H 618

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1H.618
2 Introduced by Representative McCann of Montpelier
3 Referred to Committee on
4 Date:
5 Subject: Education; school counselors
6 Statement of purpose of bill as introduced: This bill proposes to require school
7 counselors to spend 80 percent of their time providing direct or indirect
8 services to students.
9    An act relating to school counselors
10 It is hereby enacted by the General Assembly of the State of Vermont:
11 Sec. 1. FINDINGS
12    The General Assembly finds:
13(1) The American School Counselors Association (ASCA) National
14 Model recommends that school counselors spend 80 percent or more of their
15 time in direct and indirect services to students and not more than 20 percent of
16 their time in program planning and school support activities. The direct and
17 indirect activities should come from the duties appropriate to the role of the
18 school counselor rather than inappropriate duties assigned to school counselors
19 as listed in the 2019 ASCA National Model Executive Summary.
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1(2) The 2020 ASCA State of the Profession study found that 39 percent
2 of school counselors were extremely challenged or challenged by being
3 assigned inappropriate duties. Requiring school counselors to serve as 504
4 coordinators, testing coordinators, substitute teachers, and more pulls them
5 away from direct student counseling services.
6 Sec. 2. 16 V.S.A. § 16 is added to read:
7 § 16. SCHOOL COUNSELORS; DIRECT AND INDIRECT SERVICES
8    (a) As used in this section:
9(1) “Direct services” means face-to-face or virtual interactions between
10 school counselors and students, providing developmental service focused on
11 supporting students’ academic, career, and social and emotional development
12 in accordance with the Vermont Comprehensive School Counselor
13 Framework.
14(2) “Indirect services” means services provided by a school counselor
15 on behalf of students as a result of a school counselor’s interactions with the
16 students and others, in accordance with the Vermont Comprehensive School
17 Counselor Framework.
18(3) “School counselor” means a person who is employed as a school
19 counselor in a school setting and who:
20(A) is licensed as a school counselor pursuant to chapter 51 of this
21 title by the Standards Board for Professional Educations; or
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1(B) possesses a minimum of a master’s degree in an approved
2 program in guidance and counseling.
3(4) “School support services” means services that are not direct or
4 indirect services as defined in this section and are outside the scope of the
5 Vermont Comprehensive School Counselor Framework.
6    (b) Each school counselor shall deliver a comprehensive school counseling
7 program in which the school counselor spends at least 80 percent of the school
8 counselor’s time providing direct services or indirect services to students and
9 spends not more than 20 percent of the school counselor’s time on school
10 support services.
11 Sec. 3. EFFECTIVE DATE
12    This act shall take effect on July 1, 2026.
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