[Congressional Bills 118th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 653 Introduced in House (IH)]
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118th CONGRESS
1st Session
H. R. 653
To amend the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 to award
grants to eligible entities to establish, expand, or support school-
based mentoring programs to assist at-risk middle school students with
the transition from middle school to high school.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
January 31, 2023
Mr. Carson (for himself, Mr. Carter of Louisiana, Mr. Cartwright, Mr.
Cicilline, Mr. Cohen, Mr. Evans, Mr. Horsford, Ms. Jayapal, Ms. Norton,
Mr. Payne, Ms. Pressley, Mr. Raskin, and Mr. Thompson of Mississippi)
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 award
grants to eligible entities to establish, expand, or support school-
based mentoring programs to assist at-risk middle school students with
the transition from middle school to high school.
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 ``Transition-to-Success Mentoring
Act''.
SEC. 2. TRANSITION-TO-SUCCESS MENTORING PROGRAM.
(a) Transition-to-Success Mentoring Program.--Part D of title I of
the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 6421 et
seq.) is amended by adding at the end the following:
``Subpart 4--Transition-to-Success Mentoring Program
``SEC. 1441. TRANSITION-TO-SUCCESS MENTORING PROGRAM.
``(a) In General.--The Secretary shall award grants to eligible
entities to establish, expand, or support school-based mentoring
programs to assist eligible students with the transition from middle
school to high school.
``(b) Application.--
``(1) In general.--To receive a grant under this section,
an eligible entity shall submit an application to the Secretary
at such time, in such manner, and containing such information
as the Secretary may require.
``(2) Priority.--In selecting grant recipients, the
Secretary shall give priority to eligible entities that--
``(A) serve children and youth with the greatest
need living in high-poverty, high-crime areas, or rural
areas, or who attend schools with high rates of
community violence;
``(B) provide eligible students with opportunities
for postsecondary education preparation and career
development, including--
``(i) job training, professional
development, work shadowing, internships,
networking, resume writing and review,
interview preparation, transition services for
students with disabilities, application
assistance and visits to institutions of higher
education, and leadership development through
community service; and
``(ii) partnerships with the private sector
and local businesses to provide internship and
career exploration activities and resources;
``(C) seek to provide match lengths between
eligible students and success coaches for at least 1
academic year; and
``(D) indicate how, and the degree to which,
children were consulted and engaged in the development,
design, and implementation of the school-based
mentoring program.
``(c) Uses of Funds.--
``(1) Required uses of funds.--An eligible entity that
receives a grant under this section shall use the grant funds
to establish a school-based mentoring program, or to expand or
provide technical support to an existing school-based mentoring
program, in all middle schools served by the entity, under
which each eligible student is assigned to a success coach
who--
``(A) creates a plan for success for the student
that--
``(i) is created with the student, mentor,
relevant school staff (such as a teacher or
school counselor), and parents of the student;
``(ii) includes, for each academic year,
the student's academic, personal, college, and
career exploration goals, and a strategy on how
to accomplish such goals;
``(iii) identifies the student's strengths,
areas for improvement, and academic progress;
and
``(iv) includes a plan to educate and
support the student's college or career
exploration goals;
``(B) enters into a signed, written agreement with
the parents of the student that describes how the
parents should assist the student in carrying out the
plan for success;
``(C) meets with the student at least once per
month to--
``(i) assist the student in achieving the
goals under the plan for success;
``(ii) identify the student's academic
areas for improvement;
``(iii) connect the student with the tools
and resources necessary to help improve the
student's potential for academic success;
``(iv) ensure the student's successful
transition from middle school to high school by
identifying opportunities to help the student
develop a positive attitude toward school,
improve classroom behavior, complete
coursework, and socialize with peers; and
``(v) in the case of a student with
behavioral issues, assist the student in
behavior management techniques;
``(D) at least quarterly, meets with the student
and the parents, teachers, or counselors of the student
to--
``(i) evaluate the student's progress in
achieving the goals under the plan for the
current academic year; and
``(ii) revise or establish new goals for
the next academic year; and
``(E) assists the student in exploring higher
education and career exposure opportunities.
