I 

111TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 2579 

To authorize the Secretary of Education to award grants to local educational 

agencies to improve college access. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

MAY 21, 2009 

Mr. BISHOP of New York (for himself and Mr. EHLERS) introduced the 

following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Education and Labor 

A BILL 

To authorize the Secretary of Education to award grants 

to local educational agencies to improve college access. 

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 ‘‘Pathways to College 

5 Act’’. 

6 SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 

7 Congress finds the following: 

8 (1) An educated workforce is crucial to the suc9 cess of the United States economy. Access to higher 

10 education for all students is critical to maintaining 


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1 an educated workforce. More than 80 percent of the 

2 23,000,000 jobs that will be created in the next 10 

3 years will require postsecondary education. Only 36 

4 percent of all 18- to 24-year-olds are currently en5 rolled in postsecondary education. 

6 (2) Workers with bachelor’s degrees earn on av7 erage $17,000 more annually than workers with only 

8 high school diplomas. Workers who earn bachelor’s 

9 degrees can be expected to earn $1,000,000 more 

10 over a lifetime than those who only finished high 

11 school. 

12 (3) In order to prepare students for college, all 

13 schools should— 

14 (A) provide student guidance to engage 

15 students in college and career awareness; and 

16 (B) ensure that students enroll in a rig17 orous curriculum to prepare for postsecondary 

18 education. 

19 (4) The Department of Education reports that 

20 the average student-to-counselor ratio in high 

21 schools is 315:1. This falls far above the ratio rec22 ommended by the American School Counselor Asso23 ciation, which is 250:1. While school counselors at 

24 private schools spend an average of 58 percent of 

25 their time on postsecondary education counseling, 


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1 school counselors in public schools spend an average 

2 of 25 percent of their time on postsecondary edu3 cation counseling. 

4 (5) While just 57 percent of students from the 

5 lowest income quartile enroll in college, 87 percent 

6 of students from the top income quartile enroll. Of 

7 students who were in eighth grade in 2000, only 20 

8 percent of the lowest-income students are projected 

9 to attain a bachelor’s degree by 2012, compared to 

10 68 percent of the highest income group, according to 

11 the Advisory Committee on Student Financial As12 sistance in 2006. 

13 (6) Research shows that school counselors, 

14 when consistently and frequently available and al15 lowed to provide direct services to students and par16 ents, can be a highly effective group of professionals 

17 who positively affect students’ aspirations, achieve18 ments and financial aid knowledge. College Board 

19 research indicates that school counseling services can 

20 have a dramatic effect on students’ education plans. 

21 (7) Repeated academic studies have found that 

22 properly staffing, training, and equipping school 

23 counselors for working with students and families on 

24 college planning would have a significant impact on 

25 college access for low-income, rural, and urban stuVerDate Nov 24 2008 19:18 May 24, 2009 Jkt 079200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2579.IH H2579

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1 dents. Schools complementing access to college pre2 paratory coursework with a comprehensive academic 

3 and social support network, including college pre4 paratory counseling, hold the most promise for in5 creasing student access to and success in postsec6 ondary education. 

7 (8) The Federal Advisory Committee on Stu8 dent Financial Assistance notes that early informa9 tion on the availability, eligibility, and variety of fi10 nancial aid is essential to promote access and per11 sistence. Every student should learn that funding an 

12 education requires a reliance on many sources: fed13 eral and state governments, institutions, private re14 sources, and personal financial resources. Each of 

15 these sources can provide financial aid in the form 

16 of grants and scholarships, loans, and work-study 

17 opportunities. Delivering information on the dif18 ferences between need-based aid and merit-based aid 

19 will help students better predict which aid options 

20 will be available for them. Understanding the intri21 cacies among such options is vital to successfully fi22 nancing higher education. 

23 (9) The National Association for College Ad24 mission Counseling reports that nearly 90 percent of 

25 high schools in the United States rely on school 


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1 counselors to provide information about paying for 

2 college to students and families. The same research 

3 found that 70 percent of school counselors reporting 

4 needing more information, training, and assistance 

5 in delivering information about paying for college to 

6 students and families. 

