School Social Workers Improving Student Success Act
Bill: H.R.7037 | Sponsor: Rep. Moore, Gwen (D-WI)
Policy area: Education

Summary:
School Social Workers Improving Student Success Act
This bill provides certain resources to increase the number of social workers in elementary and secondary schools.
Specifically, the bill directs the Department of Education to award grants to high-need local educational agencies to retain or hire school social workers.
The bill also establishes a national technical assistance center for school social work to, among other duties, develop strategies for improving the effectiveness of the school social work workforce.

To amend the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 to provide 
    grants to hire and retain school social workers, and for other 
                               purposes.

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``School Social Workers Improving 
Student Success Act''.

SEC. 2. SCHOOL SOCIAL WORKER GRANTS.

    (a) Purposes.--The purpose of this Act is to assist States and 
local educational agencies in hiring additional school social workers 
in order to increase access to mental health and other student support 
services to students in elementary and secondary schools in the United 
States to the minimum ratios recommended by the National Association of 
Social Workers, the School Social Work Association of America, and the 
American Council for School Social Work of one school social worker for 
every 250 students, and one school social worker for every 50 students 
when a social worker is providing services to students with intensive 
needs.
    (b) ESEA Amendment.--Subpart 4 of part F of title IV of the 
Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (10 U.S.C. 7271 et seq.) 
is amended by adding at the end the following new section:

``SEC. 4645. GRANTS FOR SCHOOL SOCIAL WORKERS.

    ``(a) Grants Authorized.--
            ``(1) In general.--From the amounts appropriated under 
        subsection (g), the Secretary shall award grants to high-need 
        local educational agencies to enable such agencies to retain 
        school social workers employed by such agencies or to hire 
        additional school social workers.
            ``(2) Duration.--A grant awarded under this section shall 
        be awarded for a period not to exceed 4 years.
            ``(3) Supplement, not supplant.--Funds made available under 
        this section shall be used to supplement, and not to supplant, 
        other Federal, State, or local funds used for hiring and 
        retaining school social workers.
    ``(b) Application.--
            ``(1) In general.--To be eligible to receive a grant under 
        this section, a high-need local educational agency shall submit 
        to the Secretary an application at such time, in such manner, 
        and containing such information as the Secretary may require.
            ``(2) Contents.--An application submitted under paragraph 
        (1) shall include an assurance that each school social worker 
        who receives assistance under the grant will provide the 
        services described in subsection (d), and a description of the 
        specific services to be provided by such social worker.
    ``(c) Use of Funds.--A high-need local educational agency receiving 
a grant under this section--
            ``(1) shall use the grant--
                    ``(A) to achieve a ratio of not less than 1 school 
                social worker for every 250 students served by the 
                agency, by--
                            ``(i) retaining school social workers 
                        employed by such agency; or
                            ``(ii)(I) employing additional school 
                        social workers; or
                            ``(II) hiring contractors to serve as 
                        school social workers only in a case in which--
                                    ``(aa) the local educational agency 
                                demonstrates to the Secretary that the 
                                agency--
                                            ``(AA) has not been able to 
                                        employ a sufficient number of 
                                        school social workers under 
                                        subclause (I) to achieve such 
                                        ratio despite strong and 
                                        continuing efforts to recruit 
                                        and employ school social 
                                        workers; and
                                            ``(BB) hiring contractors 
                                        is the only viable option to 
                                        ensure students have adequate 
                                        access to school social work 
                                        services; and
                                    ``(bb) each such contractor meets 
                                the requirements of subparagraphs (A) 
                                and (B) of subsection (h)(2); and
                    ``(B) to ensure that each school social worker who 
                receives assistance under such grant provides the 
                services described in subsection (d); and
            ``(2) may use the grant to reimburse school social workers 
        who receive assistance under such grant for--
                    ``(A) in the case of a school served by the agency 
                in which the majority of students are higher risk 
                students, to hire or retain additional school social 
                workers in accordance with clauses (i) and (ii) of 
                paragraph (1)(A) to achieve a ratio of not less than 1 
                school social worker for every 50 students;
                    ``(B) travel expenses incurred during home visits 
                and other school-related trips;
                    ``(C) any additional expenses incurred by such 
                social workers in rendering any service described in 
                subsection (d); and
                    ``(D) the cost of clinical social work supervision 
                for such social workers.
    ``(d) Responsibilities of a School Social Worker.--A school social 
worker who receives assistance under a grant under this section shall 
provide the following services:
            ``(1) Identifying high-need students in each school that 
        the social worker serves, and targeting services provided at 
        the school to such students.
            ``(2) Providing students in each school that the school 
        social worker serves, social work services to promote school 
        engagement and improve academic outcomes, including--
                    ``(A) counseling and crisis intervention;
                    ``(B) trauma-informed services;
                    ``(C) evidence-based educational, behavioral, and 
                mental health services (such as implementing multi-
                tiered programs and practices, monitoring progress, and 
                evaluating service effectiveness);
                    ``(D) addressing the social and emotional learning 
                needs of students;
                    ``(E) promoting a school climate and culture 
                conducive to student learning and teaching excellence 
                (such as promoting effective school policies and 
                administrative procedures, enhancing the professional 
                capacity of school personnel, and facilitating 
                engagement between student, family, school, and 
                community);
                    ``(F) providing access to school-based and 
                community based resources (such as promoting a 
                continuum of services, mobilizing resources and 
                promoting assets, and providing leadership, 
                interdisciplinary collaboration, systems coordination, 
                professional consultation, and connecting students and 
                families to resource systems);
                    ``(G) working with students, families, schools, and 
                communities to address barriers to educational 
                attainment (such as homelessness and housing 
                insecurity, lack of transportation, food insecurity, 
                equity, social justice issues, access to quality 
                education, and school, family, and community risk 
                factors);
                    ``(H) providing assistance to schools and teachers 
                to design social-emotional, educational, behavioral, 
                and mental health interventions;
                    ``(I) case management activities to coordinate the 
                delivery of and access to the appropriate social work 
                services to the highest-need students;
                    ``(J) home visits to meet the family of students in 
                need of social work services in the home environment;
                    ``(K) supervising or coordinating district level 
                school social work services; and
                    ``(L) other services the Secretary determines, in 
                partnership with students, educators, and community 
                member voices are necessary to be carried out by such a 
                social worker.
    ``(e) Grant Renewal.--
            ``(1) In general.--A grant awarded under this section may 
        be renewed for additional periods with the same duration as the 
        original grant period.
            ``(2) Continuing eligibility application.--To be eligible 
        for a renewal under this section a high-need local educational 
        agency shall submit to the Secretary, for each renewal, a 
        report on the progress of such agency in retaining and hiring 
        school social workers to achieve the ratio of not less than 1 
        school social worker for every 250 students served by the 
        agency, and shall include--
                    ``(A) a description of the staffing expansion of 
                school social workers funded through the original grant 
                received under this section; and
                    ``(B) a description of the work conducted by such 
                social workers for higher risk students.
    ``(f) Technical Assistance.--
            ``(1) In general.--The Secretary shall provide technical 
        assistance to high-need local educational agencies, including 
        such agencies that do not have adequate staff, in applying for 
        grants under this section.
            ``(2) Extension of application period.--The Secretary shall 
        extend any application period for a grant under this section 
        for any high-need local educational agency that--
                    ``(A) submits to the Secretary a written 
                notification of the intent to apply for a grant under 
                this section before requesting technical assistance 
                under paragraph (1); and
                    ``(B) after submitting the notification under 
                paragraph (1), requests such technical assistance.
    ``(g) Authorization for Appropriations.--There is authorized to be 
appropriated to carry out this section, $100,000,000 for each of fiscal 
years 2023 through 2027.
    ``(h) Definitions.--In this section:
            ``(1) High-need local educational agency.--The term `high-
        need local educational agency' has the meaning given the term 
        in section 200 of the Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 
        1021).
            ``(2) School social worker.--The term `school social 
        worker' means an individual who--
                    ``(A) has a graduate degree in social work from a 
                social work program that is accredited by the Council 
                on Social Work Education; and
                    ``(B) meets all other State and local credentialing 
                requirements for practicing as a social worker in an 
                elementary school or secondary school.''.

