HR 2611 IHCommentsClose CommentsPermalink

To amend the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 to strengthen mentoring programs, and for other purposes.CommentsClose CommentsPermalink

June 7, 2007

Mrs. DAVIS of California (for herself, Mr. ROGERS of Michigan, Mr. ETHERIDGE, Mr. PAYNE, Ms. CORRINE BROWN of Florida, Mr. DAVIS of Illinois, Mr. SCHIFF, and Ms. MCCOLLUM of Minnesota) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Education and LaborCommentsClose CommentsPermalink

To amend the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 to strengthen mentoring programs, and for other purposes.CommentsClose CommentsPermalink

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,CommentsClose CommentsPermalink

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

This Act may be cited as the `Mentoring America's Children Act of 2007'.CommentsClose CommentsPermalink

SEC. 2. AMENDMENTS TO MENTORING PROGRAMS.

(a) Purpose; Definitions- Section 4130(a) of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 7140(a)) is amended--CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(1) in paragraph (1)--CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(A) in subparagraph (B) by striking `achievement of such children' and inserting `outcomes of such children by improving their school connectedness, decreasing absenteeism, and increasing academic performance';CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(B) in subparagraph (D) by striking `and' at the end;CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(C) in subparagraph (E) by striking the period at the end and inserting `; and'; andCommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(D) by adding at the end the following:CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





`(F) to foster character education.';CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(2) in paragraph (2)(B)(iii) by striking `a partnership between a local educational agency and a nonprofit, community-based organization' and inserting `a consortium between one or more local educational agencies; nonprofit community-based organizations; and other partners, such as corporations or universities, or both'; andCommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(3) in paragraph (2)(C)(iii) by inserting after `responsible' the following: `and successful'.CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(b) Grant Program- Section 4130(b) of such Act (20 U.S.C. 7140(b)) is amended--CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(1) in paragraph (1), in the matter preceding subparagraph (A), by striking `under section 4003(2)' and inserting `under subsection (d)';CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(2) in paragraph (1)(A) by striking `(particularly' and all that follows through `failure)' and inserting `, particularly children living in rural, suburban, or urban areas facing high rates of crime, gang involvement, drug use, and dropouts,';CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(3) in paragraph (4)--CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(A) by amending subparagraph (D) to read as follows:CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





`(D) an assurance that each mentor will be assigned to no more than three children, and that when assigned more than one child (which is preferable where practicable), the assignment must not undermine the mentor's ability to be an effective mentor or to establish a close relationship with each mentored child;';CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(B) in subparagraph (I) by striking `and' at the end;CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(C) in subparagraph (J) by striking the period at the end and inserting a semicolon; andCommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(D) by adding at the end the following:CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





`(K) information regarding the staffing plan and levels the eligible entity will use to monitor the mentor/mentee match over the duration of the match; andCommentsClose CommentsPermalink





`(L) information regarding the eligible entity's sustainability plan, specifically how the eligible entity will meet the required match, which is--CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





`(i) in year 1 of the grant, at least 10 percent of the amount awarded for that year;CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





`(ii) in year 2 of the grant, at least 25 percent of the amount awarded for that year;CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





`(iii) in year 3 of the grant, at least 50 percent of the amount awarded for that year; andCommentsClose CommentsPermalink





`(iv) for an entity receiving subsequent funding under subparagraph (E) of paragraph (5), in all three years of the grant the match shall be at least 50 percent of the amount awarded for that year.';CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(4) in paragraph (5)(C)--CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(A) in clause (i) by striking `urban and rural' and inserting `urban, suburban, and rural';CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(B) in clause (ii)(II), by inserting after `organizations,' the following: `children,'; andCommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(C) in clause (iii), by inserting after `mentoring program' the following: `and sustain it for the duration of the grant and beyond'; andCommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(5) in paragraph (5), by adding at the end following:CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





`(E) SUBSEQUENT GRANTS- In awarding grants under subparagraph (A), the Secretary shall consider entities who have received funding in a prior grant cycle for a new grant only if each of the following criteria are met:CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





`(i) Performance during the initial grant was satisfactory in terms of program design and numbers of children served.CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





`(ii) The subsequent grant will exclusively support expanded service to a new geographic area or target population.CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





`(iii) The eligible entity demonstrates that it is able to provide a 50 percent match to Federal funds for all three years of the new grant.CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





