Federal

Transition-to-Success Mentoring Act

Source: Congress.gov · 2,457 words in original text

What This Bill Does

This bill creates a new federal grant program that gives money to schools and organizations to start or expand mentoring programs in middle schools. These programs pair middle school students who are at risk of dropping out with adult mentors called "success coaches" who help them plan for high school and beyond.

Who It Affects

Middle school students who are at risk of academic failure. Local school districts and nonprofit organizations that run mentoring programs. Success coaches (mentors who work with students). Middle school teachers and counselors. Parents of participating students. Federal education officials who oversee the program.

Key Provisions

• Grant recipients must assign each eligible student a success coach who creates a personalized success plan with the student, mentor, school staff, and parents that includes academic, personal, college, and career goals (Sec. 1441(c)(1)(A)). • Success coaches must meet with students at least once per month to help them achieve their goals, improve academics, and successfully transition to high school (Sec. 1441(c)(1)(C)). • Grant recipients should give priority to schools serving low-income areas, high-crime areas, rural areas, or schools with high community violence rates (Sec. 1441(b)(2)(A)). • Success coaches must undergo training of at least 2 hours on their roles and responsibilities, plus background checks including criminal history, abuse records, and job references before working with students (Sec. 1441(g)(7)(B)). • Grant recipients must report annually on student participation numbers, academic achievement, dropout rates, contact hours with coaches, and social-emotional development outcomes to the federal education official (Sec. 1441(e)(1)).

What Changes

A new federal grant program is established that did not previously exist. Schools serving certain communities can now apply for federal funding to create or expand mentoring programs. Schools will need to implement structured mentoring systems with trained success coaches meeting with students monthly. Schools must track and report specific student outcome data related to academic achievement, attendance, and transitions to high school.

Important Definitions

"Eligible entity": a local school district that receives certain federal funding or is deemed high-need, or a partnership between such a school district and a nonprofit community organization (Sec. 1441(g)(1)). "Eligible student": a middle school student enrolled in a school served by a grant recipient who is at risk of academic failure (Sec. 1441(g)(2)). "Middle school": a nonprofit school, including public charter schools, serving grades 6 through 9 (Sec. 1441(g)(5)). "Success coach": a school employee or volunteer from a nonprofit organization who has received at least 2 hours of training and passed background checks (Sec. 1441(g)(7)). "School-based mentoring": mentoring activities coordinated with schools that help at-risk students improve academics and attitudes toward school (Sec. 1441(g)(6)).

