A newly introduced bill, the Increased Student Achievement through Increased Student Support Act (H.R.6654 /S.3364), would provide five year grants to low-income urban or rural school districts to help address the nonacademic needs of students by increasing the recruitment and retention of K–12 school counselors, school psychologists, and school social workers.

The need for these additional student support personnel is great. Principals and other school staff often do not have adequate training to deal with the social, emotional, and behavioral needs of students, yet because many low-income schools are forced to share a single counselor, psychologist, or social worker, teachers are often left to deal with these student needs on their own.

In the current age of student achievement and accountability, attending to the nonacademic needs of students has never been more important. Studies have shown that students’ academic performance is affected by social and emotional factors, and that students who receive social, emotional, and behavior support have increased their academic achievement. (For information on these studies, visit www.nasponline.org; www.counseling.org; www.sswaa.org; and www.socialworkers.org.)

NASSP has consistently called on Congress to address the nonacademic needs of students, and recently joined with over 20 organizations representing educators and student support service personnel in support of the Increased Student Achievement through Increased Student Support Act.

Specifically, this legislation would authorize $30 million for five year partnership grants between institutions of higher education and urban or rural low-income school districts to train and place school counselors, psychologists, and social workers in underserved districts.

The bill would also create a student loan forgiveness program for school counselors, psychologists, and social workers who have worked for at least five years in low-income school districts. In addition, the bill would require the Secretary of Education to conduct a study on how to best distribute student support personnel to regions experiencing a shortage of school counselors, psychologists, or social workers.

Although it is unlikely that the Increased Student Achievement through Increased Student Support Act will be passed this year, the legislation will at the very least serve as a placeholder for next year, when Congress is expected to move forward on a reauthorization of the No Child Left Behind Act.