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[Congressional Bills 103th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 2571 Introduced in House (IH)]

103d CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                H. R. 2571

     To improve counseling services for elementary school children.

_______________________________________________________________________

                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                             June 30, 1993

Mr. Payne  of New Jersey (for himself and Mrs. Morella) introduced the 
 following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Education and 
                                 Labor

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL

 
     To improve counseling services for elementary school children.

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

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Elementary School Counseling 
Demonstration Act''.

SEC. 2. FINDINGS AND PURPOSE.

    (a) Findings.--The Congress finds that--
            (1) elementary school children are being subjected to 
        unprecedented social stresses, including fragmentation of the 
        family, drug and alcohol abuse, child abuse, poverty, and 
        violence. Experts indicate that intervention at an early age is 
        the most beneficial;
            (2) an increasing number of elementary school children are 
        exhibiting symptoms of distress, such as substance abuse, 
        emotional disorders, academic underachievement, disruptive 
        behavior, juvenile delinquency, and suicide;
            (3) elementary school counselors, school psychologists and 
        school social workers can contribute to the personal growth, 
        educational development, and emotional well-being of elementary 
        school children by providing professional counseling, 
        intervention, and referral services;
            (4) the average ratio of elementary school counselors to 
        students is one for every one thousand; the average ratio of 
        school psychologists to students is one for every 2500 and the 
        average ratio of school social workers to students is one for 
        every 2500;
            (5) when there is one counselor to every one thousand 
        students, one school psychologist to every 2,500 students, and 
        one school social worker to every 2,500 students, elementary 
        school counseling programs are seldom adequate;
            (6) the Federal Government can help reduce the risk of 
        academic, social, and emotional problems among elementary 
        school children by stimulating the development of model 
        elementary school counseling programs; and
            (7) the Federal Government can help reduce the risk of 
        future unemployment and assist the school to work transition by 
        stimulating the development of model elementary school 
        counseling programs that include comprehensive career 
        development.
    (b) Purpose.--The purpose of this Act is to enhance the 
availability and quality of counseling services for elementary school 
children by providing grants to local educational agencies to establish 
effective and innovative elementary school counseling programs that can 
serve as national models.

SEC. 3. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.

    There are authorized to be appropriated $10,000,000 for fiscal year 
1994, and such sums as may be necessary for each of the fiscal years 
1995, 1996, 1997, and 1998.

SEC. 4. APPLICATIONS.

    (a) In General.--The Secretary is authorized to make a grant to a 
local educational agency which submits an application at such time, in 
such manner, and accompanied by such information as the Secretary may 
reasonably require.
    (b) Notification of State Educational Agency.--Before submitting an 
application to the Secretary, a local educational agency must provide 
the State educational agency with an opportunity to review and comment 
on the program in its application. The comments of the State 
educational agency shall be appended to the application upon submission 
to the Secretary.
    (c) Contents.--Each application shall--
            (1) describe the elementary school population to be 
        targeted by the program, the particular personal, social, 
        emotional, educational, and career development needs of such 
        population, and the current school counseling resources 
        available for meeting such needs;
            (2) describe the activities, services, and training to be 
        provided by the program and the specific approaches to be used 
        to meet the needs described in paragraph (1);
            (3) describe the methods to be used to evaluate the 
        outcomes and effectiveness of the program;
            (4) describe the collaborative efforts to be undertaken 
        with institutions of higher education, businesses, labor 
        organizations, community groups, social service agencies, and 
        other public or private entities to enhance the program and 
        promote school-linked services integration;
            (5) describe collaborative efforts with institutions of 
        higher education which specifically seek to enhance or improve 
        graduate programs specializing in the preparation of elementary 
        school counselors, school psychologists, and social workers;
            (6) document that the applicant has the personnel qualified 
        to develop, implement, and administer the program;
            (7) describe how any diverse cultural populations would be 
        served through the program;
            (8) assure that the funds made available under this Act for 
        any fiscal year will be used to supplement and, to the extent 
        practicable, increase the level of funds that would otherwise 
        be available from non-Federal sources for the program described 
        in the application, and in no case supplant such funds from 
        non-Federal sources; and
            (9) assure that the applicant will appoint an advisory 
        board composed of parents, school counselors, school 
        psychologists, school social workers, other pupil services 
        personnel, teachers, school administrators, and community 
        leaders to advise the local educational agency on the design 
        and implementation of the program.

