Advocacy Platform 2013-2014

Our goal: address the needs of all students, promote school counselor professional excellence, and advocate for closing the achievement gap between groups of students.

FOR ALL STUDENTS

TOPIC: PROVIDE SUFFICIENT PROFESSIONAL SCHOOL COUNSELORS FOR EVERY FLORIDA STUDENT, SCHOOL AND DISTRICT ISSUE: Many Florida schools do not have a certified counselor or have an insufficient number of counselors to provide access to a quality school counseling program. Additionally, counselors are assigned to non-school counseling related tasks which prevent them from fully implementing their programs in compliance with the Floridas School Counseling and Guidance Framework and national standards. Such programs include activities implemented and/or monitored by counselors to promote best practices in academic development (readiness to learn, classroom and learning skills, and achievement strategies); career development and planning (academic advising, school to post-secondary or career transitions, and workforce effectiveness); Personal and Social Development (ensuring appropriate social skills and self-management to perform adequately in the classroom and school, as well as, facing challenges to school success including bullying, suicide, addictions, and abuse); and, Community Involvement (providing service and connectedness to ones class, school, community, state and nation). POSITION: Florida must mandate, monitor, and fund sufficient certified professional school counselors at a ratio of 1:250 per school (as recommended by the American School Counselor Association, the American Counseling Association, the American Psychological Association, the American Medical Association and other organizations). Research shows that schools with sufficient counselors implementing comprehensive and appropriate student development programs have improved student and school performance. This is especially true of low performing and high drop-out rate schools. Floridas overall ratio has grown from 1:450 to 1:491 over the last five years. Florida must also ensure that school counselor job descriptions and assignments are consistent with their training/expertise.

PROGRESS Through its legislative champions, FSCA has sponsored the Student Failure Prevention Act which would mandate an overall district ratio of 1:350 and provide boundaries for school counselor assignments to make the most effective use of their highly specialized training and services. Companion legislation has been filed in Floridas Senate and House in 2013 (SB 154 and HB 801).

FOR PROFESSIONAL EXCELLENCE

TOPIC: PROFESSIONAL SCHOOL COUNSELING EXCELLENCE (PREPARATION, TRAINING, REWARDS, RECOGNITION) ISSUE: School Counselors must have parity in incentives and support for teaching/professional
excellence, professional development, rewards and recognitions with other instructional personnel.

POSITION: Ensure that the most prepared school counselors are recruited and retained in Floridas schools. Develop consistent accountability measures for school counseling/student development programs that follow mandates that each district/school implement an approved program.
Align with school counselings national model (ASCA) and modernize Floridas concept of school counseling by replacing the current title, guidance counselor with School Counselor. Support school counseling professional development with state funding for counselor and program recognition. Also, provide certification support for expertise in addictions, abuse, sexuality, parent involvement, and violence prevention. Require districts to conform job descriptions, tasks, and evaluations to ASCA school counselor competencies and CACREP professional preparation and standards. Reward school counseling preparation programs that have CACREP designation by accepting it in lieu of DOE standards (similar to NCATE) for School Counselor Certification. Support incentive programs for all instructional personnel who achieve National Board certification through the National Board of Professional Teaching Standards (NBPTS). Require professionally trained/certified school counselors be staffed as career specialists, SAFE positions, and other counseling-related positions to ensure highest quality services. Recruit and retain the most qualified and experienced school counselors in Florida schools by ensuring parity with other instructional personnel with salary increases, DROP, incentives, and appropriate merit pay.

PROGRESS Working with its partners in ASCA, Floridas DOE, Floridas Legislature, CEES, through the statewide FSCA annual recognition program and through its own advocacy network, FSCA has engaged several of these issues in the Student Failure Prevention Act, its annual convention, on-going professional development, and targeted advocacy/legislative alerts, FSCA has kept counselors informed and lead efforts to make sure that school counseling professionals have the support and recognition that they earn every day with Floridas students.