Us Congress 2023-2024 Regular Session

Us Congress Senate Bill SB65

Introduced
1/25/23  

Caption

Mentoring to Succeed Act of 2023 This bill requires the Department of Education to award grants to high-need local educational agencies, high-need schools, and local governments to establish, expand, or support school-based mentoring programs that assist at-risk students in developing cognitive skills and promoting social-emotional learning to prepare them for success in high school, postsecondary education, and the workforce. Additionally, the bill directs the Institute of Education Sciences to conduct a study to identify successful school-based mentoring programs and evaluate the effectiveness of the grant program established by this bill.

Impact

The proposed bill is expected to have significant implications for state education laws by providing structured support systems for at-risk youth. This includes a variety of student demographics defined under the bill such as those in foster care, homeless youth, students with disabilities, or those who have been involved with the juvenile justice system. By targeting such vulnerable populations, the bill seeks to reduce dropout rates, improve academic engagement, and facilitate smoother transitions to higher education or job opportunities. Additionally, grant recipients may collaborate with community organizations, expanding the resources available for these mentorship programs.

Summary

Senate Bill 65, titled the 'Mentoring to Succeed Act of 2023', aims to amend the Carl D. Perkins Career and Technical Education Act of 2006 to empower the Department of Education to award competitive grants to high-need local educational agencies, high-need schools, and local governments. The intent is to establish, expand, or support school-based mentoring programs specifically aimed at assisting at-risk students in middle and high school. These programs are designed to help develop cognitive skills and promote social-emotional learning to prepare these students for success in high school, postsecondary education, and in the workforce.

Contention

The key points of contention in discussions around this bill relate to the effectiveness and implementation of government-funded mentorship programs. Critics may raise concerns about the allocation of funds and whether such grants will adequately address the diverse and complex needs of at-risk students. There is also a debate regarding the measurement of success for mentorship programs, as their outcomes, such as improved graduation rates and career readiness, can be challenging to quantify. Ensuring the quality and training of the mentors is also crucial to the success of these programs, raising questions about compliance and oversight within the proposed mentorship framework.

Companion Bills

US HB525

Identical bill Mentoring to Succeed Act of 2023

Previously Filed As

US SB375

Transition-to-Success Mentoring Act This bill establishes a transition-to-success mentoring program requiring the Department of Education (ED) to award grants to eligible entities (e.g., local educational agencies) to provide school-based mentoring programs to assist at-risk students in transitioning from middle to high school. ED must also work with the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention to (1) refer grant recipients to the National Mentoring Resource Center to obtain mentoring resources, and (2) provide grant recipients with information regarding transitional services for eligible students returning from correctional facilities and transition services for students with disabilities.

US HB245

Breath of Fresh Air Act This bill establishes a grant program for local educational agencies to purchase, and train school personnel to use, nebulizers.

US HB896

Expanding Access to High-Impact Tutoring Act of 2025This bill directs the Department of Education (ED) to award grants to state educational agencies and, through them, subgrants to local educational agencies (LEAs) for implementing, administering, and evaluating tutoring programs in elementary and secondary schools.Additionally, the bill directs ED to establish an advisory board. Among its duties, the advisory board must (1) evaluate and approve plans to ensure that LEAs will meet tutoring program requirements, (2) provide technical assistance and guidance to grant recipients, and (3) develop a nationwide tutoring workforce.

US HB221

Professional Pell Education Learning Act or the PROPEL Act This bill expands student eligibility for Pell Grants by allowing students to use these grants for enrollment in educational programs that consist of vocational or technical training, flight training, apprenticeship, or other on-job training. In addition, the bill expands institutional eligibility under the Federal Pell Grant program, including by allowing these vocational and training programs to be unaccredited.

US HB66

Native American Education Opportunity Act This bill addresses education savings account programs and charter schools for tribal students. Specifically, the bill requires the Department of Education and the Department of the Interior, at the request of federally recognized Indian tribes, to provide funds to tribes for tribal-based education savings account programs. Tribes must use these funds to award grants to education savings accounts for students who (1) attended or will be eligible to attend a school operated by the Bureau of Indian Education (BIE); or (2) will not be attending a school operated by the BIE, receiving an education savings account from another tribe, or attending public elementary or secondary school while participating in the program. Funds may be used for items and activities such as costs of attendance at private schools, private tutoring and online learning programs, textbooks, educational software, or examination fees. The Government Accountability Office must review the implementation of these education savings account programs, including any factors impacting increased participation in such programs. Additionally, the bill authorizes the BIE to approve and fund charter schools at any school that it operates or funds.

US SB5594

A bill to amend the Higher Education Act of 1965 to support innovative, evidence-based approaches that improve the effectiveness and efficiency of postsecondary education for all students, to allow pay for success initiatives, to provide additional evaluation authority, and for other purposes.

US SB56

Education Freedom Scholarships and Opportunity Act This bill allows individual and corporate taxpayers a tax credit for cash contributions to certain scholarship-granting and workforce training organizations. It imposes a cap of $10 billion on the sum of contributions that qualify for a tax credit under this bill. The bill requires the Department of Education, in coordination with the Departments of the Treasury and Labor, to establish, host, and maintain a web portal that (1) lists all eligible scholarship-granting and workforce training organizations; (2) enables contributions to such organizations; (3) provides information about the benefits of this bill; and (4) enables a state to submit and update information about its programs and educational organizations, including information on student eligibility and allowable educational expenses.

US SB377

Students Helping Young Students Act of 2025This bill expands the Federal Work-Study Program to include work-study programs at institutions of higher education that compensate students who are employed in educational after-school, before-school, or nonschool community service activities at public elementary and secondary schools.

US HB322

Educational Opportunity and Success Act of 2023 This bill reauthorizes through FY2029 and otherwise revises TRIO programs. (These outreach and student-services programs identify and provide services to students from disadvantaged backgrounds.) Among other revisions to the programs, the bill prohibits the Department of Education (ED) from rejecting TRIO grant applications based on certain errors; requires ED to provide additional technical assistance to interested grant applicants; revises the outcome criteria for measuring the quality and effectiveness of the programs, including those programs specifically designed for veterans; allows program administrators to use a student's most recent Free Application for Federal Student Aid to determine TRIO program eligibility; and increases the maximum stipend for students participating in the Upward Bound Program or the Ronald E. McNair Postbaccalaureate Achievement Program.

US HB525

Mentoring to Succeed Act of 2023

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