SEC. 5. AWARD OF GRANTS.

    (a) General Authority.--From the sums appropriated under section 3 
in any fiscal year, the Secretary shall make grants to local 
educational agencies with approved applications to initiate or expand 
school counseling programs for elementary school children.
    (b) Priority.--In approving applications, the Secretary shall give 
special consideration to programs that--
            (1) demonstrate the greatest need for new or additional 
        counseling services among the children in the elementary 
        schools of the applicant;
            (2) propose the most promising and innovative approaches 
        for initiating or expanding elementary school counseling; and
            (3) show the greatest potential for replication and 
        dissemination.
    (c) Equitable Distribution.--In approving grants under this Act, 
the Secretary shall ensure an equitable geographic distribution among 
the regions of the United States and among urban, suburban, and rural 
areas.
    (d) Duration.--Grants may be awarded for a period not to exceed 
three years.
    (e) Maximum Grant.--A grant to a local educational agency may not 
exceed $400,000 for each fiscal year.

SEC. 6. REQUIREMENTS FOR THE USE OF FUNDS.

    (a) In General.--Funds shall be used to initiate or expand 
elementary school counseling programs that comply with the requirements 
in subsection (b).
    (b) Program Requirements.--Each program assisted under this Act 
shall--
            (1) be comprehensive in addressing the personal, social, 
        emotional, educational, and career development needs of all 
        students;
            (2) use a developmental, preventive approach to counseling;
            (3) increase the range, availability, quantity, and quality 
        of counseling services in the elementary schools of the local 
        educational agency;
            (4) ensure a team approach to school counseling by 
        maintaining a ratio in the elementary schools of the local 
        educational agency that does not exceed one school counselor to 
        two hundred and fifty students, one school social worker to 800 
        students and one school psychologist to 1,000 students;
            (5) expand counseling services only through qualified 
        school counselors, school psychologists, and school social 
        workers, as defined in section 8;
            (6) use innovative approaches to increase children's 
        understanding of peer and family relationships, work and self, 
        decisionmaking, academic and career planning, or to improve 
        social functioning;
            (7) provide counseling services with the goal of developing 
        a highly skilled workforce through a range of quality 
        educational programs and work-related experiences that allow 
        students to reach high school graduation equipped to tackle 
        immediately the world of work, or to continue in some form of 
        postsecondary education or training, or both;
            (8) provide counseling services that are well-balanced 
        among classroom group and small group counseling, individual 
        counseling, and consultation with parents, teachers, 
        administrators, and other pupil services personnel;
            (9) include inservice training for school counselors, 
        school social workers, school psychologists, other pupil 
        services personnel, teachers, and instructional staff;
            (10) involve parents of participating students in the 
        design, implementation, and evaluation of a counseling program;
            (11) involve collaborative efforts with institutions of 
        higher education, businesses, labor organizations, community 
        groups, social service agencies, or other public or private 
        entities to enhance the program and promote school-linked 
        services integration;
            (12) ensure that school counselors, school psychologists or 
        school social workers paid from funds made available under this 
        Act spend at least 85 percent of their total work time in 
        activities directly related to the counseling process and not 
        more than 15 percent on administrative tasks (associated with 
        the counseling program);
            (13) provide supervision for professionals who are hired 
        under this Act by supervisors who are counselors, school social 
        workers, and school psychologists as defined in section 8; and
            (14) evaluate annually the effectiveness and outcomes of 
        the counseling services and activities funded under this Act.

SEC. 7. NATIONAL ADMINISTRATION.

