Counseling for Career Choice Act

I 117TH CONGRESS 1ST SESSION H. R. 2733 To amend the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 to provide grants to States to establish a comprehensive school career counseling framework. IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES APRIL 21, 2021 Mr. LANGEVIN (for himself and Mr. THOMPSON of Pennsylvania) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Education and Labor A BILL To amend the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 to provide grants to States to establish a com- prehensive school career counseling framework. Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa- 1 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 2 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 3 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Counseling for Career 4 Choice Act’’. 5 SEC. 2. AMENDMENT. 6 Title IV of the Elementary and Secondary Education 7 Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 7101 et seq.) is amended by add- 8 ing at the end the following: 9 VerDate Sep 11 2014 02:37 Jun 04, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2733.IH H2733 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 2 •HR 2733 IH ‘‘PART G—COUNSELING FOR CAREER CHOICE 1 ‘‘SEC. 4701. DEFINITIONS. 2 ‘‘In this part: 3 ‘‘(1) COMMUNITY COLLEGE.—The term ‘com- 4 munity college’ means— 5 ‘‘(A) a junior or community college (as de- 6 fined in section 312(f) of the Higher Education 7 Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1058(f))); 8 ‘‘(B) a 4-year public institution of higher 9 education (as defined in section 101 of the 10 Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 11 1001)) that awards a significant number of de- 12 grees and certificates, as determined by the 13 Secretary, that are not— 14 ‘‘(i) baccalaureate degrees (or an 15 equivalent); or 16 ‘‘(ii) master’s, professional, or other 17 advanced degrees; or 18 ‘‘(C) an area career and technical edu- 19 cation school (as defined in section 3 of the 20 Carl D. Perkins Career and Technical Edu- 21 cation Act of 2006 (20 U.S.C. 2302)). 22 ‘‘(2) ELIGIBLE ENTITY.—The term ‘eligible en- 23 tity’ means— 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 02:37 Jun 04, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2733.IH H2733 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 3 •HR 2733 IH ‘‘(A) an eligible agency, as defined in sec- 1 tion 3(18) of the Carl D. Perkins Career and 2 Technical Education Act of 2006 (20 U.S.C. 3 2302(18)); 4 ‘‘(B) a local educational agency, including 5 an educational service agency; or 6 ‘‘(C) a consortium that consists of one 7 local educational agency in combination with 8 one or more local educational agencies, edu- 9 cational service agencies, nonprofit organiza- 10 tions with demonstrated expertise in counseling 11 or career and technical education, postsec- 12 ondary institutions, or tribal organizations. 13 ‘‘(3) LOCAL WORKFORCE DEVELOPMENT 14 BOARD.—The term ‘local workforce development 15 board’ means a local workforce development board 16 established under section 107 of the Workforce In- 17 novation and Opportunity Act (29 U.S.C. 3122). 18 ‘‘(4) ONE-STOP CENTER.—The term ‘one-stop 19 center’ means a site described in section 121(e)(2) 20 of the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act 21 (29 U.S.C. 3151). 22 ‘‘(5) SCHOOL COUNSELOR.—The term ‘school 23 counselor’ means an individual who holds a valid 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 02:37 Jun 04, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2733.IH H2733 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 4 •HR 2733 IH school counseling license or certification from a 1 State educational agency. 2 ‘‘(6) STAKEHOLDERS.—The term ‘stakeholders’ 3 includes local educational agencies, school coun- 4 selors, secondary schools, institutions of higher edu- 5 cation (including community colleges), eligible agen- 6 cies (as defined under section 203 of the Adult Edu- 7 cation and Family Literacy Act (20 U.S.C. 9202)), 8 the State workforce development board, the State 9 agency responsible for labor market information, 10 other applicable State agencies as determined by the 11 Secretary, local workforce development boards, area 12 career and technical education schools (as defined in 13 section 3 of the Carl D. Perkins Career and Tech- 14 nical Education Act of 2006), local businesses and 15 industries, organizations offering apprenticeship pro- 16 grams, tribal organizations, labor organizations, pro- 17 grams leading to post-secondary credentials, includ- 18 ing industry-recognized credentials, other programs 19 for career and technical education (as defined in sec- 20 tion 3 of the Carl D. Perkins Career and Technical 21 Education Act of 2006 (20 U.S.C. 2302)), industry 22 associations, and any other organizations, individ- 23 uals or persons that the Secretary determines appro- 24 priate to carry out the purposes of this part. 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 02:37 Jun 04, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2733.IH H2733 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 5 •HR 2733 IH ‘‘(7) STATEWIDE CAREER COUNSELING FRAME- 1 WORK.