S 375

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IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

February 3, 2025

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 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.”. <all>