National Association of Social Workers

GOVERNMENT RELATIONS UPDATE

June 18, 2001

Two Victories in Senate for School Social Work!

On Thursday, June 14, 2001, after seven weeks of debate, the U.S. Senate passed the Better Education for Students and Teachers (BEST) Act (S. 1) by a vote of 91-8. S. 1 reauthorizes the Elementary and Secondary Education Act, which defines the federal role in elementary and secondary education. Voting against the bill were 8 Republicans (Bob Bennett, UT; Jesse Helms, NC; Jim Inhofe, OK; Don Nickles, OK; Jon Kyl, AZ; and George Voinovich, OH) and 2 Democrats (Russ Feingold, WI; and Fritz Hollings, SC).

Prior to final passage, the Senate adopted 135 amendments and rejected 15. Two of the amendments adopted will directly benefit school social workers:

(1) An amendment sponsored by Senator Thad Cochran (R-MS) that reauthorizes the Elementary School Counseling Program and expands it to secondary schools. The program provides grants to local educational agencies to hire school social workers and other school-based professionals to develop or expand comprehensive school counseling programs.

(2) An amendment sponsored by Senator George Voinovich (R-OH) that restores eligibility for professional development activities to pupil services personnel, which includes school social workers. The amendment also allows school districts to use federal funds designated to recruit and train teachers and principals to hire and train pupil services personnel.

In offering the amendment, Senator Voinovich said, in part: " . . . Pupil services personnel, the men and women who are our school counselors, school psychologists, school social workers, and other school-based personnel, are essential components in our effort to guarantee that no child is left behind. These educators help ensure student achievement by securing a safe learning environment, helping to solve problems students experience that extend far beyond the schoolyard, and craft a challenging, personalized, college-oriented curriculum so that all students have a chance to succeed. . . ."

MANY THANKS TO ALL who contacted their Senators regarding these two amendments and/or Senator Tom Harkin's bill, the Elementary and Secondary School Counseling Improvement Act. All contacts helped contribute to these victories.

ACTION NEEDED:

Residents of MISSISSIPPI -- Please thank Senator Cochran for his support for the School Counseling Program.

Residents of OHIO -- Please thank Senator Voinovich for his support for Pupil Services Personnel.

SUMMARY OF BILL -- Overall, S. 1:

(1) Would authorize an $11.5 billion increase in funding for a total of about $30 billion in FY 2002. The increase includes $6.4 billion in Title I funding to aid low-income students.

(2) Would require annual reading and math tests for students in grades 3 through 8.

(3) Schools where students' scores do not improve would initially receive extra federal aid, but eventually would have to let students transfer.

(4) Students in failing public schools would be able to use Title I money to transfer to another public school or pay for private tutoring, but could not use voucher money to attend private schools.

(5) A "Straight A's" demonstration program would allow 7 states and 25 school districts to use federal block-grant funds for virtually any educational purpose as long as student performance improves.

(6) Would authorize $8.8 billion in FY 2002 and $181 billion over 10 years to cover 40 percent of the special education costs incurred by states and districts.

OTHER AMENDMENTS -- Other selected amendments of interest:

(1) An amendment sponsored by Senator Jeff Sessions (R-AL) that would change the current discipline provisions contained in the Individual with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA). Under the Sessions amendment, students with disabilities could be disciplined identically to students without disabilities, including suspension and expulsion, unless the student's behavior was determined to be a manifestation of the child's disability. A similar amendment was passed in the House.

(2) An amendment sponsored by Senator Ted Kennedy (D-MA) and Senator Pete Domenici (R-NM) to establish a grant program to link schools with local mental health systems. To receive funding, grantees must provide assurances that services are provided by qualified personnel and that they are integrated with and support existing school-based services.

(3) An amendment sponsored by Senator Frank Murkowski (R-AK) to authorize funding for suicide prevention programs. Funds could be used to train school administrators, faculty, and staff to identify the warning signs of suicide, create a plan of action for helping those at risk, and assess the impact of the program.

NEXT STEP -- House-Senate Conference Committee:

The Senate-passed bill, along with H.R. 1, the No Child Left Behind Act, which was passed by the House in May, now goes to a House-Senate conference committee to work out a final compromise bill. The comprise bill will then have to be passed by the House and Senate and signed by the President before becoming law. Conferees hope to complete their work by the end of August.

Like the Senate bill, the House bill also contains a reauthorization of the Elementary School Counseling Program, with an expansion to secondary schools, so all the conferees will have to do is reconcile some differences in language.

But the House bill does not include the provision which allows schools to hire and train pupil services personnel with federal funds dedicated to hiring and training teachers and principals, so conferees will need to be convinced to include the Senate provision in the final bill.

FUTURE ACTION -- Watch for an ACTION ALERT in the near future for advocacy needed with Members of the Conference Committee.

As always -- THANKS FOR YOUR ADVOCACY!