I 
115TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION 
H. R. 977 
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 
FEBRUARY 7, 2017 
Ms. SA´NCHEZ (for herself, Mr. GARAMENDI, and Mr. LANGEVIN) introduced 
the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Education and 
the Workforce 
A BILL 
To amend the Elementary and Secondary Education Act 
of 1965 to create a demonstration project to fund addi-
tional secondary school counselors in troubled title I 
schools to reduce the dropout rate. 
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 
This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Put School Counselors 
Where They’re Needed Act’’. 
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SEC. 2. DEMONSTRATION PROJECT FOR ADDITIONAL SEC-
ONDARY SCHOOL COUNSELORS. 
Part D of title I of the Elementary and Secondary 
Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 6421 et seq.) is amend-
ed by adding at the end the following: 
‘‘Subpart 4—Demonstration Project for Additional 
Secondary School Counselors 
‘‘SEC. 1441. FINDINGS. 
‘‘The Congress finds the following: 
‘‘(1) Nationally, only 70 percent of students 
graduate from high school with a regular high school 
diploma. 
‘‘(2) Every school day, 7,000 American high 
school students become dropouts. 
‘‘(3) High school students living in low-income 
families drop out of school at three times the rate 
of their peers from high-income families. 
‘‘(4) Only about 55 percent of African Amer-
ican students and 52 percent of Hispanic students 
graduate on time from high school with a regular di-
ploma, compared to 78 percent of white students. 
‘‘(5) The dropout rate for students with disabil-
ities is approximately twice that of general education 
students. 
‘‘(6) High school is the final transition into 
adulthood and the world of work as students begin 
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defining their independence and forging their own 
pathways. As our next generation of leaders, our 
youth, are deciding their futures, they are faced with 
many challenges, including peer pressure and bul-
lying, high-stakes testing, the challenges of college 
admissions, the scholarship and financial aid appli-
cation process, and entrance into an ever more com-
petitive job market. Students need guidance and 
skills to help them navigate these complex decisions, 
which have serious and life changing consequences. 
‘‘(7) School counseling programs are essential 
for students to achieve optimal personal growth, ac-
quire positive social skills and values, set appropriate 
career goals, and realize full academic potential to 
become productive, contributing members of the 
world community. 
‘‘(8) Professional secondary school counselors 
are highly qualified educators with a mental health 
perspective who understand and respond to the chal-
lenges presented by today’s diverse student popu-
lation. 
‘‘(9) The professional secondary school coun-
selor holds a master’s degree or higher in school 
counseling (or the substantial equivalent), and is 
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certified or licensed by the State in which the coun-
selor works. 
‘‘(10) Professional secondary school counselors 
are integral to the total educational program. They 
provide proactive leadership that engages all stake-
holders in the delivery of programs and services to 
help the student achieve success in school. Profes-
sional secondary school counselors align and work 
with the school’s mission to support the academic 
achievement of all students as they prepare for the 
ever-changing world of the 21st century. 
‘‘(11) Professional secondary school counselors’ 
opportunities to assist students are often hindered 
by extraordinarily high student-to-counselor ratios. 
Currently, the average student-to-counselor ratio in 
America’s public schools is 471 to 1. The American 
School Counselor Association, the American Coun-
seling Association, and the National Association for 
College Admissions Counseling all recommend a 
ratio of one school counselor to 250 students and a 
lower ratio for counselors working primarily with 
students at risk. 
‘‘SEC. 1442. DEMONSTRATION PROJECT. 
‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—From amounts made available to 
carry out this subpart, the Secretary shall carry out a 
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demonstration project under which the Secretary makes 
grants on a competitive basis to secondary schools that 
receive funds under this title and have a four-year ad-
justed cohort graduation rate of 60 percent or lower. 
‘‘(b) GRANTS.—A grant under this subpart shall be 
for a period of 4 years and may be used— 
‘‘(1) to provide additional school counselors 
during that period; and 
‘‘(2) to provide additional resources (such as 
professional development expenses or travel expenses 
for home visits, and any services and materials re-
ferred to in subsection (d)) and to pay overhead ex-
penses. 