—The term ‘statewide career counseling 2 framework’ means a framework that encompasses 3 the middle grades through grade 12 and postsec- 4 ondary education and that includes information on 5 career awareness, skills assessment, skills training, 6 student interest surveys, postsecondary education 7 entrance requirements, secondary school graduation 8 requirements, high school equivalency, adult edu- 9 cation programs and services, financial aid, institu- 10 tions of higher education, community colleges, pro- 11 grams leading to industry-recognized credentials, ca- 12 reer and technical education programs, internships, 13 dual enrollment programs, apprenticeships, and pro- 14 fessional development opportunities or career devel- 15 opment training for school counselors. 16 ‘‘(8) STATE WORKFORCE DEVELOPMENT 17 BOARD.—The term ‘State workforce development 18 board’ means a State workforce development board 19 established under section 101 of the Workforce In- 20 novation and Opportunity Act (29 U.S.C. 3111). 21 ‘‘(9) TRIBAL ORGANIZATION.—The term ‘tribal 22 organization’ has the meaning given the term in sec- 23 tion 4 of the Indian Self-Determination and Edu- 24 cation Assistance Act (25 U.S.C. 450b). 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 02:37 Jun 04, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2733.IH H2733 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 6 •HR 2733 IH ‘‘(10) INDUSTRY-RECOGNIZED CREDENTIAL.— 1 The term ‘industry-recognized,’ used with respect to 2 a credential, means a credential that— 3 ‘‘(A) is sought or accepted by employers 4 within the industry or sector involved as a rec- 5 ognized, preferred, or required credential for re- 6 cruitment, screening, hiring, retention, or ad- 7 vancement purposes; and 8 ‘‘(B) where appropriate, is endorsed by a 9 nationally recognized trade association or orga- 10 nization representing a significant part of the 11 industry or sector. 12 ‘‘SEC. 4702. GRANTS AUTHORIZED. 13 ‘‘(a) PROGRAM AUTHORIZED.—From amounts ap- 14 propriated to carry out this part, the Secretary shall 15 award grants, on a competitive basis, to State educational 16 agencies to enable the State educational agencies to carry 17 out the activities described in section 4704. 18 ‘‘(b) DURATION; AMOUNT; EXTENSION.— 19 ‘‘(1) DURATION.—Each grant under this sec- 20 tion shall be for a period of not more than 2 years. 21 ‘‘(2) AMOUNT.—Each grant shall be of an 22 amount not less than $2,000,000 and not more than 23 $5,000,000. 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 02:37 Jun 04, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2733.IH H2733 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 7 •HR 2733 IH ‘‘(3) EXTENSION.—The Secretary may extend a 1 grant awarded under this section for additional 3- 2 year periods if the State educational agency— 3 ‘‘(A) is achieving the intended outcomes of 4 the grant; and 5 ‘‘(B) shows continued engagement with 6 stakeholders. 7 ‘‘SEC. 4703. APPLICATION. 8 ‘‘A State educational agency desiring a grant under 9 this part shall submit an application at such time, in such 10 manner, and containing such information as the Secretary 11 may require. The application shall include— 12 ‘‘(1) a description of the statewide career coun- 13 seling framework and implementation plan sup- 14 ported by not less than 5 stakeholders, of which at 15 least 1 stakeholder shall be a local business or indus- 16 try or statewide industry organization and 1 shall be 17 a local educational agency or secondary school; and 18 ‘‘(2) a description of how the State educational 19 agency will award subgrants and ensure that the ac- 20 tivities described in section 4704 are carried out. 21 ‘‘SEC. 4704. ACTIVITIES. 22 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—A State educational agency re- 23 ceiving a grant under section 4702 shall use grant funds 24 to— 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 02:37 Jun 04, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2733.IH H2733 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 8 •HR 2733 IH ‘‘(1) implement comprehensive school career 1 counseling programs that align with the statewide 2 counseling framework described in the State edu- 3 cational agency’s application; 4 ‘‘(2) identify and assess school counseling ac- 5 tivities and postsecondary options available within 6 the State, and outside the State as applicable; 7 ‘‘(3) identify regional workforce trends in col- 8 laboration with entities at the State and regional 9 level with expertise in identifying such trends, such 10 as State workforce development boards, local work- 11 force development boards, regional economic develop- 12 ment organizations, or State employment agencies; 13 ‘‘(4) train school counselors effectively to pro- 14 vide students with current and relevant workforce 15 information, financial aid assistance, personal coun- 16 seling, and academic advising relevant to students’ 17 individual career and postsecondary education goals; 18 ‘‘(5) develop and implement a process and in- 19 frastructure for school counselors and school coun- 20 selor programs to access the statewide