II 118TH CONGRESS 1ST SESSION S. 182 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 SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES JANUARY 31, 2023 Mr. BOOKER (for himself and Mr. MENENDEZ) 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 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 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 ‘‘Transition-to-Success 4 Mentoring Act’’. 5 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:27 Feb 10, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S182.IS S182 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 2 •S 182 IS SEC. 2. TRANSITION-TO-SUCCESS MENTORING PROGRAM. 1 (a) TRANSITION-TO-SUCCESS MENTORING PRO- 2 GRAM.—Part D of title I of the Elementary and Secondary 3 Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 6421 et seq.) is amend- 4 ed by adding at the end the following: 5 ‘‘Subpart 4—Transition-to-Success Mentoring 6 Program 7 ‘‘SEC. 1441. TRANSITION-TO-SUCCESS MENTORING PRO- 8 GRAM. 9 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall award 10 grants to eligible entities to establish, expand, or support 11 school-based mentoring programs to assist eligible stu- 12 dents with the transition from middle school to high 13 school. 14 ‘‘(b) APPLICATION.— 15 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—To receive a grant under 16 this section, an eligible entity shall submit an appli- 17 cation to the Secretary at such time, in such man- 18 ner, and containing such information as the Sec- 19 retary may require. 20 ‘‘(2) PRIORITY.—In selecting grant recipients, 21 the Secretary shall give priority to eligible entities 22 that— 23 ‘‘(A) serve children and youth with the 24 greatest need living in high-poverty, high-crime 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:27 Feb 10, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S182.IS S182 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 3 •S 182 IS areas, or rural areas, or who attend schools 1 with high rates of community violence; 2 ‘‘(B) provide eligible students with oppor- 3 tunities for postsecondary education prepara- 4 tion and career development, including— 5 ‘‘(i) job training, professional develop- 6 ment, work shadowing, internships, net- 7 working, re´sume´ writing and review, inter- 8 view preparation, transition services for 9 students with disabilities, application as- 10 sistance and visits to institutions of higher 11 education, and leadership development 12 through community service; and 13 ‘‘(ii) partnerships with the private sec- 14 tor and local businesses to provide intern- 15 ship and career exploration activities and 16 resources; 17 ‘‘(C) seek to provide match lengths be- 18 tween eligible students and success coaches for 19 at least 1 academic year; and 20 ‘‘(D) indicate how, and the degree to 21 which, children were consulted and engaged in 22 the development, design, and implementation of 23 the school-based mentoring program. 24 ‘‘(c) USES OF FUNDS.— 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:27 Feb 10, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S182.IS S182 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 4 •S 182 IS ‘‘(1) REQUIRED USES OF FUNDS.—An eligible 1 entity that receives a grant under this section shall 2 use the grant funds to establish a school-based men- 3 toring program, or to expand or provide technical 4 support to an existing school-based mentoring pro- 5 gram, in all middle schools served by the entity, 6 under which each eligible student is assigned to a 7 success coach who— 8 ‘‘(A) creates a plan for success for the stu- 9 dent that— 10 ‘‘(i) is created with the student, men- 11 tor, relevant school staff (such as a teacher 12 or school counselor), and parents of the 13 student; 14 ‘‘(ii) includes, for each academic year, 15 the student’s academic, personal, college, 16 and career exploration goals, and a strat- 17 egy on how to accomplish such goals; 18 ‘‘(iii) identifies the student’s 19 strengths, areas for improvement, and aca- 20 demic progress; and 21 ‘‘(iv) includes a plan to educate and 22 support the student’s college or career ex- 23 ploration goals; 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:27 Feb 10, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S182.IS S182 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 5 •S 182 IS ‘‘(B) enters into a signed, written agree- 1 ment with the parents of the student that de- 2 scribes how the parents should assist the stu- 3 dent in carrying out the plan for success; 4 ‘‘(C) meets with the student at least once 5 per month to— 6 ‘‘(i) assist the student in achieving the 7 goals under the plan for success; 8 ‘‘(ii) identify the student’s academic 9 areas for improvement; 10 ‘‘(iii) connect the student with the 11 tools and resources necessary to help im- 12 prove the student’s potential for academic 13 success; 14 ‘‘(iv) ensure the student’s successful 15 transition from middle school to high 16 school by identifying opportunities to help 17 the student develop a positive attitude to- 18 ward school, improve classroom behavior, 19 complete coursework, and socialize with 20 peers; and 21 ‘‘(v) in the case of a student with be- 22 havioral issues, assist the student in behav- 23 ior management techniques; 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:27 Feb 10, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S182.IS S182 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 6 •S 182 IS ‘‘(D) at least quarterly, meets with the stu- 1 dent and the parents, teachers, or counselors of 2 the student to— 3 ‘‘(i) evaluate the student’s progress in 4 achieving the goals under the plan for the 5 current academic year; and 6 ‘‘(ii) revise or establish new goals for 7 the next academic year; and 8 ‘‘(E) assists the student in exploring high- 9 er education and career exposure opportunities. 10 ‘‘(2) AUTHORIZED USES OF FUNDS.—An eligi- 11 ble entity that receives a grant under this section 12 may use such funds to— 13 ‘‘(A) develop and carry out regular train- 14 ing for success coaches, including on— 15 ‘‘(i) the impact of adverse childhood 16 experiences; 17 ‘‘(ii) trauma-informed practices and 18 interventions; 19 ‘‘(iii) supporting homeless children 20 and youths; 21 ‘‘(iv) supporting children and youth in 22 foster care; 23 ‘‘(v) cultural competency; 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:27 Feb 10, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S182.IS S182 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 7 •S 182 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, compensate, 11 and train success coaches, and pay for costs re- 12 lated to success coach and mentee participation 13 in the program; 14 ‘‘(C) hire staff to perform or support the 15 objectives of the school-based mentoring pro- 16 gram; 17 ‘‘(D) provide inclusive and accessible youth 18 engagement activities, such as— 19 ‘‘(i) enrichment field trips to cultural 20 destinations; 21 ‘‘(ii) career awareness activities, in- 22 cluding job site visits, informational inter- 23 views, re´sume´ writing, interview prepara- 24 tion, and networking; and 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:27 Feb 10, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S182.IS S182 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 8 •S 182 IS ‘‘(iii) academic or postsecondary edu- 1 cation preparation activities, including 2 trade or vocational school visits, visits to 3 institutions of higher education, and assist- 4 ance in applying to institutions of higher 5 education; 6 ‘‘(E) provide activities or programming 7 with the purpose of engaging and connecting 8 the student to the school community; and 9 ‘‘(F) conduct program evaluation, includ- 10 ing by acquiring and analyzing the data de- 11 scribed under subsection (e). 