`(F) POLICY ON ONE ENTITY HAVING TWO GRANTS AT SAME TIME- In awarding grants under subparagraph (A), the Secretary may have in effect a policy under which an entity is prohibited from having two grants at the same time. However, such a policy shall not prohibit an entity from having two grants at the same time when the periods of the two grants overlap by three months or less.'.CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(c) Additional Provisions- Section 4130 of such Act (20 U.S.C. 7140) is amended by adding at the end the following:CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





`(c) Ensuring Quality Grants-CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





`(1) SUPPORT FOR GRANTEES- In order to ensure the strongest possible outcomes for children mentored through this section, the Secretary shall--CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





`(A) provide training and technical assistance to grant recipients, beginning in year 1 and continuing throughout the span of the grant;CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





`(B) track the mentoring practices and outcomes of all grant recipients throughout the 3-year span of the grant utilizing a robust online tracking and evaluation system; andCommentsClose CommentsPermalink





`(C) submit an annual report to Congress detailing the number of children served by grant recipients and the outcomes achieved for those children.CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





`(2) RESEARCH ON SCHOOL-BASED MENTORING- In order to ensure that grant recipients have access to the most current research-based knowledge about building and carrying out strong and effective mentoring programs, the Secretary shall do the following:CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





`(A) Consult with leading mentoring organizations and researchers, including the Federal Mentoring Council and the National Mentoring Working Group, to determine priorities for research on school-based mentoring and appropriate research design, with consideration for--CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





`(i) determining the ideal school environments in which school-based mentoring succeeds;CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





`(ii) identifying techniques for matching children with specific characteristics (such as age, academic situation, risk factors) with the most appropriate mentoring models;CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





`(iii) determining the ideal infrastructure needed to foster the expansion of school-based mentoring in a sustainable way; andCommentsClose CommentsPermalink





`(iv) refining best practices, match activities, and a range of mentoring models to lead to the best possible outcomes for children.CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





`(B) Issue grants or contracts to high-quality research entities to perform research on the priorities identified in subparagraph (A), with the following criteria:CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





`(i) The proposed research design must meet accepted standards within the academic community.CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





`(ii) All research results and findings must be widely disseminated to existing grantees and to the larger mentoring community.CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





`(C) Issue grants or contracts only if amount appropriated for each fiscal year under paragraph (1) of subsection (d) exceeds $50,000,000.CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





`(d) Authorization of Appropriations; Reservation of Certain Amounts-CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





`(1) AUTHORIZATION- There are authorized to be appropriated to carry out this section $100,000,000 for fiscal year 2008 and such sums as may be necessary for each succeeding fiscal year.CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





`(2) RESERVATIONS- Each fiscal year, the Secretary shall reserve--CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





`(A) not more than 5 percent of the amount appropriated for that fiscal year under paragraph (1) for expenditure on support for grantees as authorized by paragraph (1) of subsection (c); andCommentsClose CommentsPermalink





`(B) not more than 10 percent of the amount appropriated for that fiscal year under paragraph (1) for expenditure on research as authorized by paragraph (2) of subsection (c).'.CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(d) Revisions to Other Education Programs-CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(1) INCLUSION OF MENTORING FOR MINORITY PROGRAMS-CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(A) Section 7121(c)(1) of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 7441(c)(1)) is amended--CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(i) in subparagraph (E) by inserting after `programs and projects' the following: `, including mentoring,'; andCommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(ii) in subparagraph (J) by inserting after `programs' the following: `, including mentoring,'.CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(B) Section 7205(a)(3) of that Act (20 U.S.C. 7515(a)(3)) is amended--CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(i) in subparagraph (H)(ii) by inserting after `programs' the following: `, including mentoring';CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(ii) in subparagraph (I)(iii) by inserting after `counseling' the following: `, mentoring,'.CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(C) Section 7304(a)(2)(P) of that Act (20 U.S.C. 7544(a)(2)(P)) is amended by inserting after `program' the following: `or mentoring programs'.CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(2) TRANSITION SERVICES- Section 1418(a)(2)(C) of that Act (20 U.S.C. 6438(a)(2)(C)) is amended--CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(A) in clause (iv) by striking `and' at the end;CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(B) in clause (v) by striking the period at the end and inserting `; and'; andCommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(C) by adding at the end the following:CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





`(vi) youth mentoring programs.'.CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(3) NATIONAL SAFE AND DRUG-FREE SCHOOLS PROGRAMS- Section 4121(a)(2) of that Act (20 U.S.C. 7131(a)(2)) is amended--CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(A) in subparagraph (C) by striking `and' at the end;CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(B) in subparagraph (D) by adding `and' at the end; andCommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(C) by adding at the end the following:CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





`(E) school and community-based mentoring programs;'.CommentsClose CommentsPermalink