Amendment #633 to H3400

Gateway Cities Support Counselors and Early Literacy Programs

Representatives Cabral of New Bedford, Schmid of Westport, Canavan of Brockton, Farley-Bouvier of Pittsfield, DiNatale of Fitchburg, Vega of Holyoke, O'Day of West Boylston, Heroux of Attleboro, Koczera of New Bedford, Mannal of Barnstable, Rosa of Leominster and Devers of Lawrence move to amend the bill in section 2 by inserting after item 7009-6400 the following items:

“7009-6401 For grants to establish or expand student support councils in school districts located in Gateway Cities, and to place student support counselors in schools within those districts who will coordinate the provision of support services, including, but not limited to, health and human services, to students within the school setting; provided, that funds shall be used to establish cross-sector, cross-stakeholder student support councils that will create strategic plans for delivering comprehensive student support services to students and families and also provide practical information and support to school districts and other educational institutions; provided further, that funds shall be used to hire district-level student support coordinators and school-level counselors; and provided further, that grant applications may also propose placing such counselors in early education or higher education settings where appropriate……$3,640,000

7009-6403 For grants to provide targeted professional development opportunities for educators working in family child care programs in Gateway Cities and to provide support to family members of children enrolled in these programs; provided, that funds shall be used to offer multiple types of professional development programs, including job-embedded opportunities, to educators on topics including, but not limited to, language and literacy development, especially for students for whom English is not their first language, creating literacy-rich environments and preparing children for kindergarten; provided further, that funds shall also be used to offer evening or Saturday sessions for family members to increase levels of understanding and engagement with literacy development; and provided further, that funds shall also be used to schedule home visits for children and families who need additional literacy support…$575,000”.