7 (10) Low-income and first-generation families 

8 often overestimate the cost of tuition and underesti9 mate available aid; students from these backgrounds 

10 have access to fewer college application resources 

11 and financial aid resources than other groups, and 

12 are less likely to fulfill their postsecondary plans as 

13 a result. 

14 (11) College preparation intervention programs 

15 can double the college-going rates for at-risk youth, 

16 can expand students’ educational aspirations, and 

17 can boost college enrollment and graduation rates. 

18 SEC. 3. GRANT PROGRAM. 

19 (a) DEFINITIONS.—In this Act: 

20 (1) COLLEGE-GOING RATE.—The term ‘‘college21 going rate’’ means the percentage of high school 

22 graduates who enroll at an institution of higher edu23 cation in the school year immediately following grad24 uation from high school. 


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1 (2) ELIGIBLE LOCAL EDUCATIONAL AGENCY.— 

2 The term ‘‘eligible local educational agency’’ means 

3 a local educational agency in which a majority of the 

4 high schools served by the agency are high-need high 

5 schools. 

6 (3) HIGH-NEED HIGH SCHOOL.—The term 

7 ‘‘high-need high school’’ means a high school in 

8 which not less than 50 percent of the students en9 rolled in the school are— 

10 (A) eligible to receive a free or reduced 

11 price lunch under the Richard B. Russell Na12 tional School Lunch Act (42 U.S.C. 1751 et 

13 seq.); 

14 (B) eligible to be counted under section 

15 1124(c) of the Elementary and Secondary Edu16 cation Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 6333(c)); or 

17 (C) in families eligible for assistance under 

18 the State program funded under part A of title 

19 IV of the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 601 et 

20 seq.). 

21 (4) HIGH SCHOOL.—The term ‘‘high school’’ 

22 means a nonprofit institutional day or residential 

23 school, including a public charter high school, that 

24 provides high school education, as determined under 

25 State law. 


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1 (5) HIGH SCHOOL GRADUATION RATE.—The 

2 term ‘‘high school graduation rate’’— 

3 (A) means the percentage of students who 

4 graduate from high school with a regular di5 ploma in the standard number of years; and 

6 (B) is clarified in section 200.19(b)(1) of 

7 title 34, Code of Federal Regulations. 

8 (6) INSTITUTION OF HIGHER EDUCATION.—The 

9 term ‘‘institution of higher education’’ has the 

10 meaning given the term in section 101(a) of the 

11 Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1001(a)). 

12 (7) LOCAL EDUCATIONAL AGENCY.—The term 

13 ‘‘local educational agency’’ has the meaning given 

14 the term in section 9101 of the Elementary and Sec15 ondary Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 7801). 

16 (8) PARENT.—The term ‘‘parent’’ has the 

17 meaning given the term in section 9101 of the Ele18 mentary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (20 

19 U.S.C. 7801). 

20 (9) SECRETARY.—The term ‘‘Secretary’’ means 

21 the Secretary of Education. 

22 (b) COMPETITIVE GRANTS TO ELIGIBLE LOCAL

23 EDUCATIONAL AGENCIES.—The Secretary is authorized 

24 to award grants, on a competitive basis, to eligible local 


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1 educational agencies to carry out the activities described 

2 in this section. 

3 (c) DURATION.—Grants awarded under this section 

4 shall be 5 years in duration. 

5 (d) DISTRIBUTION.—In awarding grants under this 

6 section, the Secretary shall ensure that the grants are dis7 tributed among the different geographic regions of the 

8 United States, and among eligible local educational agen9 cies serving urban and rural areas. 

10 (e) APPLICATIONS.— 

11 (1) IN GENERAL.—Each eligible local edu12 cational agency desiring a grant under this section 

13 shall submit an application to the Secretary at such 

14 time, in such manner, and accompanied by such in15 formation as the Secretary may reasonably require. 