career coun- 21 seling framework and information regarding the re- 22 gional workforce trends identified in paragraph (4); 23 ‘‘(6) develop and implement professional devel- 24 opment or career development training certification 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 02:37 Jun 04, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2733.IH H2733 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 9 •HR 2733 IH programs for counselors and other educators in- 1 volved in preparing students for postsecondary op- 2 portunities, which may include partnering with an 3 industry association that provides a nationally recog- 4 nized certification in career development; 5 ‘‘(7) develop a searchable method by which 6 counseling professional development opportunities 7 from around the State are collected, maintained, and 8 disseminated to school counselors; 9 ‘‘(8) establish, improve, or coordinate postsec- 10 ondary opportunities, which may include individual 11 career planning, personalized learning plans, reg- 12 istered apprenticeships, internships, dual enrollment 13 programs, programs leading to industry-recognized 14 credentials (including programs at a secondary 15 school), 2-year degree programs, 4-year degree pro- 16 grams, and other applicable postsecondary opportu- 17 nities; 18 ‘‘(9) provide recommendations and improve a 19 local educational agency’s and other education serv- 20 ice program providers to out of school youth and 21 adults curricula to better align with workforce 22 trends and available postsecondary opportunities; 23 ‘‘(10) conduct other activities pertaining to the 24 administration of the statewide framework; 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 02:37 Jun 04, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00009 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2733.IH H2733 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 10 •HR 2733 IH ‘‘(11) establish partnerships with one-stop cen- 1 ters, which may include co-locating a one-stop center 2 in a high school, transporting students to local one- 3 stop centers, or having one-stop center career coun- 4 selors and business liaisons assist school counselors 5 in hosting job fairs, career days, or other such simi- 6 lar tasks; 7 ‘‘(12) leverage resources and emerging tech- 8 nologies that are being developed by stakeholders to 9 support the counseling framework; and 10 ‘‘(13) evaluate secondary and postsecondary 11 outcomes for individuals served by the career coun- 12 seling programs, disaggregated by the subgroups of 13 students described in section 1111(c)(2)(B). 14 ‘‘(b) SUBGRANTS.— 15 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—A State educational agency 16 that receives a grant may carry out the activities de- 17 scribed in subsection (a) directly or through award- 18 ing subgrants, on a competitive basis, to eligible en- 19 tities to enable the eligible entities to carry out any 20 of the activities. 21 ‘‘(2) APPLICATION.—An eligible entity that de- 22 sires a subgrant under this subsection shall submit 23 an application to the State educational agency at 24 such time, in such manner, and containing such in- 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 02:37 Jun 04, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00010 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2733.IH H2733 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 11 •HR 2733 IH formation as the State educational agency may rea- 1 sonably require, including a description of the com- 2 prehensive school career counseling program for par- 3 ticipating schools and students that the eligible enti- 4 ty proposes to develop and implement using sub- 5 grant funds. 6 ‘‘(c) HIRING OF PERSONNEL.—An eligible entity that 7 receives a grant under section 4702 may use the grant 8 funds to hire additional personnel to carry out the activi- 9 ties described in subsection (a). 10 ‘‘SEC. 4705. SUPPLEMENT NOT SUPPLANT. 11 ‘‘Funds made available under this part shall be used 12 to supplement, and not supplant, other Federal, State, 13 and local funds available to carry out the activities sup- 14 ported under this part. 15 ‘‘SEC. 4706. REPORTING REQUIREMENTS. 16 ‘‘(a) SEA REPORTS.—Not later than 2 years after 17 receiving a grant under this part, a State educational 18 agency shall submit a report to the Secretary that in- 19 cludes, at a minimum— 20 ‘‘(1) a description of the use of funds received 21 under this part; and 22 ‘‘(2) the results of the evaluation conducted 23 under section 4704(a)(13). 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 02:37 Jun 04, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00011 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2733.IH H2733 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 12 •HR 2733 IH ‘‘(b) SECRETARY’S REPORTS.—Not later than 3 1 years after the date of enactment of the Counseling for 2 Career Choice Act, and every 3 years thereafter, the Sec- 3 retary shall prepare and submit to the appropriate com- 4 mittees of Congress a report on the progress made by the 5 eligible entities receiving g [Text truncated for display. Full text available on Congress.gov.]