Mentoring to Succeed Act of 2020

II 116TH CONGRESS 2D SESSION S. 4407 To amend the Carl D. Perkins Career and Technical Education Act of 2006 to give the Department of Education the authority to award com- petitive grants to eligible entities to establish, expand, or support school- based mentoring programs to assist at-risk students in middle school and high school in developing cognitive and social-emotional skills to prepare them for success in high school, postsecondary education, and the workforce. IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES AUGUST 4, 2020 Mr. DURBIN (for himself and Ms. DUCKWORTH) introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Health, Edu- cation, Labor, and Pensions A BILL To amend the Carl D. Perkins Career and Technical Edu- cation Act of 2006 to give the Department of Education the authority to award competitive grants to eligible enti- ties to establish, expand, or support school-based men- toring programs to assist at-risk students in middle school and high school in developing cognitive and social- emotional skills to prepare them for success in high school, postsecondary education, and the workforce. Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa- 1 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 2 VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:58 Aug 19, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S4407.IS S4407 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 2 •S 4407 IS SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 1 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Mentoring to Succeed 2 Act of 2020’’. 3 SEC. 2. PURPOSE. 4 The purpose of this Act is to make assistance avail- 5 able for school-based mentoring programs for at-risk stu- 6 dents in order to— 7 (1) establish, expand, or support school-based 8 mentoring programs; 9 (2) assist at-risk students in middle school and 10 high school in developing cognitive and social-emo- 11 tional skills; and 12 (3) prepare such at-risk students for success in 13 high school, postsecondary education, and the work- 14 force. 15 SEC. 3. SCHOOL-BASED MENTORING PROGRAM. 16 Part C of title I of the Carl D. Perkins Career and 17 Technical Education Act of 2006 (20 U.S.C. 2351 et seq.) 18 is amended by adding at the end the following: 19 ‘‘SEC. 136. DISTRIBUTION OF FUNDS FOR SCHOOL-BASED 20 MENTORING PROGRAMS. 21 ‘‘(a) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 22 ‘‘(1) AT-RISK STUDENT.—The term ‘at-risk stu- 23 dent’ means a student who— 24 ‘‘(A) is failing academically or at risk of 25 dropping out of school; 26 VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:58 Aug 19, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S4407.IS S4407 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 3 •S 4407 IS ‘‘(B) is pregnant or a parent; 1 ‘‘(C) is a gang member; 2 ‘‘(D) is a child or youth in foster care or 3 a youth who has been emancipated from foster 4 care, but is still enrolled in high school; 5 ‘‘(E) is or has recently been a homeless 6 child or youth; 7 ‘‘(F) is chronically absent; 8 ‘‘(G) has changed schools three or more 9 times in the past 6 months; 10 ‘‘(H) has come in contact with the juvenile 11 justice system in the past; 12 ‘‘(I) has a history of multiple suspensions 13 or disciplinary actions; 14 ‘‘(J) is an English learner; 15 ‘‘(K) has one or both parents incarcerated; 16 ‘‘(L) has experienced one or more adverse 17 childhood experiences, traumatic events, or 18 toxic stressors, as assessed through an evi- 19 dence-based screening; 20 ‘‘(M) lives in a high-poverty area with a 21 high rate of community violence; 22 ‘‘(N) has a disability; or 23 VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:58 Aug 19, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S4407.IS S4407 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 4 •S 4407 IS ‘‘(O) shows signs of alcohol or drug misuse 1 or abuse or has a parent or guardian who is 2 struggling with substance abuse. 3 ‘‘(2) DISABILITY.—The term ‘disability’ has the 4 meaning given the term for purposes of section 5 602(3) of the Individuals with Disabilities Education 6 Act (20 U.S.C. 1401(3)). 7 ‘‘(3) ELIGIBLE ENTITY.—The term ‘eligible en- 8 tity’— 9 ‘‘(A) means a high-need local educational 10 agency, high-need school, or local government 11 entity; and 12 ‘‘(B) may include a partnership between 13 an entity described in subparagraph (A) and a 14 nonprofit, community-based, or faith-based or- 15 ganization, or institution of higher education. 16 ‘‘(4) ENGLISH LEARNER.—The term ‘English 17 learner’ has the meaning given the term in section 18 8101 of the Elementary and Secondary Education 19 Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 7801). 20 ‘‘(5) FOSTER CARE.—The term ‘foster care’ has 21 the meaning given the term in section 1355.20 of 22 title 45, Code of Federal Regulations. 23 ‘‘(6) HIGH-NEED LOCAL EDUCATIONAL AGEN- 24 CY.—The term ‘high-need local educational agency’ 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:58 Aug 19, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S4407.IS S4407 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 5 •S 4407 IS means a local educational agency that serves at least 1 one high-need school. 