16 (2) CONTENTS.—Each application submitted 

17 under paragraph (1) shall include a description of 

18 the program to be carried out with grant funds 

19 and— 

20 (A) a description of the high school popu21 lation to be targeted by the program, the par22 ticular college-access needs of such population, 

23 and the resources available for meeting such 

24 needs; 


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1 (B) an outline of the objectives of the pro2 gram, including goals for increasing the number 

3 of college applications submitted by each stu4 dent and the number of students submitting ap5 plications, increasing Free Application for Fed6 eral Student Aid completion rates, and increas7 ing school-wide college-going rates across the 

8 local educational agency; 

9 (C) a description of the local educational 

10 agency’s plan to work cooperatively, where ap11 plicable, with programs funded under chapters 

12 1 and 2 of subpart 2 of part A of title IV of 

13 the Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 

14 1070a–11 et seq. and 1070a–21 et seq.), in15 cluding the extent to which the agency commits 

16 to sharing facilities, providing access to stu17 dents, and developing compatible record-keeping 

18 systems; 

19 (D) a description of the activities, services, 

20 and training to be provided by the program, in21 cluding a plan to provide structure and support 

22 for all students in the college search, planning, 

23 and application process; 


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1 (E) a description of the methods to be 

2 used to evaluate the outcomes and effectiveness 

3 of the program; 

4 (F) an assurance that grant funds will be 

5 used to supplement, and not supplant, any 

6 other Federal, State, or local funds available to 

7 carry out activities of the type carried out 

8 under the grant; 

9 (G) an explanation of the method used for 

10 calculating college enrollment rates for each 

11 high school served by the eligible local edu12 cational agency that is based on externally 

13 verified data, and, when possible, aligned with 

14 existing State or local methods; 

15 (H) a plan to make the program sustain16 able over time, including the use of matching 

17 funds from non-Federal sources; and 

18 (I) a description of the local educational 

19 agency’s plan to work cooperatively, where ap20 plicable, with the program funded under part H 

21 of title VIII of the Higher Education Act of 

22 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1161h et seq.), including the 

23 extent to which the agency commits to using 

24 and leveraging— 


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1 (i) the needs assessment and rec2 ommendations; 

3 (ii) the model for measuring college 

4 enrollment; and 

5 (iii) comprehensive services. 

6 (3) METHOD OF CALCULATING ENROLLMENT

7 RATES.— 

8 (A) IN GENERAL.—A method included in 

9 an application under paragraph (2)(G)— 

10 (i) shall, at a minimum, track stu11 dents’ first-time enrollment in institutions 

12 of higher education; and 

13 (ii) may track progress toward com14 pletion of a postsecondary degree. 

15 (B) DEVELOPMENT IN CONJUNCTION.—An 

16 eligible local educational agency may develop a 

17 method pursuant to paragraph (2)(G) in con18 junction with an existing public or private enti19 ty that currently maintains such a method. 

20 (f) SPECIAL CONSIDERATION.—In awarding grants 

21 under this section, the Secretary shall give special consid22 eration to applications from eligible local educational 

23 agencies serving schools with the highest percentages of 

24 poverty. 

25 (g) USE OF FUNDS.— 


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1 (1) IN GENERAL.—An eligible local educational 

2 agency that receives a grant under this section shall 

3 develop and implement, or expand, a program to in4 crease the number of low-income students who enroll 

5 in postsecondary educational institutions, including 

6 institutions with competitive admissions criteria. 

7 (2) REQUIRED USE OF FUNDS.—Each program 

8 funded under this section shall— 

9 (A) provide professional development to 

10 high school teachers and school counselors in 

11 postsecondary education advising; 

12 (B) implement a comprehensive college 

13 guidance program for all students in a high 

14 school served by an eligible local educational 

15 agency under this section that— 

16 (i) ensures that all students and their 

17 parents, are regularly notified throughout 

18 the students’ time in high school, begin19 ning in the first year of high school, of— 

20 (I) high school graduation re21 quirements; 

22 (II) college entrance require23 ments; 

24 (III) the economic and social 

25 benefits of higher education; 