12 ‘‘(d) GRANT DURATION.—A grant under this section 13 shall be awarded for a period of not more than 5 years. 14 ‘‘(e) REPORTING REQUIREMENTS.— 15 ‘‘(1) ELIGIBLE ENTITIES.—An eligible entity 16 receiving a grant under this section shall submit to 17 the Secretary, at the end of each academic year dur- 18 ing the grant period, a report that includes— 19 ‘‘(A) the number of students who partici- 20 pated in the school-based mentoring program 21 that was funded in whole or in part with the 22 grant funds under this section; 23 ‘‘(B) demographic data on such students; 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:27 Feb 10, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S182.IS S182 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 9 •S 182 IS ‘‘(C) data on the academic achievement, 1 dropout rates, truancy, absenteeism, outcomes 2 of arrests for violent crime, summer employ- 3 ment, and postsecondary education enrollment 4 of such students; 5 ‘‘(D) the number of contact hours between 6 such students and their success coaches; 7 ‘‘(E) the number of students with disabil- 8 ities connected to transition services; 9 ‘‘(F) data on social-emotional development 10 of students as assessed with a validated social- 11 emotional assessment tool; and 12 ‘‘(G) any other information that the Sec- 13 retary may require to evaluate the success of 14 the school-based mentoring program. 15 ‘‘(2) SECRETARY.— 16 ‘‘(A) INTERIM REPORT.—At the end of the 17 third fiscal year for which funds are made 18 available to carry out this section, the Secretary 19 shall submit to Congress an interim report on 20 the success of the school-based mentoring pro- 21 grams funded under this section that includes 22 the information received under paragraph (1). 23 ‘‘(B) FINAL REPORT.—At the end of the 24 fifth fiscal year for which funds are made avail- 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:27 Feb 10, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00009 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S182.IS S182 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 10 •S 182 IS able to carry out this section, the Secretary 1 shall submit to Congress a final report on the 2 success of the school-based mentoring programs 3 funded under this section that includes the in- 4 formation received under paragraph (1). 5 ‘‘(f) MENTORING RESOURCES AND COMMUNITY 6 SERVICE COORDINATION.—The Secretary shall work with 7 the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention 8 to— 9 ‘‘(1) refer grantees under this section to the 10 National Mentoring Resource Center to obtain re- 11 sources on best practices and research related to 12 mentoring and to request no-cost training and tech- 13 nical assistance; and 14 ‘‘(2) provide grantees under this section with 15 information regarding transitional services for eligi- 16 ble students returning from correctional facilities 17 and transition services for students with disabilities. 18 ‘‘(g) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 19 ‘‘(1) ELIGIBLE ENTITY.—The term ‘eligible en- 20 tity’ means— 21 ‘‘(A) a local educational agency that— 22 ‘‘(i) receives, or is eligible to receive, 23 funds under part A of this title; or 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:27 Feb 10, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00010 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S182.IS S182 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 11 •S 182 IS ‘‘(ii) is a high-need local educational 1 agency; or 2 ‘‘(B) a partnership between a local edu- 3 cational agency described in subparagraph (A) 4 and a nonprofit, community-based organization. 5 ‘‘(2) ELIGIBLE STUDENT.—The term ‘eligible 6 student’ means a student who— 7 ‘‘(A) is enrolled in a middle school served 8 by an eligible entity; and 9 ‘‘(B) is an at-risk student. 10 ‘‘(3) HIGH-NEED LOCAL EDUCATIONAL AGEN- 11 CY.—The term ‘high-need local educational agency’ 12 means a local educational agency that serves at least 13 one high-need school. 14 ‘‘(4) HIGH-NEED SCHOOL.—The term ‘high- 15 need school’ has the meaning given the term in sec- 16 tion 2211(b)(2). 17 ‘‘(5) MIDDLE SCHOOL.—The term ‘middle 18 school’ means a nonprofit institutional day or resi- 19 dential school, including a public charter school, that 20 provides middle school education, as determined 21 under State law, except that the term does not in- 22 clude any education below grade 6 or beyond grade 23 9. 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:27 Feb 10, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00011 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S182.IS S182 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 12 •S 182 IS ‘‘(6) SCHOOL-BASED MENTORING.—The term 1 ‘school-based mentoring’ means mentoring activities 2 that— 3 ‘‘(A) are closely coordinated with a school 4 by involving teachers, counselors, and other 5 school staff who may identify and refer stu- 6 dents for mentoring services; and 7 ‘‘(B) assist at-risk students in improving 8 academic achievement and attitudes toward 9 school and reducing disciplinary referrals. 10 ‘‘(7) SUCCESS COACH.—The term ‘success 11 coach’ means an individual who— 12 ‘‘(A) is— 13 ‘‘(i) an employee or volunteer of a 14 local educational agency in which a men- 15 toring program receiving support under 16 this section is being carried out; or 17 ‘‘(ii) a volunteer or employee from a 18 nonprofit, community-based organization 19 that provides volunteers for mentoring pro- 20 grams in secondary schools; and 21 ‘‘(B) prior to becoming a success coach— 22 ‘‘(i) received training from an eligible 23 entity, which, at a minimum, was 2 hours 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:27 Feb 10, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00012 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S182.IS S182 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 13 •S 182 IS in length and covered the roles and respon- 1 sibilities of a success coach; and 2 ‘‘(ii) underwent a screening by an eli- 3 gible entity that included— 4 ‘‘(I) appropriate job reference 5 checks; 6 ‘‘(II) child and domestic abuse 7 record checks; and 8 ‘‘(III) criminal background 9 checks.’’. 10 (b) TABLE OF CONTENTS.—The table of contents in 11 section 2 of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act 12 of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 6301 et seq.) is amended by inserting 13 after the item relating to section 1432 the following: 14 ‘‘SUBPART 4—TRANSITION-TO-SUCCESS MENTORING PROGRAM ‘‘Sec. 1441. Transition-to-success mentoring program.’’. Æ VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:27 Feb 10, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00013 Fmt 6652 [Text truncated for display. Full text available on Congress.gov.]

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