    (a) Office of Pupil Services.--The Secretary shall establish an 
Office of Pupil Services in the Department of Education to administer, 
review, and monitor pupil services programs, including the programs 
funded under this Act, to assist in carrying out the requirements of 
this section, and to provide a national focal point for information and 
technical assistance regarding the counseling, personal, social, 
emotional, educational, career development and psychological needs of 
elementary and secondary school children. The Office shall be headed by 
a Director who shall be an individual of recognized professional 
qualifications and experience in the field of pupil services.
    (b) Data Collection, Research, and Evaluation.--The Director shall 
compile the evaluations of the programs under this Act conducted by 
local educational agencies and shall regularly collect such data as the 
Secretary finds necessary to develop a profile of the use and impact of 
funds under this Act. At the end of the grant period, but in no case 
later than January 30, 1998, the Secretary shall issue a research and 
evaluation report.
    (c) Dissemination.--The Secretary shall make the programs funded 
under this Act available for dissemination, either through the National 
Diffusion Network or other appropriate means.
    (d) Limit on Administration.--Not more than 5 percent of the sums 
made available under section 3 in any fiscal year may be used to carry 
out the provisions of this section.

SEC. 8. DEFINITIONS.

    Except as otherwise provided, for purposes of this Act--
            (1) the term ``comprehensive'' means, with respect to 
        counseling services, a program in which--
                     (A) a school counselor, school psychologist, or 
                school social worker uses a range of individual and 
                group techniques and resources in a planned way to meet 
                the personal, social, emotional, educational, and 
                career development needs of all elementary children in 
                a school; and
                    (B) a school counselor, school psychologist, or 
                school social worker works directly with children, 
                families, teachers, and other school or agency 
                personnel to create an optimal positive learning 
                environment and personal growth opportunities for all 
                children;
            (2) the term ``developmental'' means, with respect to a 
        school counseling program, a systematically planned program 
        that--
                     (A) provides appropriate school counseling 
                interventions to foster the social, emotional, 
                physical, moral, and cognitive growth of elementary 
                school children;
                    (B) provides intervention services to help children 
                cope with family, social, emotional, and academic 
                problems; and
                    (C) supports and enhances the efforts of families, 
                teachers, and other school personnel to provide 
                children maximum opportunity to acquire competence and 
                skill in self-understanding and appreciation, 
                interpersonal interaction, educational achievement and 
                literacy, and career awareness and personal 
                decisionmaking;
            (3) the term ``Director'' means the Director of the Office 
        of Pupil Services in the Department of Education;
            (4) the term ``elementary school'' has the meaning given 
        that term in section 1471(8) of the Elementary and Secondary 
        Education Act of 1965;
            (5) the term ``local educational agency'' has the meaning 
        given such term in section 1471(12) of the Elementary and 
        Secondary Education Act of 1965;
            (6) the term ``parent'' has the meaning given such term in 
        section 1471(14) of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act 
        of 1965;
            (7) the term ``pupil services personnel'' has the meaning 
        given such term in section 1471(17) of the Elementary and 
        Secondary Education Act of 1965;
            (8) the term ``Secretary'' means the Secretary of 
        Education;
            (9) the term ``State educational agency'' has the meaning 
        given such term in section 1471(23) of the Elementary and 
        Secondary Education Act of 1965;
            (10) the term ``school counselor'' means an individual who 
        possesses State licensure or certification granted by an 
        independent professional regulatory board with documented 
        competence in counseling children and adolescents in a school 
        setting, or, in the absence of State credentialing regulations, 
        possesses national certification in school counseling or a 
        specialty of counseling granted by an independent professional 
        organization, or holds a minimum of a master's degree in school 
        counseling from a program accredited by the Council for 
        Accreditation of Counseling and Related Educational Programs or 
        the equivalent;
            (11) the term ``school psychologist'' means an individual 
        who possesses a minimum of 60 graduate semester hours in school 
        psychology from an accredited institution of higher education 
        and has completed 1,200 clock hours in a supervised school 
        psychology internship, of which 600 hours must be in the school 
        setting. School psychologists may hold certification or 
        licensure in the State in which they work, or in the absence of 
        State credentialing regulations, possess national certification 
        by the National School Psychology Certification Board;
            (12) the term ``school social worker'' means an individual 
        who holds a master's degree in social work, and is licensed or 
        certified by the State in which services are provided or holds 
        a school social work specialist credential; and
            (13) the term ``supervisors'' means school psychologists, 
        school social workers, and school counselors who serve in a 
        supervisory capacity and who have the equivalent number of 
        years of professional experience in their respective 
        disciplines as is required of teaching experience to meet the 
        supervisory or administrative credentials in the State in which 
        they practice.

                                 <all>
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