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1 (IV) college expenses, including 

2 information about expenses by institu3 tional type, differences between stick4 er price and net price, and expenses 

5 beyond tuition; and 

6 (V) the resources for paying for 

7 college, including the availability, eli8 gibility, and variety of financial aid; 

9 (ii) provides assistance to students in 

10 registering for and preparing for college 

11 entrance tests; 

12 (iii) provides one-on-one guidance and 

13 assistance to students in applying to an in14 stitution of higher education and in apply15 ing for Federal financial aid assistance and 

16 other State, local, and private financial aid 

17 assistance and scholarships; 

18 (iv) provides opportunities for stu19 dents to explore postsecondary opportuni20 ties outside of the school setting, such as 

21 college fairs, career fairs, college tours, 

22 workplace visits, or other similar activities; 

23 and 

24 (v) provides not less than 1 meeting 

25 for each student, not later than the first 


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1 semester of the first year of high school, 

2 with a school counselor, college access per3 sonnel (including personnel involved in pro4 grams funded under chapters 1 and 2 of 

5 subpart 2 of part A of title IV of the High6 er Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 

7 1070a–11 et seq. and 1070a–21 et seq.)), 

8 trained teacher, or other professional or or9 ganization, such as a community-based or10 ganization, approved by the school, to dis11 cuss postsecondary options, outline post12 secondary goals, and create a plan to 

13 achieve those goals, and provides not less 

14 than 2 meetings in each subsequent year 

15 to discuss progress on the plan; 

16 (C) ensure that each high school served by 

17 the eligible local educational agency develops a 

18 comprehensive, school-wide plan of action to 

19 strengthen the college-going culture within the 

20 high school; and 

21 (D) create or maintain a postsecondary ac22 cess center in the school setting that provides 

23 information on colleges and universities, career 

24 opportunities, and financial aid options and 

25 provide a setting in which professionals working 


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1 in college access programs, such as those fund2 ed under chapters 1 and 2 of subpart 2 of part 

3 A of title IV of the Higher Education Act of 

4 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1070a–11 et seq. and 1070a– 

5 21 et seq.), can meet with students. 

6 (3) ALLOWABLE USE OF FUNDS.—Each pro7 gram funded under this section may— 

8 (A) establish postsecondary planning class9 es for high school students to assist in the col10 lege preparation and application process; 

11 (B) hire and train postsecondary coaches 

12 with expertise in the college-going process to 

13 supplement existing school counselors; 

14 (C) increase the number of school coun15 selors who specialize in the college-going proc16 ess serving students; 

17 (D) train student leaders to assist in the 

18 creation of a college-going culture in their 

19 schools; 

20 (E) establish partnerships with programs 

21 funded under chapters 1 and 2 of subpart 2 of 

22 part A of title IV of the Higher Education Act 

23 of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1070a–11 et seq. and 

24 1070a–21 et seq.)), and with community and 

25 nonprofit organizations to increase college-going 


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1 rates at high schools served by the eligible local 

2 educational agency; 

3 (F) provide long-term postsecondary follow 

4 up with graduates of the high schools served by 

5 the eligible local educational agencies, including 

6 increasing alumni involvement in mentoring and 

7 advising roles within the high school; and 

8 (G) deliver college and career planning cur9 riculum as a stand-alone course, or embedded 

10 in other classes, or delivered through the guid11 ance curriculum by the school counselor for all 

12 students in high school. 

13 (h) SUPPLEMENT, NOT SUPPLANT.—Funds made 

14 available under this section shall be used to supplement, 

15 and not supplant, other Federal, State, and local funds 

16 available to carry out the activities described in this sec17 tion. 

