H.R. 7798

[Congressional Bills 119th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 7798 Introduced in House (IH)]

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119th CONGRESS
2d Session
H. R. 7798

To amend the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 to provide 
grants to hire and retain school social workers, and for other 
purposes.

_______________________________________________________________________

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

March 4, 2026

Ms. Moore of Wisconsin (for herself, Ms. Scholten, and Ms. Garcia of 
Texas) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the 
Committee on Education and Workforce

_______________________________________________________________________

A BILL

To amend the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 to provide 
grants to hire and retain school social workers, and for other 
purposes.

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 ``School Social Workers Improving 
Student Success Act''.

SEC. 2. SCHOOL SOCIAL WORKER GRANTS.

(a) Purposes.--The purpose of this Act is to assist States and 
local educational agencies in hiring additional school social workers 
in order to increase access to mental health and other student support 
services to students in elementary and secondary schools in the United 
States to the minimum ratios recommended by the National Association of 
Social Workers and the School Social Work Association of America of 1 
school social worker for every 250 students, and 1 school social worker 
for every 50 students when a social worker is providing services to 
students with intensive needs.
(b) ESEA Amendments.--
(1) In general.--Subpart 4 of part F of title IV of the 
Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (10 U.S.C. 7271 
et seq.) is amended by adding at the end the following new 
section:

``SEC. 4645. GRANTS FOR SCHOOL SOCIAL WORKERS.

``(a) Grants Authorized.--
``(1) In general.--From the amounts appropriated under 
subsection (g), the Secretary shall award grants to high-need 
local educational agencies to enable such agencies to retain 
school social workers employed by such agencies or to hire 
additional school social workers.
``(2) Duration.--A grant awarded under this section shall 
be awarded for a period not to exceed 4 years.
``(3) Supplement, not supplant.--Funds made available under 
this section shall be used to supplement, and not to supplant, 
other Federal, State, or local funds used for hiring and 
retaining school social workers.
``(b) Application.--
``(1) In general.--To be eligible to receive a grant under 
this section, a high-need local educational agency shall submit 
to the Secretary an application at such time, in such manner, 
and containing such information as the Secretary may require.
``(2) Contents.--An application submitted under paragraph 
(1) shall include an assurance that each school social worker 
who receives assistance under the grant will provide the 
services described in subsection (d), and a description of the 
specific services to be provided by such social worker.
``(c) Use of Funds.--A high-need local educational agency receiving 
a grant under this section--
``(1) shall use the grant--
``(A) to achieve a ratio of not less than 1 school 
social worker for every 250 students served by the 
agency, by--
``(i) retaining school social workers 
employed by such agency; or
``(ii)(I) employing additional school 
social workers; or
``(II) hiring contractors to serve as 
school social workers only in a case in which--
``(aa) the local educational agency 
demonstrates to the Secretary that the 
agency--
``(AA) has not been able to 
employ a sufficient number of 
school social workers under 
subclause (I) to achieve such 
ratio despite strong and 
continuing efforts to recruit 
and employ school social 
workers; and
``(BB) hiring contractors 
is the only viable option to 
ensure students have adequate 
access to school social work 
services; and
``(bb) each such contractor meets 
the requirements of subparagraphs (A) 
and (B) of subsection (h)(2); and
``(B) to ensure that each school social worker who 
receives assistance under such grant provides the 
services described in subsection (d); and
``(2) may use the grant to reimburse school social workers 
who receive assistance under such grant for--
``(A) in the case of a school served by the agency 
in which the majority of students are higher risk 
students, to hire or retain additional school social 
workers in accordance with clauses (i) and (ii) of 
paragraph (1)(A) to achieve a ratio of not less than 1 
school social worker for every 50 students;
``(B) travel expenses incurred during home visits 
and other school-related trips;
``(C) any additional expenses incurred by such 
social workers in rendering any service described in 
subsection (d); and
``(D) the cost of clinical social work supervision 
for such social workers.
``(d) Responsibilities of a School Social Worker.--A school social 
worker who receives assistance under a grant under this section shall 
provide the following services:
``(1) Identifying high-need students in each school that 
the social worker serves, and targeting services provided at 
the school to such students.
``(2) Providing students in each school that the school 
social worker serves, social work services to promote school 
engagement and improve academic outcomes, including--
``(A) counseling and crisis intervention;
``(B) trauma-informed services;
``(C) evidence-based educational, behavioral, and 
mental health services (such as implementing multi-
tiered programs and practices, monitoring progress, and 
evaluating service effectiveness);
``(D) addressing the social and emotional learning 
needs of students;
``(E) promoting a school climate and culture 
conducive to student learning and teaching excellence 
(such as promoting effective school policies and 
administrative procedures, enhancing the professional 
capacity of school personnel, and facilitating 
engagement between student, family, school, and 
community);
``(F) providing access to school-based and 
community based resources (such as promoting a 
continuum of services, mobilizing resources and 
promoting assets, and providing leadership, 
interdisciplinary collaboration, systems coordination, 
professional consultation, and connecting students and 
families to resource systems);
``(G) working with students, families, schools, and 
communities to address barriers to educational 
attainment (such as homelessness and housing 
insecurity, lack of transportation, food insecurity, 
equity, social justice issues, access to quality 
education, and school, family, and community risk 
factors);
``(H) providing assistance to schools and teachers 
to design social-emotional, educational, behavioral, 
and mental health interventions;
``(I) case management activities to coordinate the 
delivery of and access to the appropriate social work 
services to the highest-need students;
``(J) home visits to meet the family of students in 
need of social work services in the home environment;
``(K) supervising or coordinating district level 
school social work services; and
``(L) other services the Secretary determines, in 
partnership with students, educators, and community 
member voices are necessary to be carried out by such a 
social worker.
``(e) Grant Renewal.--
``(1) In general.--A grant awarded under this section may 
be renewed for additional periods with the same duration as the 
original grant period.
``(2) Continuing eligibility application.--To be eligible 
for a renewal under this section a high-need local educational 
agency shall submit to the Secretary, for each renewal, a 
report on the progress of such agency in retaining and hiring 
school social workers to achieve the ratio of not less than 1 
school social worker for every 250 students served by the 
agency, and shall include--
``(A) a description of the staffing expansion of 
school social workers funded through the original grant 
received under this section; and
``(B) a description of the work conducted by such 
social workers for higher risk students.
``(f) Technical Assistance.--
``(1) In general.--The Secretary shall provide technical 
assistance to high-need local educational agencies, including 
such agencies that do not have adequate staff, in applying for 
grants under this section.
``(2) Extension of application period.--The Secretary shall 
extend any application period for a grant under this section 
for any high-need local educational agency that--
``(A) submits to the Secretary a written 
notification of the intent to apply for a grant under 
this section before requesting technical assistance 
under paragraph (1); and
``(B) after submitting the notification under 
paragraph (1), requests such technical assistance.
``(g) Authorization for Appropriations.--There is authorized to be 
appropriated to carry out this section, $100,000,000 for each of fiscal 
years 2026 through 2030.
``(h) Definitions.--In this section:
``(1) High-need local educational agency.--The term `high-
need local educational agency' has the meaning given the term 
in section 200 of the Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 
1021).
``(2) School social worker.--The term `school social 
worker' means an individual who--
``(A) has a graduate degree in social work from a 
social work program that is accredited by the Council 
on Social Work Education; and
``(B) meets all other State and local credentialing 
requirements for practicing as a social worker in an 
elementary school or secondary school.''.
(2) Table of contents.--The table of contents in section 2 
of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 is 
amended by inserting after the item relating to section 4644 
the following:

``Sec. 4645. Grants for school social workers.''.

SEC. 3. NATIONAL TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE CENTER FOR SCHOOL SOCIAL WORK.

(a) In General.--The Secretary of Education, acting through the 
Assistant Secretary, shall establish an evaluation, documentation, 
dissemination, and technical assistance resource center to provide 
appropriate information, training, and technical assistance to States, 
political subdivisions of States, federally recognized Indian tribes, 
tribal organizations, institutions of higher education, State and local 
educational agencies, and individual students and educators with 
respect to hiring and retaining school social workers at elementary 
schools and secondary schools served by local educational agencies.
(b) Responsibilities of the Center.--The center established under 
subsection (a) shall conduct activities for the purpose of--
(1) developing and continuing statewide or tribal 
strategies for improving the effectiveness of the school social 
work workforce;
(2) studying the costs and effectiveness of school social 
work programs at institutions of higher education to identify 
areas of improvement and provide information on relevant issues 
of importance to State, tribal, and national policymakers;
(3) working with Federal agencies and other State, Tribal, 
and national stakeholders to collect, evaluate, and disseminate 
data regarding school social work ratios, outcomes and best 
practices of school-based mental health services, and impact of 
expanding the number of school social workers within elementary 
schools and secondary schools; and
(4) establishing partnerships among National, State, 
Tribal, and local governments, and local educational agencies, 
institutions of higher education, non-profit organizations, and 
State and national trade associations for the purposes of--
(A) data collection and dissemination;
(B) establishing a school social work workforce 
development program;
(C) documenting the success of school social work 
methods on a national level; and
(D) conducting other activities determined 
appropriate by the Secretary.
(c) Definitions.--In this section:
(1) ESEA terms.--Except as otherwise provided, any term 
used in this section that is defined in section 8101 of the 
Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 7801) 
shall have the meaning given that term in such section.
(2) School social worker.--The term ``school social 
worker'' has the meaning given the term in section 4645(h) of 
the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965, as added by 
section 2(b).
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