[Congressional Bills 118th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 1415 Introduced in House (IH)]
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118th CONGRESS
1st Session
H. R. 1415
To amend the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 to provide
grants to hire and retain school social workers, and for other
purposes.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
March 7, 2023
Ms. Moore of Wisconsin (for herself and Ms. Lee of California)
introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on
Education and the Workforce
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
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 Amendments.--
(1) In general.--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 2024 through 2028.
``(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.''.
(2) Table of contents.--The table of contents in section 2
of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 is
amended by inserting after the item relating to section 4644
the following:
``Sec. 4645. Grants for school social workers.''.
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 (a) 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(b).
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