I
107TH CONGRESS
1ST SESSION
H. R. 1508
To amend title X of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965
to provide for elementary and secondary school counseling programs.
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
APRIL 4, 2001
Mrs. ROUKEMA introduced the following bill; which was referred to the
Committee on Education and the Workforce
A BILL
To amend title X of the Elementary and Secondary Edu-
cation Act of 1965 to provide for elementary and sec-
ondary school counseling programs.
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 and Sec-
ondary Counseling Improvement Act of 2001’’.
SEC. 2. ELEMENTARY AND SECONDARY SCHOOL COUN-
SELING PROGRAMS.
Section 10102 of title X of the Elementary and Sec-
ondary Education Act of 1965 is amended to read as fol-
lows:
‘‘SEC. 
10102. 
ELEMENTARY 
AND 
SECONDARY 
SCHOOL
COUNSELING PROGRAMS.
‘‘(a) FINDINGS.—Congress finds as follows:
‘‘(1) The Surgeon General reported in January
2001 that 1 in 10 children suffer from mental ill-
nesses severe enough to impair development and
fewer than 1 in 5 children get treatment for mental
illnesses.
‘‘(2) The Surgeon General reported that the
burden of suffering by children with mental health
needs and their families has created a health crisis
in this country. Growing numbers of children are
suffering needlessly because their emotional, behav-
ioral, and developmental needs are not being met by
the very institutions and systems that were created
to take care of them.
‘‘(3) As a result of the concern about the fail-
ure of the healthcare system to reach children and
adolescents with mental illnesses, there is currently
great interest in developing new models for the deliv-
ery of mental health and counseling services that
can reach underserved groups efficiently.
‘‘(4) Schools are a sensible point of intervention
because of their central position in many children’s
lives and development, especially when families are
unable to assume a leading role.
‘‘(5) School-based mental health and counseling
services allow for the identification of children in
need of treatment much earlier in their development.
‘‘(6) Establishing mental health and counseling
services in schools provides access to underserved
youth with or at risk of emotional or behavioral
problems.
‘‘(7) The Surgeon General’s 2000 report on
youth violence concludes that effective treatment can
divert a significant proportion of delinquent and vio-
lent youths from future violence and crime.
‘‘(8) Mental health and counseling services can
play an important role in violence prevention on all
levels, including preventing problem behaviors from
developing; identifying and serving specific, at-risk
populations; and reducing the deleterious effects of
violence on victims and witnesses.
‘‘(9) An evaluation of the model program for
the elementary school counseling demonstration pro-
gram established pursuant to this section prior to
the date of enactment of the Elementary and Sec-
ondary Counseling Improvement Act of 2001 found
that the number of referrals to the principal’s office
decreased by nearly half, the use of force, weapons,
and threatening of others also decreased, school sus-
pensions were reduced, and students felt safer.
‘‘(10) The report produced by the Institute of
Medicine, ‘Schools and Health: Our Nation’s Invest-
ment’, recommended a student-to-school counselor
ratio of 250:1, student-to-school psychologist ratio of
1000:1, and a student-to-school social worker ratio
of 800:1. The United States average student-to-
counselor ratio is 551:1. Ratios for school psycholo-
gists and school social workers also exceed the rec-
ommended levels.
‘‘(b) GRANTS AUTHORIZED.—
‘‘(1) IN
GENERAL.—The Secretary may use
funds provided under this section to award grants to
local educational agencies to enable such agencies to
establish or expand elementary and secondary school
counseling programs which meet the requirements of
subsection (c).
‘‘(2) PRIORITY.—In awarding grants under this
section, the Secretary shall give special consideration
to applications describing programs which—
‘‘(A) demonstrate the greatest need for
new or additional counseling services among
children in the schools served by the applicant,
in part, by providing information on current ra-
1,200 clock hours in a supervised school psy-
chology internship, of which 600 hours shall be
in the school setting;
‘‘(B) possesses State licensure or certifi-
cation in the State in which the individual
works; or
‘‘(C) in the absence of such State licensure
or certification, possesses national certification
by the National School Psychology Certification
Board;
‘‘(3) the term ‘school social worker’ means an
individual who—
‘‘(A) holds a master’s degree in social work
from a program accredited by the Council on
Social Work Education; and
‘‘(B) is licensed or certified by the State in
which services are provided; or
‘‘(C) in the absence of such State licensure
or certification, possesses a national credential
or certification as a ‘school social work spe-
cialist’ granted by an independent professional
organization; and
‘‘(4) the term ‘child and adolescent psychiatrist’
means an individual who—
‘‘(A) possesses State medical licensure; and
‘‘(B) has completed residency training pro-
grams in general and child and adolescent psy-
chiatry.
‘‘(f) REPORT.—Not later than 1 year after assistance
is made available under this section, the Secretary shall
make publicly available the information from applicants
regarding the ratios of students to school counselors, stu-
dents to school social workers, and students to school psy-
chologists.
‘‘(g) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There
are authorized to be appropriated to carry out this section
$100,000,000 for fiscal year 2002 and such sums as may
be necessary for each of the 4 succeeding fiscal years.
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