State agency re11 sponsible for labor market information, other appli12 cable State agencies as determined by the Secretary, 

13 local workforce investment boards, regional economic 

14 development agencies, area career and technical edu15 cation schools (as defined in section 3 of the Carl D. 

16 Perkins Career and Technical Education Act of 

17 2006), local businesses and industries, organizations 

18 offering apprenticeship programs, tribal organiza19 tions, labor organizations, programs leading to post20 secondary credentials, including industry-recognized 

21 credentials, other career and technical educational 

22 programs (as defined by the Secretary), and any 

23 other individuals or persons that the Secretary de24 termines appropriate to carry out the purposes of 

25 this part. 


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1 ‘‘(7) STATEWIDE COUNSELING FRAMEWORK.— 

2 The term ‘statewide counseling framework’ means a 

3 framework that encompasses grades 6 through 12 

4 and postsecondary education and that includes infor5 mation on career awareness, skills assessment, skills 

6 training, student interest surveys, postsecondary 

7 education entrance requirements, secondary school 

8 graduation requirements, financial aid, institutions 

9 of higher education, community colleges, programs 

10 leading to industry-recognized credentials, career 

11 and technical education programs, internships, dual 

12 enrollment programs, apprenticeships, and profes13 sional development opportunities for school coun14 selors. 

15 ‘‘(8) STATE WORKFORCE INVESTMENT

16 BOARD.—The term ‘State workforce investment 

17 board’ means a State workforce investment board 

18 established under section 111 of the Workforce In19 vestment Act of 1998 (29 U.S.C. 2821). 

20 ‘‘(9) TRIBAL ORGANIZATION.—The term ‘tribal 

21 organization’ has the meaning given the term in sec22 tion 4 of the Indian Self-Determination and Edu23 cation Assistance Act (25 U.S.C. 450b). 


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1 ‘‘SEC. 2502. ESTABLISHMENT AND CAPACITY-BUILDING 

2 GRANTS. 

3 ‘‘(a) ESTABLISHMENT GRANTS.— 

4 ‘‘(1) PROGRAM AUTHORIZED.—From amounts 

5 appropriated to carry out this part and not reserved 

6 by the Secretary under subsection (b), the Secretary 

7 shall award establishment grants, on a competitive 

8 basis, to State educational agencies to enable the 

9 State educational agencies to carry out the activities 

10 described in section 2504. 

11 ‘‘(2) DURATION; EXTENSION.— 

12 ‘‘(A) DURATION.—Each establishment 

13 grant under this subsection shall be for a period 

14 of not more than 2 years. 

15 ‘‘(B) EXTENSION.—The Secretary may ex16 tend a grant awarded under this subsection for 

17 additional 3-year periods if the State edu18 cational agency— 

19 ‘‘(i) is achieving the intended out20 comes of the grant; 

21 ‘‘(ii) shows continued engagement 

22 with stakeholders; and 

23 ‘‘(iii) has established a statewide 

24 counseling framework. 

25 ‘‘(b) STATE CAPACITY-BUILDING GRANTS.— 


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

2 not less than 10 percent and not more than 20 per3 cent of the amounts appropriated to carry out this 

4 part for any fiscal year to award capacity-building 

5 grants, on a competitive basis, to State educational 

6 agencies that do not receive an establishment grant 

7 under subsection (a) for such year. 

8 ‘‘(2) ACTIVITIES.—A State educational agency 

9 that receives a capacity-building grant under this 

10 subsection shall use grant funds— 

11 ‘‘(A) to carry out 1 or more of the activi12 ties from the State educational agency’s appli13 cation under section 2503 that the Secretary 

14 determines is an acceptable use of funds; or 

15 ‘‘(B) to improve the State educational 

16 agency’s application for the next competition 

17 for establishment grants under subsection (a). 

18 ‘‘(c) SPECIAL RULE FOR ALTERNATE GRANTEES.— 

19 Notwithstanding any other provision of this part, if a 

20 State educational agency does not apply for a grant under 

21 this section for an award year, a consortium of stake22 holders representing the State may apply for a grant 

23 under this section for the subsequent award year by sub24 mitting to the Secretary an application that meets the re25 quirements of section 2503 and includes any additional 


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1 information that the Secretary may require. The Secretary 

2 shall give such application the same consideration in the 

3 grant award process as is given an application submitted 

4 by a State educational agency, and may award one consor5 tium in the State an establishment grant under subsection 

6 (a) or a capacity building grant under subsection (b) to 

7 enable the consortium to carry out the activities described 

8 in section 2504 or subsection (b), respectively, in the 

9 State. The provisions in this part shall apply to a consor10 tium that receives an grant under this subsection in the 

11 same manner as such provisions apply to a State edu12 cational agency. 

13 ‘‘SEC. 2503. APPLICATION. 

