Florida Senate - 2016                                    SB 1162
       
       
        
       By Senator Detert
       
       28-00455B-16                                          20161162__
    1                        A bill to be entitled                      
    2         An act relating to certified school counselors;
    3         creating s. 1012.48, F.S.; requiring each elementary
    4         school, middle school, and high school to have a
    5         minimum number of full-time certified school
    6         counselors; requiring a school counselor to have a
    7         specified certification; requiring a certified school
    8         counselor to provide a specified program and spend a
    9         specified amount of time on the delivery of services
   10         to students; defining the term “delivery of services”;
   11         requiring certified school counselors to abide by the
   12         American School Counselor Association’s Ethical
   13         Standards for School Counselors; providing an
   14         effective date.
   15          
   16  Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:
   17  
   18         Section 1. Section 1012.48, Florida Statutes, is created to
   19  read:
   20         1012.48 Certified school counselors.—
   21         (1) Each elementary school, middle school, and high school
   22  in this state must have at least one full-time certified school
   23  counselor.
   24         (2) A certified school counselor must, at a minimum, have
   25  the certification required in s. 1012.55(1)(b).
   26         (3) A certified school counselor must provide a student
   27  centered, data-informed, and outcome-oriented program that is
   28  integrated into curricula and that prepares students in
   29  prekindergarten through grade 12 for postsecondary education and
   30  training or a career. The program must be designed using the
   31  Department of Education’s Florida’s School Counseling Framework.
   32         (4) A certified school counselor must spend a minimum of 80
   33  percent of his or her contracted work time on the delivery of
   34  services. As used in this section, the term “delivery of
   35  services” means working directly with students, faculty,
   36  administrators, parents, school staff, and the community to
   37  achieve an integrated approach to the student’s educational
   38  success and an effective transition to postsecondary education
   39  and training or a career. These counseling services may include
   40  the services recommended by the American School Counselor
   41  Association and the following comprehensive counseling services:
   42         (a) Academic and social counseling.
   43         (b) Core curricula programming with structured lessons
   44  designed to meet the student standards and competencies in
   45  Florida’s School Counseling Framework.
   46         (c) Career and educational counseling, including, but not
   47  limited to, helping students make informed academic and career
   48  choices using multiple student data sources and education and
   49  career placement services.
   50         (d) Individual and group counseling.
   51         (e) Crisis intervention and preventive counseling.
   52         (f) Referrals to community agencies.
   53         (g) Educational consultations and collaborations with
   54  teachers, administrators, parents, and community leaders.
   55         (h) Followup counseling services.
   56         (i) Conflict resolution and peer mediation.
   57         (5) Certified school counselors must abide by the American
   58  School Counselor Association’s Ethical Standards for School
   59  Counselors.
   60         Section 2. This act shall take effect July 1, 2016.