``(2) Authorized uses of funds.--An eligible entity that
receives a grant under this section may use such funds to--
``(A) develop and carry out regular training for
success coaches, including on--
``(i) the impact of adverse childhood
experiences;
``(ii) trauma-informed practices and
interventions;
``(iii) supporting homeless children and
youths;
``(iv) supporting children and youth in
foster care;
``(v) cultural competency;
``(vi) meeting all appropriate privacy and
confidentiality requirements for students,
including students in foster care;
``(vii) working in coordination with a
public school system;
``(viii) positive youth development and
engagement practices; and
``(ix) disability inclusion practices to
ensure access and participation by students
with disabilities;
``(B) recruit, screen, match, compensate, and train
success coaches, and pay for costs related to success
coach and mentee participation in the program;
``(C) hire staff to perform or support the
objectives of the school-based mentoring program;
``(D) provide inclusive and accessible youth
engagement activities, such as--
``(i) enrichment field trips to cultural
destinations;
``(ii) career awareness activities,
including job site visits, informational
interviews, resume writing, interview
preparation, and networking; and
``(iii) academic or postsecondary education
preparation activities, including trade or
vocational school visits, visits to
institutions of higher education, and
assistance in applying to institutions of
higher education;
``(E) provide activities or programming with the
purpose of engaging and connecting the student to the
school community; and
``(F) conduct program evaluation, including by
acquiring and analyzing the data described under
subsection (e).
``(d) Grant Duration.--A grant under this section shall be awarded
for a period of not more than 5 years.
``(e) Reporting Requirements.--
``(1) Eligible entities.--An eligible entity receiving a
grant under this section shall submit to the Secretary, at the
end of each academic year during the grant period, a report
that includes--
``(A) the number of students who participated in
the school-based mentoring program that was funded in
whole or in part with the grant funds under this
section;
``(B) demographic data on such students;
``(C) data on the academic achievement, dropout
rates, truancy, absenteeism, outcomes of arrests for
violent crime, summer employment, and postsecondary
education enrollment of such students;
``(D) the number of contact hours between such
students and their success coaches;
``(E) the number of students with disabilities
connected to transition services;
``(F) data on social-emotional development of
students as assessed with a validated social-emotional
assessment tool; and
``(G) any other information that the Secretary may
require to evaluate the success of the school-based
mentoring program.
``(2) Secretary.--
``(A) Interim report.--At the end of the third
fiscal year for which funds are made available to carry
out this section, the Secretary shall submit to
Congress an interim report on the success of the
school-based mentoring programs funded under this
section that includes the information received under
paragraph (1).
``(B) Final report.--At the end of the fifth fiscal
year for which funds are made available to carry out
this section, the Secretary shall submit to Congress a
final report on the success of the school-based
mentoring programs funded under this section that
includes the information received under paragraph (1).
``(f) Mentoring Resources and Community Service Coordination.--The
Secretary shall work with the Office of Juvenile Justice and
Delinquency Prevention to--
``(1) refer grantees under this section to the National
Mentoring Resource Center to obtain resources on best practices
and research related to mentoring and to request no-cost
training and technical assistance; and
``(2) provide grantees under this section with information
regarding transitional services for eligible students returning
from correctional facilities and transition services for
students with disabilities.
``(g) Definitions.--In this section:
``(1) Eligible entity.--The term `eligible entity' means--
``(A) a local educational agency that--
``(i) receives, or is eligible to receive,
funds under part A of this title; or
``(ii) is a high-need local educational
agency; or
``(B) a partnership between a local educational
agency described in subparagraph (A) and a nonprofit,
community-based organization.
``(2) Eligible student.--The term `eligible student' means
a student who--
``(A) is enrolled in a middle school served by an
eligible entity; and
``(B) is an at-risk student.
``(3) High-need local educational agency.--The term `high-
need local educational agency' means a local educational agency
that serves at least one high-need school.
``(4) High-need school.--The term `high-need school' has
the meaning given the term in section 2211(b)(2).
``(5) Middle school.--The term `middle school' means a
nonprofit institutional day or residential school, including a
public charter school, that provides middle school education,
as determined under State law, except that the term does not
include any education below grade 6 or beyond grade 9.
``(6) School-based mentoring.--The term `school-based
mentoring' means mentoring activities that--
``(A) are closely coordinated with a school by
involving teachers, counselors, and other school staff
who may identify and refer students for mentoring
services; and
``(B) assist at-risk students in improving academic
achievement and attitudes toward school and reducing
disciplinary referrals.
``(7) Success coach.--The term `success coach' means an
individual who--
``(A) is--
``(i) an employee or volunteer of a local
educational agency in which a mentoring program
receiving support under this section is being
carried out; or
``(ii) a volunteer or employee from a
nonprofit, community-based organization that
provides volunteers for mentoring programs in
secondary schools; and
``(B) prior to becoming a success coach--
``(i) received training from an eligible
entity, which, at a minimum, was 2 hours in
length and covered the roles and
responsibilities of a success coach; and
``(ii) underwent a screening by an eligible
entity that included--
``(I) appropriate job reference
checks;
``(II) child and domestic abuse
record checks; and
``(III) criminal background
checks.''.
(b) Table of Contents.--The table of contents in section 2 of the
Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 6301 et seq.)
is amended by inserting after the item relating to section 1432 the
following:
``subpart 4--transition-to-success mentoring program
``Sec. 1441. Transition-to-success mentoring program.''.
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