(1) An education provider seeking a grant from the program shall submit an application to the school counselor corps advisory board existing within the department in accordance with the rules adopted by the state board. The school counselor corps advisory board shall review each grant application received and make recommendations to the department and state board concerning whether a grant should be awarded to the education provider and the recommended amount of the grant. If the school counselor corps advisory board determines an application is missing any information required by rule to be included with the application, the school counselor corps advisory board may contact the education provider to obtain the missing information.
(2) At a minimum, each grant application must specify:
The intended recipient schools, the number of school counselors employed by theeducation provider prior to receipt of a grant, and the ratio of students to school counselors in the schools operated by or receiving services from the education provider;
Whether the education provider has adopted standards for school counselor responsibilities, as recommended by a national association of school counselors;
Whether the education provider has entered into, or has committed to establishing,one or more partnerships with institutions of higher education or postsecondary service providers in Colorado to support and increase the capacity and effectiveness of the counseling and postsecondary preparation services provided to students enrolled in or receiving educational services from the education provider;
The education provider's plan for use of the grant money, including the extent towhich the grant money will be used to increase the number of school counselors at recipient schools and to provide professional development for school counselors and professional development to enable other faculty members to provide counseling and postsecondary preparation services at recipient schools;
The education provider's plan for involving leaders at the recipient schools and in thesurrounding community and the faculty at recipient schools in increasing the capacity and effectiveness of the counseling and postsecondary preparation services provided to students enrolled in or receiving educational services from the education provider;
The extent to which the education provider has developed or plans to develop partnerships to serve the postsecondary needs of all of the students enrolled in or receiving educational services from the education provider;
The education provider's use of district-level, or school-level if the education provider is a charter school, needs assessments that identify challenging issues in the district or school in terms of student learning and success and identification of any programs initiated or services provided by the education provider to students that have helped to increase graduation rates and the level of postsecondary success among graduates;
The attendance, grade-retention and promotion, and grading policies implemented bythe education provider;
Whether the education provider intends to provide matching funds to augment anygrant moneys received from the program and the anticipated amount and source of any matching funds; and
The education provider's plan for continuing to fund the increases in school counseling services following expiration of the grant.
(3) In reviewing applications and making recommendations to the department and state board, the school counselor corps advisory board shall consider the following criteria, in addition to any other criteria adopted by rule of the state board:
The dropout rate at the intended recipient school or schools and, if the educationprovider is a school district, at all of the schools within the school district. The school counselor corps advisory board, department, and state board shall give priority to education providers that intend to use the grant money to assist schools at which the dropout rate exceeds the statewide average.
The remediation rate at the intended recipient school or schools and, if the education provider is a school district, all of the schools within the school district. The school counselor corps advisory board, department, and state board shall give priority to education providers that intend to use the grant money to assist schools at which the remediation rate is greater than the statewide average.
The percentage of students enrolled in the intended recipient school or schools, and,if the education provider is a school district, all of the schools within the school district, who are eligible for free or reduced-cost lunch or who are considered at-risk students. The school counselor corps advisory board, department, and state board shall give priority to education providers that identify intended recipient schools with a high percentage of said students.
The percentage of students enrolled in the intended recipient school or schools and, ifthe education provider is a school district, all of the schools in the school district, who graduate and enroll in postsecondary education within two years after graduating from high school;
The number of students enrolled in the intended recipient school or schools and, ifthe education provider is a school district, all of the schools in the school district, who apply to and enroll in postsecondary education within two years after graduating from high school and who are first-generation college students. The school counselor corps advisory board, department, and state board shall give priority to education providers that identify intended recipient schools with a high percentage of first-generation college students.
Whether the education provider has adopted, or has demonstrated a commitment toadopting, standards for school counselor responsibilities, as recommended by a national association of school counselors;
The likelihood that the education provider will continue to fund the increases in thelevel of school counseling services following expiration of the grant;
The geographic location of the education provider. The school counselor corps advisory board, department, and state board may provide a preference in awarding grants to underserved areas of the state.
The current student-to-counselor ratio at the school.
The department and the state board shall consult with experts in the area of schoolcounseling, including but not limited to school counselors, persons who provide education and professional development in the areas of school counseling and career counseling, and higher education admissions officers, in establishing any additional criteria for awarding grants and in reviewing applications and selecting grant recipients.
(4.5) The department shall provide support to schools to train principals on the most effective use of the program.
(a) Subject to available appropriations, but not to exceed ten million dollars annually, the state board shall award grants to applying education providers pursuant to this section. The state board shall base the grant awards on the department's recommendations. Each grant has a term of four years beginning in the 2014-15 budget year. In making a grant award, the state board shall specify the amount of each grant.
(b) (I) In addition to the amount appropriated pursuant to subsection (5)(a) of this section, the general assembly shall appropriate two hundred fifty thousand dollars each year for the 2019-20 and 2021-22 fiscal years, from the general fund to the state board. The state board shall distribute the appropriation to the education providers that receive a grant for the following purposes:
Developing and distributing information to students, families, and school leadersregarding the free application for federal student aid and applications for state student aid, and the benefits of completing the free application for federal student aid and applications for state student aid;
Developing and distributing information to students and families regarding the stepsrequired to complete the free application for federal student aid and applications for state student aid;
Training school counselors on best practices to support students and families withfilling out the free application for federal student aid and applications for state student aid, with an emphasis on supporting communities who have historically low completion rates of the free application for federal student aid and applications for state student aid; and
Organizing and hosting opportunities for students and families to meet with stakeholders who assist in completing the free application for federal student aid or applications for state student aid.
(II) This subsection (5)(b) is repealed, effective July 1, 2023.
The department may expend no more than three percent of the moneys annuallyappropriated for the program to offset the costs incurred in implementing the program, including the provision of grant-related professional development, training, and reporting activities.
The department shall seek and may accept public or private gifts, grants, or donationsto assist in funding the program.
The general assembly hereby finds and declares that, for purposes of section 17 ofarticle IX of the state constitution, awarding grants to education providers to use in increasing the availability of school counselors and the level of school counseling services provided in schools and to thereby increase the graduation and matriculation rates and decrease the need for remediation in postsecondary education is an important element of accountable education reform and may therefore receive funding from the state education fund created in section 17 (4) of article IX of the state constitution.
Source: L. 2008: Entire article added, p. 1356, § 1, effective May 27. L. 2011: (6) amended, (SB 11-229), ch. 157, p. 543, § 1, effective May 5. L. 2014: (1), (3), (5), and (6) amended and (4.5) added, (SB 14-150), ch. 214, p. 801, § 3, effective May 16. L. 2017: IP(2), (2)(a), (2)(c) to (2)(g), (3)(a) to (3)(c.5), (4.5), and (8) amended, (SB 17-068), ch. 138, p. 464, § 9, effective August 9. L. 2019: (5) amended, (HB 19-1187), ch. 161, p. 1892, § 2, effective May 13. L. 2020: IP(5)(b)(I) amended, (HB 20-1418), ch. 197, p. 940, § 4, effective June 30.
Cross references: For the legislative declaration in SB 17-068, see section 1 of chapter 138, Session Laws of Colorado 2017. For the legislative declaration in HB 19-1187, see section 1 of chapter 161, Session Laws of Colorado 2019. For the legislative declaration in HB 20-1418, see section 1 of chapter 197, Session Laws of Colorado 2020.