Florida Senate - 2022 SB 1404
By Senator Jones
35-01103-22 20221404__
1 A bill to be entitled
2 An act relating to school counselors; providing a
3 short title; amending s. 1006.025, F.S.; requiring
4 certified school counselors to provide services within
5 the context of a program developed by the Department
6 of Education using a specified framework; authorizing
7 certified school counselors to deliver specified
8 services; authorizing certified school counselors to
9 perform additional duties required of all
10 instructional personnel during the school year;
11 authorizing certified school counselors to oversee
12 classes only under certain circumstances; prohibiting
13 certified school counselors from performing certain
14 tasks; making technical changes; providing an
15 effective date.
16
17 Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:
18
19 Section 1. This act may be cited as the “School Counselors
20 Supporting Students Act.”
21 Section 2. Section 1006.025, Florida Statutes, is amended
22 to read:
23 1006.025 Certified school counselors Guidance services.—
24 (1) A certified school counselor shall deliver services
25 within the context of a student-centered, data-informed, and
26 outcome-oriented program developed by the Department of
27 Education which is integrated into curricula and which prepares
28 public school students in prekindergarten through grade 12 for
29 postsecondary education and training or a career. The department
30 shall use Florida’s School Counseling Framework in developing
31 the program.
32 (2) A certified school counselor may deliver all of the
33 following services:
34 (a) Offer advisement appraisal for academic planning,
35 including for postsecondary education, and career coaching.
36 (b) Provide orientation, coordination, and academic
37 advising for new students.
38 (c) Interpret cognitive aptitude and achievement test
39 results and support school administrators, parents, and students
40 in understanding them.
41 (d) Counsel students who are tardy or absent.
42 (e) Provide mental health services to students, including,
43 but not limited to: individual and small group counseling,
44 including short-term counseling; suicide screenings and
45 assessments; and collaboration with other school personnel,
46 medical professionals, and community-based partners to provide
47 referrals to both students and their families.
48 (f) Support students’ social and emotional learning through
49 classroom lessons and counseling.
50 (g) Consult with teachers to schedule and present school
51 counseling curriculum lessons based on developmental needs. Such
52 needs must be determined using data analyzed by certified school
53 counselors.
54 (h) Interpret student records and protect such records and
55 information as required by state and federal rules and
56 regulations.
57 (i) Analyze grade point averages and their relationship to
58 student achievement.
59 (j) Consult with teachers about building class connections,
60 effective classroom management, and the role of noncognitive
61 factors in student success.
62 (k) Consult with a variety of stakeholders, including
63 school principals, classroom teachers, parents, student services
64 personnel, and other school personnel, to identify and resolve
65 student issues, needs, and problems.
66 (l) Advocate for exceptional students by participating in,
67 but not leading, individual education plan meetings, student
68 study teams, responses to intervention plans, 504 meetings,
69 multitiered systems of support, and school attendance review
70 boards.
71 (m) Analyze disaggregated schoolwide and school counseling
72 program data for the purpose of delivery of programs and
73 strategies to improve school successes.
74 (n) With input from students of diverse backgrounds, work
75 to create a positive and inclusive school culture for all
76 students.
77 (3) A certified school counselor may perform additional
78 duties required of all instructional personnel during the school
79 year, such as supervision of common areas before or after school
80 or during the lunch hour; however, a school counselor may
81 oversee classes only when teachers are absent or when necessary
82 to create teacher planning time.
83 (4) Certified school counselors may not:
84 (a) Perform administrative personnel tasks, such as
85 building the master schedule.
86 (b) Be school test coordinators.
87 (c) Perform purely clerical work of coordinating paperwork
88 and data entry unrelated to school counseling.
89 (5) Annually by June 30, each district school board shall
90 annually submit to the Commissioner of Education a district
91 guidance report, which must to the Commissioner of Education by
92 June 30.
93 (2) The guidance report shall include, but need not be
94 limited to, the following:
95 (a) An examination of student access to certified school
96 counselors.
97 (b) The degree to which a district has adopted or
98 implemented a guidance model program.
99 (c) Evaluation of the information and training available to
100 certified school counselors and career specialists to advise
101 students on areas of critical need, labor market trends, and
102 technical training requirements.
103 (d) Any progress made in incorporating toward incorporation
104 of best practices for advisement, as identified by the
105 department.
106 (e) Any consideration of alternative guidance systems or
107 ideas, including, but not limited to, a teacher-advisor model,
108 mentoring, partnerships with the business community, web-based
109 delivery, and parental involvement.
110 (f) A district guidance plan for the district.
111 (6)(3) The department shall provide resources to district
112 school boards which that may assist districts in preparing the
113 annual guidance report. The resources must shall include, but
114 need are not be limited to, materials relating to guidance model
115 programs, training available through the department for career
116 guidance, adopted best practices, alternative guidance systems
117 or ideas, and a model district guidance plan.
118 Section 3. This act shall take effect July 1, 2022.