SEC. 2. DEMONSTRATION PROJECT FOR ADDITIONAL SEC-
ONDARY SCHOOL COUNSELORS. 
Part H (20 U.S.C. 6551 et seq.) of title I of the Ele-
mentary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 is amend-
ed by adding at the end the following: 
‘‘Subpart 3—Demonstration Project for Additional 
Secondary School Counselors 
‘‘SEC. 1841. FINDINGS. 
‘‘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 six 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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separating from parents and exploring and defining 
their independence. Students who are deciding who 
they are and what they will do when they graduate 
face many pressures, including high-stakes testing, 
the challenges of college admissions, the scholarship 
and financial aid application process, and entrance 
into a competitive job market. They need guidance 
in 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 
certified or licensed by the State in which the coun-
selor works. 
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‘‘(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 479 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. 1842. DEMONSTRATION PROJECT. 
‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—From amounts made available to 
carry out this subpart, the Secretary shall carry out a 
demonstration project under which the Secretary makes 
grants on a competitive basis to secondary schools that 
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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-
priate, after the student’s cohort graduation date. The 
counseling provided— 
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‘‘(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.— 
‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—A school that receives a 
grant under this subpart and demonstrates adequate 
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