SEC. 3. NATIONAL TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE CENTER FOR SCHOOL SOCIAL WORK.

    (a) In General.--The Secretary of Education, acting through the 
Assistant Secretary, shall establish an evaluation, documentation, 
dissemination, and technical assistance resource center to provide 
appropriate information, training, and technical assistance to States, 
political subdivisions of States, federally recognized Indian tribes, 
tribal organizations, institutions of higher education, State and local 
educational agencies, and individual students and educators with 
respect to hiring and retaining school social workers at elementary 
schools and secondary schools served by local educational agencies.
    (b) Responsibilities of the Center.--The center established under 
subsection (1) shall conduct activities for the purpose of--
            (1) developing and continuing statewide or tribal 
        strategies for improving the effectiveness of the school social 
        work workforce;
            (2) studying the costs and effectiveness of school social 
        work programs at institutions of higher education to identify 
        areas of improvement and provide information on relevant issues 
        of importance to State, tribal, and national policymakers;
            (3) working with Federal agencies and other State, Tribal, 
        and national stakeholders to collect, evaluate, and disseminate 
        data regarding school social work ratios, outcomes and best 
        practices of school-based mental health services, and impact of 
        expanding the number of school social workers within elementary 
        schools and secondary schools;
            (4) establishing partnerships among National, State, 
        Tribal, and local governments, and local educational agencies, 
        institutions of higher education, non-profit organizations, and 
        State and national trade associations for the purposes of--
                    (A) data collection and dissemination;
                    (B) establishing a school social work workforce 
                development program;
                    (C) documenting the success of school social work 
                methods on a national level; and
                    (D) conducting other activities determined 
                appropriate by the Secretary.
    (c) Definitions.--In this section:
            (1) ESEA terms.--Except as otherwise provided, any term 
        used in this section that is defined in section 8101 of the 
        Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 7801) 
        shall have the meaning given that term in such section.
            (2) School social worker.--The term ``school social 
        worker'' has the meaning given the term in section 4645(h) of 
        the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965, as added by 
        section 2.
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