I 
119TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION H. R. 4965 
To amend the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 to expand 
career counseling opportunities within student support and academic 
enrichment grants. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
AUGUST 12, 2025 
Mr. THOMPSON of Pennsylvania (for himself and Ms. BONAMICI) introduced 
the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Education and 
Workforce 
A BILL 
To amend the Elementary and Secondary Education Act 
of 1965 to expand career counseling opportunities within 
student support and academic enrichment grants. 
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 ‘‘Counseling for Career 
Choice Act’’. 
SEC. 2. AMENDMENT. 
Section 4107(a)(3)(A) of the Elementary and Sec-
ondary Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 7117(a)(3)(A)) 
is amended to read as follows: 
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‘‘(A) career guidance and school counseling 
programs, such as— 
‘‘(i) guidance for school career coun-
seling programs, and school counselors and 
students who may be interested in such 
programs; 
‘‘(ii) identifying and assessing school 
counseling activities and postsecondary op-
tions available within the State, and out-
side the State as applicable; 
‘‘(iii) identifying regional workforce 
trends in collaboration with entities at the 
State and regional level with expertise in 
identifying such trends (such as State 
boards and local boards (as such terms are 
defined in section 3 of the Workforce Inno-
vation and Opportunity Act (29 U.S.C. 
3102)), regional economic development or-
ganizations, or State employment agen-
cies); 
‘‘(iv) developing and implementing a 
process and infrastructure for school coun-
selors and school counseling programs to 
access information regarding the regional 
workforce trends identified in clause (iii); 
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‘‘(v) information for school counselors 
on how to effectively provide students with 
current and relevant workforce informa-
tion, financial aid assistance, personal 
counseling, and academic advising relevant 
to students’ individual career and postsec-
ondary education goals; 
‘‘(vi) financial literacy and Federal fi-
nancial aid awareness activities other than 
the activities described in clause (v); 
‘‘(vii) developing and implementing 
professional development or career develop-
ment training certification programs for 
counselors and other educators involved in 
preparing students for postsecondary op-
portunities, which may include partnering 
with an industry association that provides 
a nationally recognized certification in ca-
reer development; 
‘‘(viii) establishing, improving, or co-
ordinating postsecondary opportunities for 
students, which shall include— 
‘‘(I) individual career planning; 
‘‘(II) personalized learning plans; 
‘‘(III) registered apprenticeships; 
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‘‘(IV) internships; 
‘‘(V) dual enrollment programs; 
‘‘(VI) programs leading to recog-
nized postsecondary credentials (as 
defined in section 3 of the Workforce 
Innovation and Opportunity Act (29 
U.S.C. 3102)), including programs at 
a secondary school; 
‘‘(VII) 2-year degree programs; 
or 
‘‘(VIII) 4-year degree programs; 
‘‘(ix) encouraging partnerships with 
one-stop centers as defined in section 3 of 
the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity 
Act (29 U.S.C. 3102), which may include 
colocating a one-stop center in a high 
school, transporting students to local one- 
stop centers, or having one-stop center ca-
reer counselors and business liaisons assist 
school counselors in hosting job fairs, ca-
reer days, or other such similar tasks; 
‘‘(x) leveraging resources and emerg-
ing technologies, including artificial intel-
ligence, that are being developed to sup-
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port career development and career coun-
seling activities; and 
‘‘(xi) evaluating secondary and post-
secondary outcomes for individuals served 
by school or other career counseling pro-
grams;’’. 
Æ 
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