2 ‘‘(7) HIGH-NEED SCHOOL.—The term ‘high- 3 need school’ has the meaning given the term in sec- 4 tion 2211(b) of the Elementary and Secondary Edu- 5 cation Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 6631(b)). 6 ‘‘(8) HOMELESS CHILDREN AND YOUTHS.—The 7 term ‘homeless children and youths’ has the mean- 8 ing given the term in section 725 of the McKinney- 9 Vento Homeless Assistance Act (42 U.S.C. 11434a). 10 ‘‘(9) SCHOOL-BASED MENTORING.—The term 11 ‘school-based mentoring’ means a structured, man- 12 aged, evidenced-based program conducted in part- 13 nership with teachers, administrators, school psy- 14 chologists, school social workers or counselors, and 15 other school staff, in which at-risk students are ap- 16 propriately matched with screened and trained pro- 17 fessional or volunteer mentors who provide guidance, 18 support, and encouragement, involving meetings, 19 group-based sessions, and educational and work- 20 force-related activities on a regular basis to prepare 21 at-risk students for success in high school, postsec- 22 ondary education, and the workforce. 23 ‘‘(b) SCHOOL-BASED MENTORING COMPETITIVE 24 GRANT PROGRAM.— 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:58 Aug 19, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S4407.IS S4407 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 6 •S 4407 IS ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall award 1 grants on a competitive basis to eligible entities to 2 establish, expand, or support school-based mentoring 3 programs that— 4 ‘‘(A) are designed to assist at-risk students 5 in high-need schools in developing cognitive 6 skills and promoting social-emotional learning 7 to prepare them for success in high school, 8 postsecondary education, and the workforce by 9 linking them with mentors who— 10 ‘‘(i) have received mentor training, in- 11 cluding on trauma-informed practices, 12 youth engagement, cultural competency, 13 and social-emotional learning; and 14 ‘‘(ii) have been screened using appro- 15 priate reference checks and criminal back- 16 ground checks; 17 ‘‘(B) provide coaching and technical assist- 18 ance to mentors in each such mentoring pro- 19 gram; 20 ‘‘(C) provide at-risk students with a posi- 21 tive relationship with a skilled adult offering 22 support and guidance; 23 ‘‘(D) improve the academic achievement of 24 at-risk students; 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:58 Aug 19, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S4407.IS S4407 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 7 •S 4407 IS ‘‘(E) foster positive relationships between 1 at-risk students and their peers, teachers, other 2 adults, and family members; 3 ‘‘(F) reduce dropout rates and absenteeism 4 and improve school engagement of at-risk stu- 5 dents and their families; 6 ‘‘(G) reduce juvenile justice involvement of 7 at-risk students; 8 ‘‘(H) develop the cognitive and social-emo- 9 tional skills of at-risk students; 10 ‘‘(I) develop the workforce readiness skills 11 of at-risk students by exploring paths to em- 12 ployment, including encouraging students with 13 disabilities to explore transition services; 14 ‘‘(J) encourage at-risk students to partici- 15 pate in community service activities; and 16 ‘‘(K) encourage at-risk students to set 17 goals and plan for their futures, including en- 18 couraging such students to make plans and 19 identify goals for postsecondary education and 20 the workforce. 21 ‘‘(2) DURATION.—The Secretary shall award 22 grants under this section for a period not to exceed 23 5 years. 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:58 Aug 19, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S4407.IS S4407 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 8 •S 4407 IS ‘‘(3) APPLICATION.—To receive a grant under 1 this section, an eligible entity shall submit to the 2 Secretary an application that includes— 3 ‘‘(A) a needs assessment that includes 4 baseline data on the measures described in 5 paragraph (6)(A)(ii); and 6 ‘‘(B) a plan to meet the requirements of 7 paragraph (1). 8 ‘‘(4) PRIORITY.—In selecting grant recipients, 9 the Secretary shall give priority to applicants that— 10 ‘‘(A) serve children and youth with the 11 greatest need living in high-poverty, high-crime 12 areas, rural areas, or who attend schools with 13 high rates of community violence; 14 ‘‘(B) provide at-risk students with opportu- 15 nities for postsecondary education preparation 16 and career development, including— 17 ‘‘(i) job training, professional develop- 18 ment, work shadowing, internships, net- 19 working, resume writing and review, inter- 20 view preparation, transition services for 21 students with disabilities, application as- 22 sistance and visits to institutions of higher 23 education, and leadership development 24 through community service; and 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:58 Aug 19, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S4407.IS S4407 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 9 •S 4407 IS ‘‘(ii) partnerships with the private sec- 1 tor and local businesses to provide intern- 2 ship and career exploration activities and 3 resources; and 4 ‘‘(C) seek to provide match lengths be- 5 tween at-risk students and mentors for at least 6 1 academic year. 7 ‘‘(5) USE OF FUNDS.