14 ‘‘A State educational agency desiring a grant under 

15 this part shall submit an application at such time, in such 

16 manner, and containing such information as the Secretary 

17 may require. The application shall include— 

18 ‘‘(1)(A) a description of a proposed statewide 

19 counseling framework that is developed in consulta20 tion with not less than 5 stakeholders, of which at 

21 least 1 stakeholder shall be a local business or indus22 try or statewide industry organization and 1 stake23 holder shall be a local educational agency or sec24 ondary school; 


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1 ‘‘(B) a detailed plan to implement a statewide 

2 counseling framework that is developed in consulta3 tion with not less than 5 stakeholders, of which at 

4 least 1 stakeholder shall be a local business or indus5 try or statewide industry organization and 1 shall be 

6 a local educational agency or secondary school; or 

7 ‘‘(C) evidence of an existing statewide coun8 seling framework and implementation plan sup9 ported by not less than 5 stakeholders, of which at 

10 least 1 stakeholder shall be a local business or indus11 try or statewide industry organization and 1 shall be 

12 a local educational agency or secondary school; 

13 ‘‘(2) a description, if applicable, of any program 

14 leading to an industry-recognized credential that— 

15 ‘‘(A) will be included as one of the postsec16 ondary opportunities described in section 

17 2504(a)(9); 

18 ‘‘(B) serves as one of the stakeholders for 

19 purposes of paragraph (1); or 

20 ‘‘(C) will be described in the information 

21 included in the statewide counseling framework 

22 for the activities carried out under the grant; 

23 and 


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1 ‘‘(3) a description of how the State educational 

2 agency will award subgrants and ensure that the ac3 tivities described in section 2504 are carried out. 

4 ‘‘SEC. 2504. ACTIVITIES. 

5 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—A State educational agency re6 ceiving an establishment grant under section 2502(a) shall 

7 use grant funds to— 

8 ‘‘(1) develop and implement comprehensive 

9 school counseling programs that align with the state10 wide counseling framework proposed or described in 

11 the State educational agency’s application; 

12 ‘‘(2) identify and assess school counseling ac13 tivities and postsecondary options available within 

14 the State, and outside the State as applicable; 

15 ‘‘(3) hire additional school counselors to effec16 tively serve more students in postsecondary edu17 cation planning and career guidance activities, where 

18 applicable; 

19 ‘‘(4) identify regional workforce trends in col20 laboration with entities at the State and regional 

21 level with expertise in identifying such trends, such 

22 as State workforce investment boards, local work23 force investment boards, regional economic develop24 ment organizations, or State employment agencies; 


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1 ‘‘(5) train counselors to effectively provide stu2 dents with labor market information; 

3 ‘‘(6) develop and implement a process for school 

4 counselors and school counselor programs to access 

5 the statewide counseling framework and information 

6 regarding the regional workforce trends identified in 

7 paragraph (4); 

8 ‘‘(7) develop and implement professional devel9 opment programs for counselors and other educators 

10 involved in preparing students for postsecondary op11 portunities; 

12 ‘‘(8) develop a searchable method by which 

13 counseling professional development opportunities 

14 from around the State are collected, maintained, and 

15 disseminated to school counselors; 

16 ‘‘(9) establish, improve, or coordinate postsec17 ondary opportunities, which may include individual 

18 career planning, personalized learning plans, reg19 istered apprenticeships, internships, dual enrollment 

20 programs, programs leading to industry-recognized 

21 credentials (including programs at a secondary 

22 school), 2-year degree programs, 4-year degree pro23 grams, and other applicable postsecondary opportu24 nities; 


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1 ‘‘(10) provide recommendations to improve a 

2 local educational agency’s curriculum to better align 

3 with workforce trends and available postsecondary 

4 opportunities; and 

5 ‘‘(11) conduct other activities pertaining to the 

6 administration of the statewide framework. 

7 ‘‘(b) SUBGRANTS.— 

8 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—A State educational agency 

9 that receives an establishment grant may carry out 

10 the activities described in subsection (a) directly or 

11 through awarding subgrants, on a competitive basis, 

12 to eligible entities to enable the eligible entities to 

13 carry out any of the activities. 

14 ‘‘(2) APPLICATION.—An eligible entity that de15 sires a subgrant under this subsection shall submit 

16 an application to the State educational agency at 

17 such time, in such manner, and containing such in18 formation as the State educational agency may rea19 sonably require, including a description of the com20 prehensive counseling program for participating 

21 schools and students that the eligible entity proposes 

22 to develop and implement using subgrant funds. 

23 ‘‘(c) HIRING OF PERSONNEL.—An eligible entity that 

24 receives an establishment grant under section 2502(a) 


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1 may use grant funds to hire additional school personnel 

2 to carry out the activities described in subsection (a). 

3 ‘‘SEC. 2505. SUPPLEMENT NOT SUPPLANT. 

4 ‘‘Funds made available under this part shall be used 

5 to supplement, and not supplant, other Federal, State, 

6 and local funds available to carry out the activities sup7 ported under this part. 

8 ‘‘SEC. 2506. REPORTING REQUIREMENTS. 

9 ‘‘Not later than 3 years after the date of enactment 

10 of the Counseling for Career Choice Act, and every 3 years 

11 thereafter, the Secretary shall prepare and submit to the 

12 appropriate committees of Congress a report on the 

13 progress made by the eligible entities receiving grants 

14 under this part in implementing grant activities. 

15 ‘‘SEC. 2507. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS. 

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

17 this part such sums as may be necessary for fiscal year 

18 2014 and each of the 4 succeeding fiscal years.’’. 

Æ 


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