http://www.skylineoracle.com/news/2011/05/06/principal-leaves-counselors-out-of-current-budget-proposal/

Yesterday, my 8th grader brought home the promised registration package, and it also includes the information about A-G requirements. Tonight we’ll be going back to Skyline for *manditory* registration (they have over 100 more students wanting to attend Skyline than they have room for), and our 8th grader will be picking his preferred classes / electives.

Yes, I think Skyline has just as bad a student-to-counselor ratio as the other high schools. One counselor for the entire incoming freshman class – that’s just not enough. But I do think they are making a good attempt to get the graduation requirements out to the students and the families.

I’m not concerned that my child will have problems with graduation requirements, he’s GATE. And I’m not too concerned about his access to a counselor – but that’s because of his parents – we’re active and involved, and we were pretty seriously *activist* when our older, autistic kid was in OUSD. We know how to take care of our own.

I wish it were possible for us to take on more. There are so many students who don’t have effective support and advocacy. We have an autistic student in college now, and he still needs us to be his support and advocacy team. Unfortunately, between the two children we just don’t have the time and energy to give to other students.

Sue Says:
April 15th, 2011 at 9:43 am
We certainly got a surprise at last night’s Skyline registration. A counselor was outside the gym handing out packets for the last counselor left at the school, who is being RIF’ed at the end of this school year.

Inside, my husband found Mr. Johnston, the principal, and asked him how student counseling would be provided with *NO* counselors. He has a plan, assistant principals will be responsible for student counseling. Where can we see this plan? It’s not available, yet. It will be on the Skyline high school’s website, soon.

Not very good answers… Assistant principals already have full-time jobs and responsibilities. So do counselors. But somehow, in the future both sets of duties and responsibilities will be performed by half the number of people who were doing these jobs currently.

I don’t think this is going to work out well for the staff or the students, but I can’t really blame the principal too much – he has to make cuts, and there aren’t any good places to make them.

We’ll be checking the Skyline website regularly for the promised plan.
———-
I’ve checked Skyline’s website this morning, http://www.skylinehs.org/
and there’s nothing about counseling for the upcoming school year. There’s information and a list of counseling staff for the 2009-2010 school year.

As I said a month ago, I’m not concerned for my own son who’s an incoming freshman. My husband and I can give him the guidance he won’t be getting from a school counselor. I just wish *someone* was going to be available to the other Skyline students who don’t have strong family support systems.

Perhaps they will have centralized counseling done by t.v.? This could be the wave of the future, with centralized teaching soon to follow. Students could just have a live monitor in the classroom (former military or police) to keep order, and a teacher beamed in on t.v. It does sound like Brave New World.

The rules governing school counseling (as above by the CTC) are so complex and ambiguous, it seems like they give schools the opportunity to get around. If “While a school district is not required to provide school counseling services they are also not able to provide those services by non-authorized staff such as teachers or administrators. An individual may not serve as the school counselor or provide the authorized services of a school counselor without holding an appropriate credential.” is true, then who is supposed to provide the service? That language makes it sound like it is okay not to provide counseling by someone with the proper credential as long as you don’t have anyone else do the job either. Where does that leave students?

4th year teacher- I am very sad that you have not experienced the support that could be provided by a counselor at your school.

“California Code of Regulations Title 5 §80049.1 clarifies that school districts may use community-based service individuals or groups in the provision of pupil personnel services as long as they are supervised in their school-based activities by an individual holding a Pupil Personnel Services Credential. The actual authorizations for the various PPS credential holders and information identifying other providers is provided in the Administrator’s Assignment Manual in Section L at http://www.ctc.ca.gov/credentials/manuals-handbooks/Administrator-Assignment-Manual.pdf. Please note that there is nothing within the authorizations of these documents or within the sections of codes under the authority of the Commission related to the handling of transcripts or confidential materials.

School districts are not required to provide school counseling services. There was an Assembly Bill in 2006 that provided for a Middle and High School Supplemental School Counseling Program that required an increase in school counselors for the funding but according to CDE local governing boards now have flexibility in the use of those funds for other educational programs. (http://www.cde.ca.gov/ls/cg/mc/mhscfaq.asp)

While a school district is not required to provide school counseling services they are also not able to provide those services by non-authorized staff such as teachers or administrators. An individual may not serve as the school counselor or provide the authorized services of a school counselor without holding an appropriate credential. Frequently schools offer organized advisement programs in which teachers serve as student advisors and schools offer advisement classes with a district approved curriculum according to EC §49600(c).

Advisory programs augment school site and district guidance programs but do not replace them. To address the legal and appropriate responsibilities of teacher advisors and credentialed school counselors within the context of school advisory programs, the Commission issued the Information Advisory on EC §49600 Concerning Teacher Advisement Programs in December 1996. It may be found on the Commission’s web site at the following link: http://www.ctc.ca.gov/credentials/cig/HANDBOOKS/Advisory-on-Teacher-Assignment.pdf.

The advisory program must be approved by the governing board and be under the supervision of the holder of a Pupil Personnel Services Credential in School Counseling. A teacher cannot serve as a counselor for any number of hours per day.

Title 5 Section 80049.1, added to regulation in December 1999, established specific authorization statements for each of the four Pupil Personnel Services areas, thereby clarifying the specific services each of these areas authorizes the holder to perform. Each of these professionals, either individually or a members of a student support services team, may perform services consistent with the Title 5 authorizations. develop, plan, implement and evaluate a school counseling and guidance program that includes academic, career, personal and social development; advocate for the high academic achievement and social development of all students; provide school-wide prevention and intervention strategies and counseling services; provide consultation, training and staff development to teachers and parents regarding students’ needs; and supervise a

district-approved advisory program as described in EC §49600.

There is an additional local assignment option for the provision of counseling services for small school districts. EC §44046 allows social workers, with or without holding a credential, to provide counseling services in small school districts as defined in the section as a unified school district having an average daily attendance of less than 1501 or a high school district with an average daily attendance of less than 301.

The governing board of a small school district, which does not employ persons charges with school-community duties of counseling students and parents or guardians in their homes, may contract with any qualified social service agency or organization to secure the services, on a part-time or full-time basis, of qualified social workers as counselors in school and in the homes of pupils. The State Board of Education shall adopt rules and regulations for the implementation of this section, but such social workers shall not be required to hold credentials or certification documents otherwise required under this code for service in the public schools.”

_______________________________________________

Roxann L. Purdue, Asst. Consultant

Certification, Assignment and Waivers Division

Commission on Teacher Credentialing

phone: 916-322-5038 fax: 916-322-0048

email: cawassignments@ctc.ca.gov

The Ed Code is prescriptive in that you can only do what the Ed Code allows.

As I read the language, the Ed Code allows a District to have or not have a counseling program. But, if it has a program then it must be a program supervised by credentialed counselor. That means the Vice Principal of your school was out of compliance with Ed Code if he/she was not being supervised by a credentialed counselor.

And, another issue attached to the Ed Code language is the issue of a program that serves some and not others. My reading of the Ed Code is that a District counseling program must serve all students even if ratio is 750-1 contracted minimum. I also suggest that there is a civil rights case in serving some students and not other equally.

49600. (a) The governing board of any school district may provide a comprehensive educational counseling program for all pupils enrolled in the schools of the district.

The School Board last night discussed using $3 million from laying off adult education teachers to in part pay for counselors. Many of the big high schools laid off counselors for next year using the RBB budgeting process.

Jim Mordecai