—An eligible entity that 8 receives a grant under this section may use such 9 funds to— 10 ‘‘(A) develop and carry out regular train- 11 ing for mentors, including on— 12 ‘‘(i) the impact of adverse childhood 13 experiences; 14 ‘‘(ii) trauma-informed practices and 15 interventions; 16 ‘‘(iii) supporting homeless children 17 and youths; 18 ‘‘(iv) supporting children and youth in 19 foster care or youth who have been emanci- 20 pated from foster care, but are still en- 21 rolled in high school; 22 ‘‘(v) cultural competency; 23 VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:58 Aug 19, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00009 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S4407.IS S4407 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 10 •S 4407 IS ‘‘(vi) meeting all appropriate privacy 1 and confidentiality requirements for stu- 2 dents, including students in foster care; 3 ‘‘(vii) working in coordination with a 4 public school system; 5 ‘‘(viii) positive youth development and 6 engagement practices; and 7 ‘‘(ix) disability inclusion practices to 8 ensure access and participation by students 9 with disabilities; 10 ‘‘(B) recruit, screen, match, and train 11 mentors; 12 ‘‘(C) hire staff to perform or support the 13 objectives of the school-based mentoring pro- 14 gram; 15 ‘‘(D) provide inclusive and accessible youth 16 engagement activities, such as— 17 ‘‘(i) enrichment field trips to cultural 18 destinations; and 19 ‘‘(ii) career awareness activities, in- 20 cluding job site visits, informational inter- 21 views, resume writing, interview prepara- 22 tion, and networking; and 23 ‘‘(iii) academic or postsecondary edu- 24 cation preparation activities, including 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:58 Aug 19, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00010 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S4407.IS S4407 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 11 •S 4407 IS trade or vocational school visits, visits to 1 institutions of higher education, and assist- 2 ance in applying to institutions of higher 3 education; and 4 ‘‘(E) conduct program evaluation, includ- 5 ing by acquiring and analyzing the data de- 6 scribed under paragraph (6). 7 ‘‘(6) REPORTING REQUIREMENTS.— 8 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 6 9 months after the end of each academic year 10 during the grant period, an eligible entity re- 11 ceiving a grant under this section shall submit 12 to the Secretary a report that includes— 13 ‘‘(i) the number of students who par- 14 ticipated in the school-based mentoring 15 program that was funded in whole or in 16 part with the grant funds; 17 ‘‘(ii) data on the academic achieve- 18 ment, dropout rates, truancy, absenteeism, 19 outcomes of arrests for violent crime, sum- 20 mer employment, and postsecondary edu- 21 cation enrollment of students in the pro- 22 gram; 23 ‘‘(iii) the number of group sessions 24 and number of one-to-one contacts between 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:58 Aug 19, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00011 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S4407.IS S4407 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 12 •S 4407 IS students in the program and their men- 1 tors; 2 ‘‘(iv) the average attendance of stu- 3 dents enrolled in the program; 4 ‘‘(v) the number of students with dis- 5 abilities connected to transition services; 6 ‘‘(vi) data on social-emotional develop- 7 ment of students as assessed with a vali- 8 dated social-emotional assessment tool; and 9 ‘‘(vii) any other information that the 10 Secretary may require to evaluate the suc- 11 cess of the school-based mentoring pro- 12 gram. 13 ‘‘(B) STUDENT PRIVACY.—An eligible enti- 14 ty shall ensure that the report submitted under 15 subparagraph (A) is prepared in a manner that 16 protects the privacy rights of each student in 17 accordance with section 444 of the General 18 Education Provisions Act (commonly referred 19 to as the ‘Family Educational Rights and Pri- 20 vacy Act of 1974’) (20 U.S.C. 1232g). 21 ‘‘(7) MENTORING RESOURCES AND COMMUNITY 22 SERVICE COORDINATION.— 23 VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:58 Aug 19, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00012 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S4407.IS S4407 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 13 •S 4407 IS ‘‘(A) BEST PRACTICES.—The Secretary 1 shall work with the Office of Juvenile Justice 2 and Delinquency Prevention to— 3 ‘‘(i) refer grantees under this section 4 to the National Mentoring Resource Center 5 to obtain resources on best practices and 6 research related to mentoring and to re- 7 quest no-cost training and technical assist- 8 ance; and 9 ‘‘(ii) provide grantees under this sec- 10 tion with information to promote positive 11 youth development, including transitional 12 services for at-ri [Text truncated for display. 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