‘‘(c) SENSE OF CONGRESS.—It is the sense of Con-
gress that a participating school should aim to provide, 
under subsection (b)(1), one additional counselor per 250 
students at risk. 
‘‘(d) SCOPE OF COUNSELING.—The additional school 
counselors shall identify students who are at risk of not 
graduating in 4 years and shall provide counseling pri-
marily to those students. The counselors may identify such 
students at any time, but shall strive to identify them be-
fore they enter grade 9. Services shall be provided as long 
as necessary, including to the extent allowable and appro-
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priate, after the student’s cohort graduation date. The 
counseling provided— 
‘‘(1) may include a full panoply of services, in-
cluding an individual graduation plan and other re-
sources, such as appropriate course placement and 
supplemental services (to include not only supple-
mental educational services tutoring if available at 
the school site, but also other tutoring as necessary, 
along with supplemental books and materials); and 
‘‘(2) shall include meetings with each student so 
identified and with the teachers, tutors, supple-
mental educational services providers, and parents of 
the student, and may also include meetings with 
other relevant individuals, such as a probation offi-
cer, mentor, coach, or employer of the student. 
‘‘(e) SUPPLEMENT NOT SUPPLANT.—Funds under 
this subpart shall be used to supplement, not supplant, 
funds from non-Federal sources. The additional school 
counselors provided through funds under this subpart 
must be in addition to any employees who work in the 
secondary school guidance or counseling office, such as 
counselors, college admissions specialists, career develop-
ment specialists, guidance information specialists, or any 
other professional or paraprofessional. 
‘‘(f) ADDITIONAL GRANT PERIODS.— 
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‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—A school that receives a 
grant under this subpart and demonstrates adequate 
improvement over the period of the grant is eligible 
to receive a second grant for a second period. If the 
school again demonstrates adequate improvement 
over that second period, the school is eligible to re-
ceive a third grant for a third period. The third 
grant shall provide amounts that decrease for each 
year of the third period and require the school to 
provide corresponding increases in non-Federal 
funds. 
‘‘(2) ADEQUATE IMPROVEMENT.—For purposes 
of paragraph (1), a school demonstrates adequate 
improvement over a grant period if the four-year ad-
justed cohort graduation rate increases (or is pro-
jected to increase) by 10 percent or more over that 
period. 
‘‘(g) SELECTION.—The Secretary shall carry out the 
demonstration project in at least 10 schools. The first five 
schools selected to participate shall each be from a dif-
ferent State. 
‘‘SEC. 1443. DEFINITION. 
‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—For purposes of this subpart. the 
term ‘regular high school diploma’ means the standard 
high school diploma awarded to the preponderance of stu-
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dents in the State that is fully aligned with State stand-
ards, or a higher diploma, and does not include GEDs, 
certificates of attendance, or any lesser diploma award. 
‘‘(b) SPECIAL RULE.—For those students who have 
significant cognitive disabilities and are assessed using an 
alternate assessment aligned to alternate achievement 
standards, receipt of a regular high school diploma or 
State-defined alternate diploma aligned with completion of 
their entitlement under the Individuals with Disabilities 
Education Act shall be counted as graduates with a reg-
ular high school diploma for the purposes of this Act. No 
more than 1 percent of students can be counted as grad-
uates with a regular high school diploma under this sub-
paragraph. 
‘‘SEC. 1444. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS. 
‘‘There are authorized to be appropriated to carry out 
this subpart $5,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2018 
through 2021.’’. 
SEC. 3. CONFORMING AMENDMENT; TABLE OF CONTENTS. 
(a) CONFORMING AMENDMENT.—Section 1002(d) of 
the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (20 
U.S.C. 6302(d)) is amended by inserting ‘‘(other than 
subpart 4)’’ after ‘‘part D,’’. 
(b) TOC.—The table of contents in section 2 of the 
Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 is 
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amended by inserting after the item relating to section 
1432 the following: 
‘‘SUBPART 4—DEMONSTRATION PROJECT FOR ADDITIONAL SECONDARY 
SCHOOL COUNSELORS 
‘‘Sec. 1841. Findings. 
‘‘Sec. 1842. Demonstration project. 
‘‘Sec. 1843. Definition. 
‘‘Sec. 1844. Authorization of appropriations.’’. 
Æ 
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