H.R. 7798 — School Social Workers Improving Student Success Act

This section establishes a grant program under ESEA Title IV, Part F, Subpart 4, authorizing the Secretary of Education to award grants to high-need local educational agencies (LEAs) for up to 4 years to retain or hire school social workers (or contractors under limited conditions) to achieve a ratio of 1 school social worker per 250 students, with allowances for 1:50 ratios in schools where the majority of students are higher risk. Grantees must ensure social workers provide specified services (e.g., identifying high-need students, counseling, crisis intervention, trauma-informed care, evidence-based mental health services, home visits, and case management) and may reimburse for travel, additional expenses, and clinical supervision. Grants are funded from appropriations, must supplement and not supplant other funds, and require applications with service assurances.

This section directs the Secretary of Education, acting through the Assistant Secretary, to establish a National Technical Assistance Center for School Social Work to provide information, training, and technical assistance to states, political subdivisions, tribes, tribal organizations, institutions of higher education, state and local educational agencies, and individual students and educators on hiring and retaining school social workers in elementary and secondary schools. The center must (1) develop statewide or tribal strategies to improve the school social work workforce; (2) study costs and effectiveness of school social work programs at institutions of higher education and identify improvements for policymakers; (3) collect, evaluate, and disseminate data with federal, state, tribal, and national stakeholders on school social worker ratios, mental health service outcomes and best practices, and impacts of increasing school social workers; and (4) establish partnerships among governments, educational agencies, institutions of higher education, nonprofits, and trade associations for data activities, workforce development, documenting successes, and other appropriate efforts. This section applies ESEA definitions (20 U.S.C. 7801) and defines "school social worker" as specified in new ESEA section 4645(h).