Mentoring to Succeed Act of 2023

II 118TH CONGRESS 1ST SESSION S. 65 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 JANUARY 25, 2023 Mr. DURBIN (for himself, Ms. DUCKWORTH, and Mr. BOOKER) introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Health, Education, 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 02:55 Jan 31, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S65.IS S65 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 2 •S 65 IS SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 1 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Mentoring to Succeed 2 Act of 2023’’. 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 02:55 Jan 31, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S65.IS S65 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 3 •S 65 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 3 or more times 9 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 02:55 Jan 31, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S65.IS S65 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 4 •S 65 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(a) of 22 title 45, Code of Federal Regulations (or any suc- 23 cessor regulation). 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 02:55 Jan 31, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S65.IS S65 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 5 •S 65 IS ‘‘(6) HIGH-NEED LOCAL EDUCATIONAL AGEN- 1 CY.—The term ‘high-need local educational agency’ 2 means a local educational agency that serves at least 3 one high-need school. 4 ‘‘(7) HIGH-NEED SCHOOL.—The term ‘high- 5 need school’ has the meaning given the term in sec- 6 tion 2211(b) of the Elementary and Secondary Edu- 7 cation Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 6631(b)). 8 ‘‘(8) HOMELESS CHILDREN AND YOUTHS.—The 9 term ‘homeless children and youths’ has the mean- 10 ing given the term in section 725 of the McKinney- 11 Vento Homeless Assistance Act (42 U.S.C. 11434a). 12 ‘‘(9) SCHOOL-BASED MENTORING.—The term 13 ‘school-based mentoring’ means a structured, man- 14 aged, evidenced-based program conducted in part- 15 nership with teachers, administrators, school psy- 16 chologists, school social workers or counselors, and 17 other school staff, in which at-risk students are ap- 18 propriately matched with screened and trained pro- 19 fessional or volunteer mentors who provide guidance, 20 support, and encouragement, involving meetings, 21 group-based sessions, and educational and work- 22 force-related activities on a regular basis to prepare 23 at-risk students for success in high school, postsec- 24 ondary education, and the workforce. 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 02:55 Jan 31, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S65.IS S65 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 6 •S 65 IS ‘‘(b) SCHOOL-BASED MENTORING COMPETITIVE 1 GRANT PROGRAM.— 2 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall award 3 grants on a competitive basis to eligible entities to 4 establish, expand, or support school-based mentoring 5 programs that— 6 ‘‘(A) are designed to assist at-risk students 7 in high-need schools in developing cognitive 8 skills and promoting social-emotional learning 9 to prepare them for success in high school, 10 postsecondary education, and the workforce by 11 linking them with mentors who— 12 ‘‘(i) have received mentor training, in- 13 cluding on trauma-informed practices, 14 youth engagement, cultural competency, 15 and social-emotional learning; and 16 ‘‘(ii) have been screened using appro- 17 priate reference checks and criminal back- 18 ground checks, in accordance with the re- 19 quirements of paragraph (3)(B)(v)(ii); 20 ‘‘(B) provide coaching and technical assist- 21 ance to mentors in each such mentoring pro- 22 gram; 23 ‘‘(C) seek to— 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 02:55 Jan 31, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S65.IS S65 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 7 •S 65 IS ‘‘(i) improve the academic achieve- 1 ment of at-risk students; 2 ‘‘(ii) reduce dropout rates and absen- 3 teeism and improve school engagement of 4 at-risk students and their families; 5 ‘‘(iii) reduce juvenile justice involve- 6 ment of at-risk students; 7 ‘‘(iv) foster positive relationships be- 8 tween at-risk students and their peers, 9 teachers, other adults, and family mem- 10 bers; 11 ‘‘(v) develop the workforce readiness 12 skills of at-risk students by exploring paths 13 to employment, including encouraging stu- 14 dents with disabilities to explore transition 15 services; and 16 ‘‘(vi) increase the participation of at- 17 risk students in community service activi- 18 ties; and 19 ‘‘(D) encourage at-risk students to set 20 goals and plan for their futures, including mak- 21 ing plans and identifying goals for postsec- 22 ondary education and the workforce. 23 VerDate Sep 11 2014 02:55 Jan 31, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S65.IS S65 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 8 •S 65 IS ‘‘(2) DURATION.—The Secretary shall award 1 grants under this section for a period not to exceed 2 5 years. 3 ‘‘(3) APPLICATION.