18 (i) TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE.—The Secretary, di19 rectly or through contracting through a full and open 

20 process with 1 or more organizations that have dem21 onstrated experience providing technical assistance to 

22 raise school-wide college-going rates in local educational 

23 agencies in not less than 3 States, shall provide technical 

24 assistance to grantees in carrying out this section. The 

25 technical assistance shall— 


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1 (1) provide assistance in the calculation and 

2 analysis of college-going rates for all grant recipi3 ents; 

4 (2) provide semi-annual analysis to each grant 

5 recipient recommending best practices based on a 

6 comparison of the recipient’s data with that of high 

7 schools with similar demographics; and 

8 (3) provide annual best practices conferences 

9 for all grant recipients. 

10 (j) REPORTING REQUIREMENTS.—Each eligible local 

11 educational agency receiving a grant under this section 

12 shall collect and report annually to the Secretary such in13 formation for the local educational agency and for each 

14 high school assisted under this section on the results of 

15 the activities assisted under the grant as the Secretary 

16 may reasonably require, including information on— 

17 (1) the number and percentage of students who 

18 enroll in an institution of higher education in the 

19 school year immediately following the students’ high 

20 school graduation as measured by externally verified 

21 school-wide college enrollment data; 

22 (2) the number and percentage of students who 

23 graduate from high school on time with a regular 

24 high school diploma; 


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1 (3) the number and percentage of students, at 

2 each grade level, who are on track to graduate from 

3 high school on time and with a regular high school 

4 diploma; 

5 (4) the number and percentage of senior high 

6 school students who apply to an institution of higher 

7 education and the average number of applications 

8 completed and submitted by students; 

9 (5) the number and percentage of senior high 

10 school students who file the Free Application for 

11 Federal Student Aid forms; 

12 (6) the number and percentage of students, in 

13 grade 10, who take early admissions assessments, 

14 such as the PSAT; 

15 (7) the number and percentage of students, in 

16 grades 11 and 12, who take the SAT or ACT, and 

17 the students’ mean scores on such assessments; 

18 (8) where data are available, the number and 

19 percentage of students enrolled in remedial mathe20 matics or English courses during their freshman 

21 year at an institution of higher education; 

22 (9) the number and percentage of students, in 

23 grades 11 and 12, enrolled in not less than 2 of the 

24 following: 

25 (A) a dual credit course; or 


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1 (B) an Advanced Placement or Inter2 national Baccalaureate course; and 

3 (10) the number and percentage of students 

4 who meet or exceed State reading or language arts, 

5 mathematics, or science standards, as measured by 

6 State academic assessments required under section 

7 1111(b)(3) of the Elementary and Secondary Edu8 cation Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 6311(b)(3)). 

9 (k) REPORTING OF DATA.—Each eligible local edu10 cational agency receiving a grant under this section shall 

11 report to the Secretary, where possible, the information 

12 required under subsection (j) disaggregated in the same 

13 manner as information is desegregated under section 

14 1111(h)(1)(C)(i) of the Elementary and Secondary Edu15 cation Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 6311(h)(1)(C)(i)). 

16 (l) EVALUATIONS BY GRANTEES.—Each eligible local 

17 educational agency that receives a grant under this section 

18 shall— 

19 (1) conduct periodic evaluations of the effective20 ness of the activities carried out under the grant to21 ward increasing school-wide college-going rates; 

22 (2) use such evaluations to refine and improve 

23 activities conducted with the grant and the perform24 ance measures for such activities; and 


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1 (3) make the results of such evaluations pub2 licly available, including by providing public notice of 

3 such availability. 

4 (m) REPORT.—From the amount appropriated for 

5 any fiscal year, the Secretary shall reserve such sums as 

6 may be necessary— 

7 (1) to conduct an independent evaluation, by 

8 grant or by contract, of the programs carried out 

9 under this section, which shall include an assessment 

10 of the impact of the program on high school gradua11 tion rates and college-going rates; and 

12 (2) to prepare and submit a report on the re13 sults of the evaluation described in paragraph (1) to 

14 the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and 

15 Pensions of the Senate and the Committee on Edu16 cation and Labor of the House of Representatives. 

17 (n) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There 

18 are authorized to be appropriated to carry out this section 

19 such sums as may be necessary for fiscal year 2010 and 

20 each of the 5 succeeding fiscal years. 

Æ 


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