GROW SISPS Act

To direct the Secretary of Education to award grants to eligible partnerships to increase access to specialized instructional support personnel, and for other purposes. 1. Short title This Act may be cited as the Growing, Recruiting, and Obtaining Workers in Specialized Instructional Support Personnel Services Act GROW SISPS Act 2. Grow your own program grant (a) Program authorized From the amounts appropriated to carry out this Act, the Secretary of Education shall award grants, on a competitive basis, to eligible partnerships to expand, or establish and implement, A Grow Your Own Program to increase access to specialized instructional support personnel. (b) Grant period; Priority (1) Grant period A grant under this section shall be awarded for a 6-year period. (2) Priority In awarding grants under this Act, the Secretary shall give priority to eligible partnerships in which a high-need local educational agency is in the partnership or that seeks to use the grant to serve a community with a high-need local educational agency. (c) Application To be eligible to receive a grant under this section, an eligible partnership shall submit to the Secretary an application at such time, in such manner, and containing such information as the Secretary may require, which shall include the following with respect to the local educational agency, the consortium of local educational agencies, or the State educational agency in such eligible partnership, and disaggregated by the specific occupation: (1) The number of specialized instructional support personnel employed as of the date of application. (2) The number of specialized instructional support personnel who are so employed and who have an emergency or temporary credential. (3) The ratio of specialized instructional support personnel to students. (d) Uses of funds (1) In general An eligible partnership that receives a grant under this section shall use such grant to expand, or establish and implement, a Grow Your Own Program that meets the requirements of paragraph (2) to increase, through respecialization or re-training— (A) access to specialized instructional support personnel in the schools served by the local educational agency or the consortium of local educational agencies in such eligible partnership, or the local educational agencies under the jurisdiction of the State educational agency in such eligible partnership; or (B) the diversity of specialized instructional support personnel in such schools. (2) Grow Your Own Program requirements An eligible partnership shall ensure that a Grow Your Own Program expanded, or established and implemented, under paragraph (1) provides the following to each participant of the program: (A) The skills needed to complete a relevant degree or training— (i) to be credentialed by the State educational agency, or relevant regulatory body; or (ii) in the case of a profession for which there is no State credential, to meet the professional standards as articulated by the relevant national organization for such profession. (B) Relevant clinical experience, during the period in which the participant completes and earns the credential provided under the program, that is— (i) connected to the coursework provided under the program; and (ii) located in elementary schools or secondary schools in such community, with priority given to elementary schools or secondary schools in the eligible partnership. (C) A high-quality mentoring program that— (i) provides mentoring by a fully credentialed professional of the occupation for which the participant is pursuing a credential; and (ii) continues through the period that is 2 years after the participant receives a credential under the program. (D) Supportive services (which may include housing subsidies, stipends, and tuition assistance and other financial assistance). (E) Academic, counseling, and programmatic supports. (3) Additional requirements In expanding, or establishing and implementing A Grow Your Own Program under paragraph (1), an eligible partnership shall carry out each of the following: (A) Identify the needs for specialized instructional support personnel in the local educational agency, the consortium of local educational agencies, or the State educational agency in the eligible partnership. (B) Recruit and incentivize individuals to enter, and to pursue training to enter, a specialized instructional support personnel profession that meets the needs identified in subparagraph (A), especially for the purpose of serving in high-need local educational agencies. (e) Reporting requirements (1) Reports by eligible partnerships Each eligible partnership that receives a grant under this section shall submit, for each of the third through sixth years of the grant period, a report to the Secretary that includes— (A) the number of participants of the program funded by such grant who are working in a high-need local educational agency during such year and the preceding year, disaggregated by specific occupation; and (B) in a year in which the number of such participants who are working in a high-need local educational agency decreases from the preceding year by more than 50 percent, an improvement plan for increasing such number as soon as practicable. (2) Reports by the Secretary Not later than 1 year after the first grant is awarded under this section, and on an annual basis thereafter, the Secretary shall submit to Congress a report on— (A) the impact of grants awarded under this section in increasing specialized instructional support personnel, and lowering the ratio of specialized instructional support personnel to students, in the local educational agencies, the consortium of local educational agencies, and the State educational agencies in the eligible partnerships that were awarded such grants; (B) best practices for expanding, or establishing and implementing eligible partnerships and Grow Your Own Programs that meet the requirements of subsection (d)(2); and (C) recommendations for strengthening the eligible partnerships and Grow Your Own Programs served the grants awarding under this Act, such as improving recruitment and retention of participants and increasing the number of specialized instructional support personnel in the community, especially in high-need schools. (f) Definitions In this Act: (1) Eligible partnership The term eligible partnership (A) A school, department, or program of education (including a graduate level program) within an institution of higher education that is State-accredited and is eligible to receive Federal funds under title IV of the Higher Education Act of 1965 ( 20 U.S.C. 1070 et seq. (B) A local educational agency, a consortium of local educational agencies, or a State educational agency. (C) A State-accredited nonprofit educational organization or professional licensure organization that provides alternative routes to State certification or licensure, or credentialing for specialized instructional support personnel. (2) ESEA terms The terms local educational agency State educational agency specialized instructional support personnel 20 U.S.C. 7801 (3) High-need local educational agency The term high-need local educational agency 20 U.S.C. 1021 (4) Institution of higher education The term institution of higher education 20 U.S.C. 1001 (5) Secretary The term Secretary

Summary: Growing, Recruiting, and Obtaining Workers in Specialized Instructional Support Personnel Services Act or the GROW SISPS Act This bill requires the Department of Education to award competitive grants to eligible partnerships (e.g., partnerships between institutions of higher education, local educational agencies, and organizations that provide credentialing for specialized instructional support personnel) for expanding or establishing programs to increase specialized instructional support personnel in schools.