—To receive a grant under 4 this section, an eligible entity shall submit to the 5 Secretary an application that includes— 6 ‘‘(A) a needs assessment that includes 7 baseline data on the measures described in 8 paragraph (6)(A)(ii); and 9 ‘‘(B) a plan to meet the requirements of 10 paragraph (1), including— 11 ‘‘(i) the targeted outcomes, mentee 12 age and eligibility, mentor type, and meet- 13 ing frequency for the program; 14 ‘‘(ii) the number of mentor-student 15 matches proposed to be established and 16 maintained annually under the program; 17 ‘‘(iii) the capacity and expertise of the 18 program to serve children and youth in a 19 way that is responsive to children and 20 youth of color, expectant and parenting 21 youth, indigenous youth, youth who are 22 lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgendered, or 23 queer, and youth with disabilities; 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 02:55 Jan 31, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S65.IS S65 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 9 •S 65 IS ‘‘(iv) actions taken to ensure that the 1 design of the program reflects input from 2 youth; and 3 ‘‘(v) an assurance that mentors sup- 4 ported under the program are appro- 5 priately screened and have demonstrated a 6 willingness to comply with aspects of the 7 mentoring program, including— 8 ‘‘(I) a written screening plan that 9 includes all of the policies and proce- 10 dures used to screen and select men- 11 tors, including eligibility requirements 12 and preferences for such applicants; 13 ‘‘(II) a description of the meth- 14 ods to be used to conduct criminal 15 background checks on all prospective 16 mentors, and the methods in place to 17 exclude mentors with convictions di- 18 rectly related to child safety that 19 occur during the mentor’s participa- 20 tion in the program or in the 10-year 21 period preceding the mentor’s partici- 22 pation; and 23 ‘‘(III) a description of the meth- 24 ods to be used to ensure that the 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:27 Jan 31, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00009 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S65.IS S65 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 10 •S 65 IS mentors are willing and able to serve 1 as a mentor on a long-term, con- 2 sistent basis as defined in the applica- 3 tion. 4 ‘‘(4) PRIORITY.—In selecting grant recipients, 5 the Secretary shall give priority to applicants that— 6 ‘‘(A) serve children and youth with the 7 greatest need living in high-poverty, high-crime 8 areas, or rural areas, or who attend schools 9 with high rates of community violence; 10 ‘‘(B) provide at-risk students with opportu- 11 nities for postsecondary education preparation 12 and career development, including— 13 ‘‘(i) job training, professional develop- 14 ment, work shadowing, internships, net- 15 working, re´sume´ writing and review, inter- 16 view preparation, transition services for 17 students with disabilities, application as- 18 sistance and visits to institutions of higher 19 education, and leadership development 20 through community service; and 21 ‘‘(ii) partnerships with the private sec- 22 tor and local businesses to provide intern- 23 ship and career exploration activities and 24 resources; 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:27 Jan 31, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00010 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S65.IS S65 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 11 •S 65 IS ‘‘(C) seek to provide match lengths be- 1 tween at-risk students and mentors for at least 2 1 academic year; and 3 ‘‘(D) consult and engage youth in the de- 4 velopment, design, and implementation of the 5 program. 6 ‘‘(5) USE OF FUNDS.—An eligible entity that 7 receives a grant under this section may use such 8 funds to— 9 ‘‘(A) develop and carry out regular train- 10 ing for mentors, including on— 11 ‘‘(i) the impact of adverse childhood 12 experiences; 13 ‘‘(ii) trauma-informed practices and 14 interventions; 15 ‘‘(iii) supporting homeless children 16 and youths; 17 ‘‘(iv) supporting children and youth in 18 foster care or youth who have been emanci- 19 pated from foster care, but are still en- 20 rolled in high school; 21 ‘‘(v) cultural competency; 22 ‘‘(vi) meeting all appropriate privacy 23 and confidentiality requirements for stu- 24 dents, including students in foster care; 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 02:55 Jan 31, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00011 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S65.IS S65 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 12 •S 65 IS ‘‘(vii) working in coordination with a 1 public school system; 2 ‘‘(viii) positive youth development and 3 engagement practices; and 4 ‘‘(ix) disability inclusion practices to 5 ensure access and participation by students 6 with disabilities; 7 ‘‘(B) recruit, screen, match, train, and 8 compensate mentors; 9 ‘‘(C) hire staff to perform or support the 10 objectives of the school-based mentoring pro- 11 gram; 12 ‘‘(D) provide inclusive and accessible youth 13 engagement activities, such as— 14 ‘‘(i) enrichment field trips to cultural 15 destinations; 16 ‘‘(ii) career awareness activities, in- 17 cluding job site visits, informational inter- 18 views, re´sume´ writing, interview prepara- 19 tion, and networking; and 20 ‘‘(iii) academic or postsecondary edu- 21 cation preparation activities, including 22 trade or vocational school visits, visits to 23 institutions of higher education, and assist- 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:27 Jan 31, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00012 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S65.IS S65 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 13 •S 65 IS ance in applying to institutions of higher 1 education; and 2 ‘‘(E) conduct program evaluation, includ- 3 ing by acquiring and analyzing the data de- 4 scribed under paragraph (6). 5 ‘‘(6) REPORTING REQUIREMENTS.— 6 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 6 7 months after the end of each academic year 8 during the grant period, an eligible entity re- 9 ceiving a grant under this section shall submit 10 to the Secretary a report that includes— 11 ‘‘(i) the number of students and men- 12 tors, and the demographics of the students 13 and mentors, who participated in the 14 school-based mentoring program that was 15 funded in whole or in part with the grant 16 funds; 17 ‘‘(ii) data on the academic achieve- 18 ment, dropout rates, truancy, [Text truncated for display. 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