I 
114TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION H. R. 2378 
To establish an Office of Specialized Instructional Support in the Department 
of Education and to provide grants to State educational agencies to 
reduce barriers to learning. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
MAY 15, 2015 
Mr. LOEBSACK (for himself and Mr. MCDERMOTT) introduced the following 
bill; which was referred to the Committee on Education and the Workforce 
A BILL 
To establish an Office of Specialized Instructional Support 
in the Department of Education and to provide grants 
to State educational agencies to reduce barriers to learn-
ing. 
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 ‘‘Reducing Barriers to 
Learning Act of 2015’’. 
SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 
The Congress finds the following: 
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(1) Interventions to increase students’ bonding 
to school promote academic success by reducing bar-
riers to learning. 
(2) Interventions that foster students’ engage-
ment in school have been shown to reduce high 
school dropout rates. 
(3) Interventions that strengthen students’ so-
cial, emotional, and decisionmaking skills also posi-
tively impact their academic achievement, both in 
terms of higher standardized test scores and better 
grades. 
(4) Prevention and early intervention programs 
that target elementary school-aged students who are 
academically and socially at risk have been shown to 
produce declines in special education referrals and 
placement, suspension, grade retention, and discipli-
nary referrals. 
(5) Students with barriers to learning, such as 
low levels of resilience assets (such as high expecta-
tions and caring relationships at school), have lower 
levels of academic achievement both in low- and 
high-performing schools. 
(6) Increasing students’ engagement and sense 
of community in the school produces reductions in 
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problem behaviors, increased associations with 
prosocial peers, and better academic performance. 
(7) School mental health programs improve 
educational outcomes by decreasing absences and 
discipline referrals and improving test scores. 
(8) Students who receive social-emotional sup-
port and prevention services achieve better academi-
cally in school. 
(9) While it is well recognized that mental 
health directly affects children’s learning and devel-
opment, in a recent study one-third of school dis-
tricts reported decreased funding for school mental 
health services at the same time that two-thirds re-
ported increased need for such services. 
(10) Nearly 15 to 18 percent of children and 
adolescents have a chronic health condition, nearly 
half of whom could be considered disabled. School 
nursing provides access to high quality, cost-effective 
care to our Nation’s school children, including the 
most vulnerable. Improving access and overall health 
outcomes supports positive learning outcomes in our 
schools. 
(11) School counseling programs are essential 
for students to achieve optimal personal growth, ac-
quire positive social skills and values, set appropriate 
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career goals, and realize full academic potential to 
become productive, contributing members of the 
world community. 
(12) Seventy percent of children receiving serv-
ices 
from 
speech-language 
pathologists 
make 
progress in emergent literacy skills, and 75 percent 
make progress in word recognition, an important 
component of literacy skills; over two-thirds of class-
room teachers report that students receiving these 
services show improved reading skills in the class-
room. 
(13) Use of creative arts therapies (including 
art therapy, dance/movement therapy, and music 
therapy) promote learning and skill acquisition (in-
cluding enhanced literacy skills), increased attention, 
improved behavior, increased socialization, improved 
receptive/expressive language, self-expression, and a 
more positive attitude for learning. 
(14) Ninety-seven percent of children in the 
United States spend their days at school. Therefore, 
the school can be an important site where health and 
education risks (such as depression, absenteeism, 
and substance use) may be identified and timely 
interventions initiated. 
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(15) Whole-school interventions using positive 
behavior support have been shown to decrease be-
havior problems while improving academic perform-
ance, as measured by standardized tests in reading 
and mathematics. 
(16) Branches of Federal agencies need to re- 
evaluate policies aimed at enhancing school-based 
mental health and become more proactive in pro-
viding leadership to achieve integrated, collaborative, 
and effective programs aimed at improving the men-
tal health of America’s children. 
(17) Twenty percent of the 53 million children 
attending school in the United States will, at some 
point, meet the criteria for a diagnosable mental ill-
ness at a level of impairment that requires some 
type of intervention. Thus, there is the potential that 
over 10 million children will need some type of help 
to meet the goals relating to emotional well-being in 
the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 
1965 (20 U.S.C. 6301 et seq.). 
(18) More than three-quarters of schools have 
a coordinator of mental health and social services in 
the school; nearly two-thirds of school districts have 
a coordinator who serves this role; and one-half of 
the States have a coordinator of school mental 
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health and social services. However, there is cur-
rently no person responsible for overseeing or pro-
moting these services and supports in the Depart-
ment of Education. 
SEC. 3. OFFICE OF SPECIALIZED INSTRUCTIONAL SUP-
PORT. 
(a) IN GENERAL.—The Department of Education 
Organization Act (20 U.S.C. 3401 et seq.) is amended by 
redesignating sections 219 and 220 as sections 220 and 
221, respectively, and by inserting after section 218 the 
following new section: 
‘‘SEC. 219. OFFICE OF SPECIALIZED INSTRUCTIONAL SUP-
PORT. 
‘‘(a) ESTABLISHMENT.—There shall be, in the De-
partment, an Office of Specialized Instructional Support 
(referred to in this section as the ‘Office’). 
‘‘(b) DIRECTOR.— 
‘‘(1) APPOINTMENT AND REPORTING.—The Of-
fice shall be under the direction of the Director of 
Specialized Instructional Support who shall be ap-
pointed by the Secretary and who shall report di-
rectly to the Deputy Secretary. 
‘‘(2) FUNCTIONS.—The Director of Specialized 
Instructional Support, through the Office, shall 
carry out the following activities: 
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‘‘(A) Improve specialized instructional sup-
port services in schools in order to better ad-
dress barriers to student learning and improve 
academic achievement and educational results 
for students. 
‘‘(B) Identify and disseminate scientifically 
based practices in specialized instructional sup-
port services that effectively address barriers to 
education and improve both academic achieve-
ment and educational results for students. 
‘‘(C) Provide continuous training and pro-
fessional development opportunities for special-
ized instructional support personnel and other 
personnel in the use of effective techniques to 
address academic, behavioral, emotional, social, 
mental health, and functional needs. 
‘‘(D) Provide technical assistance to State 
specialized instructional support coordinators, if 
any, as well as to local and State educational 
agencies in the provision of effective, scientif-
ically based specialized instructional support 
services. 
‘‘(E) Coordinate specialized instructional 
support services programs and services in 
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