I
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 Representa-
tives 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 sub-
jected 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 bene-
ficial;
(2) an increasing number of elementary school
children are exhibiting symptoms of distress, such as
substance abuse, emotional disorders, academic
underachievement, disruptive behavior, juvenile de-
linquency, and suicide;
(3) elementary school counselors, school psy-
chologists and school social workers can contribute
to the personal growth, educational development,
and emotional well-being of elementary school chil-
dren by providing professional counseling, interven-
tion, and referral services;
(4) the average ratio of elementary school coun-
selors 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 develop-
ment of model elementary school counseling pro-
grams that include comprehensive career develop-
ment.
(b) PURPOSE.—The purpose of this Act is to enhance
the availability and quality of counseling services for ele-
mentary school children by providing grants to local edu-
cational agencies to establish effective and innovative ele-
mentary school counseling programs that can serve as na-
tional 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 accom-
panied by such information as the Secretary may reason-
ably require.
(b) NOTIFICATION OF STATE EDUCATIONAL AGEN-
CY.—Before submitting an application to the Secretary,
a local educational agency must provide the State edu-
cational agency with an opportunity to review and com-
ment on the program in its application. The comments of
the State educational agency shall be appended to the ap-
plication 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 develop-
ment 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 ap-
proaches 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 un-
dertaken with institutions of higher education, busi-
nesses, labor organizations, community groups, so-
cial service agencies, and other public or private en-
tities to enhance the program and promote school-
linked services integration;
(5) describe collaborative efforts with institu-
tions 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 person-
nel qualified to develop, implement, and administer
the program;
(7) describe how any diverse cultural popu-
lations would be served through the program;
(8) assure that the funds made available under
this Act for any fiscal year will be used to supple-
ment 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 ad-
visory board composed of parents, school counselors,
school psychologists, school social workers, other
pupil services personnel, teachers, school administra-
tors, and community leaders to advise the local edu-
cational agency on the design and implementation of
the program.
SEC. 5. AWARD OF GRANTS.
(a) GENERAL AUTHORITY.—From the sums appro-
priated under section 3 in any fiscal year, the Secretary
shall make grants to local educational agencies with ap-
proved applications to initiate or expand school counseling
programs for elementary school children.
(b) PRIORITY.—In approving applications, the Sec-
retary 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 ge-
ographic 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.
ment 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 coun-
seling, personal, social, emotional, educational, career de-
velopment and psychological needs of elementary and sec-
ondary school children. The Office shall be headed by a
Director who shall be an individual of recognized profes-
sional qualifications and experience in the field of pupil
services.
(b) DATA COLLECTION, RESEARCH, AND EVALUA-
TION.—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 Sec-
retary 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 dissemina-
tion, 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 re-
spect to counseling services, a program in which—
(A) a school counselor, school psychologist,
or school social worker uses a range of individ-
ual and group techniques and resources in a
planned way to meet the personal, social, emo-
tional, 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 chil-
dren, families, teachers, and other school or
agency personnel to create an optimal positive
learning environment and personal growth op-
portunities for all children;
(2) the term ‘‘developmental’’ means, with re-
spect to a school counseling program, a systemati-
cally planned program that—
(A) provides appropriate school counseling
interventions to foster the social, emotional,
physical, moral, and cognitive growth of elemen-
tary 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 ac-
quire competence and skill in self-understanding
and appreciation, interpersonal interaction, edu-
cational 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 mean-
ing given that term in section 1471(8) of the Ele-
mentary 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 in-
dividual who possesses State licensure or certifi-
cation granted by an independent professional regu-
latory board with documented competence in coun-
seling 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 independ-
ent professional organization, or holds a minimum of
a master’s degree in school counseling from a pro-
gram 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 accred-
ited institution of higher education and has com-
pleted 1,200 clock hours in a supervised school psy-
chology 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 regu-
lations, 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 psy-
chologists, school social workers, and school coun-
selors who serve in a supervisory capacity and who
have the equivalent number of years of professional
experience in their respective disciplines as is re-
quired of teaching experience to meet the super-
visory or administrative credentials in the State in
which they practice.
Æ