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Federally, the Department of Education is the governing agency for educational institutions, but much more responsibility is given to individual states when it comes to educational laws and policies (U.S. Const. amend. X).

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Over the years, the role of the school counselor has shifted from one of a guidance counselor that focused primarily on career and academic development to one that focuses on the whole student.  However, even though the American School Counselor Association (ASCA) implemented a national guide for comprehensive school counseling programs (CSCP) in the early 2000’s and officially changed the name of the role to school counselor in the 1990’s, campuses and districts continue to have confusion as to the responsibilities of the school counselor (Chandler et al., 2018).  The assignment of “non-counselor” duties continues to be the primary cause of frustration for school counselors who are trying to abide by the 80% time allocation to the implementation and evaluation of a CSCP for their campuses (Brasfield et al., 2021).

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School counselors find themselves in a dilemma that makes it hard to say no to pitching in where needed on their campuses while trying to advocate for protecting their time in order to meet the growing needs of their students.  The information that follows in this guide allows for school counselors to have the legal and ethical information needed in order to point to the fact that their time must be focused on the implementation and assessment of a CSCP for their students and campuses.  School counselors performing the tasks that they were trained to do is necessary to aid in the social, academic, mental, and career development of students.

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In the state of Texas, the Texas Education Agency (TEA) is the agency responsible for providing the guidelines for schools and districts in order to follow the statutes and laws established by the Texas State Legislation in regards to education. There are statutes for the roles and responsibilities of the school counselor, and TEA provides districts a guide through the publication of The Texas Model for Comprehensive School Counseling Programs.

Locally, the school board or board of trustees of a school district is responsible for ensuring that the school counselors in their district are planning and implementing a CSCP.

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American School Counselor Association. (2022). ASCA ethical standards for school counselors. https://www.schoolcounselor.org/getmedia/44f30280-ffe8-4b41-9ad8-f15909c3d164/EthicalStandards.pdf

Brasfield, M. W., Lancaster, C., & Burke, M. F. (2021). Exploring factors that affect school counselors’ use of time.  Journal of School Counseling, 19(30), 1–35.

Chandler, J. W., Burnham, J. J., Riechel, M. E. K., Dahir, C. A., Stone, C. B., Oliver, D. F., Davis, A. P., & Bledsoe, K. G. (2018). Assessing the counseling and non-counseling roles of school counselors. Journal of School Counseling, 16(7), 1–33.

Eisel v. Bd. of Ed. of Montgomery County, 376 A.2d 447 (Md. Ct. App. 1991). https://case-law.vlex.com/vid/eisel-v-board-of-886017225

Marshall Independent School District. (2020). Board policy manual: Counseling and mental health: Counseling.

Preparation Program Requirements, 19. Tex. Admin. Code § 239.10

School Counselors and Counseling Programs, 2 Tex. Edu. Code § 33.005-33.006

Standards Required for the School Counselor Certificate, 19. Tex. Admin. Code § 239.15

Texas Education Agency. (2018). The Texas model for comprehensive school counseling programs (5th ed.). Austin, TX. Texas Counseling Association. https://tea.texas.gov/sites/default/files/Pub_2018_Texas-Model_5th-Edition.pdf

U.S. Const. amend. I.

U.S. Const. amend. X.

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The issue of school counselors advocating for themselves in regards to solely doing the work that falls within their area of expertise would be protected by the First Amendment. School counselors, as U.S. citizens, have the freedom of speech and the right to speak up to advocate for their role within their campus (U.S. Const. amend. I).

Link: https://constitution.congress.gov/constitution/amendment-1/

*Freedom of Speech

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Likewise, the T.X. State Constitution gives the citizens of Texas the right to speak their opinion, which would include school counselors in regards to the work they do (T.X. Const. art. I, § 8).

Link: https://statutes.capitol.texas.gov/Docs/CN/htm/CN.1.htm#:~:text=Every%20person%20shall%20be%20at,speech%20or%20of%20the%20press.

*Liberty to speak, write, or publish opinion

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The governing agencies provide guidance and accountability to those areas in which they are responsible. They ensure that clarification of laws, regulations, etc. are provided and the entities have the information needed in order to follow them.

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For Marshall Independent School District(ISD), School Board Policy FFEA- Counseling and Mental Health: Counseling contains the requirement that a school counselor works with stakeholders on a campus and within the district to provide a Comprehensive School Counseling Program.  It directs the counselor to use The Texas Model for Comprehensive School Counseling Programs as the guide for implementation (Marshall ISD, 2020)

Link:
https://pol.tasb.org/PolicyOnline/PolicyDetails?key=605&code=FL#legalTabContent

*Coordination with district and community stakeholders
*Implementation of a CSCP
*Use of the The Texas Model for Comprehensive School Counseling Programs from TEA

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School counselors look to The American School Counselor Association (ASCA) Ethical Standards for School Counselors to guide them in knowing what is expected within their field and as a resource to aid them in their decision making process.  The document is broken down into sections A-F, with the first three addressing responsibilities to different stakeholders impacted by school counseling.  Each of these sections, A-C, refer to the implementation of a CSCP as part of the ethical standards of a school counselor.  These standards reinforce what TEA states through The Texas Model regarding a CSCP.  Section B.2 specifically addresses the fact that school counselors “advocate for a school counseling program free of non school-counseling assignments identified by The ASCA National Model: A Framework for School Counseling Programs” (ASCA, 2022, p. 7).

Link:
https://www.schoolcounselor.org/getmedia/44f30280-ffe8-4b41-9ad8-f15909c3d164/EthicalStandards.pdf

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Tex. Edu. Code §33.006 is a state statute that outlines that school counselors are to spend 80% of their working time on the activities that involve planning and implementing a CSCP.

Link: https://statutes.capitol.texas.gov/Docs/ED/htm/ED.33.htm

*Required percentage of time allotment provided
*Exception steps/reasons given

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19 Tex. Admin. Code § 239.10 and 19 Tex. Admin. Code § 239.15 outline the requirements for school counseling certification and program requirements for certification.  19 Tex. Admin. Code § 239.10 points specifically to counselor certification programs preparing school counselors to use The Texas Model for Comprehensive School Counseling Programs.

Link: https://texreg.sos.state.tx.us/public/readtac$ext.ViewTAC?tac_view=5&ti=19&pt=7&ch=239&sch=A&rl=Y

*Required training points to CSCP components
*Directs use of The Texas Model For CSCP

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Cases like, Eisel v. Bd. of Ed. of Montgomery County, 376 A.2d 447 (Md. Ct. App. 1991) point to the importance of school counselors reporting the possibility of suicide to parents, guardians, administrators, and/or necessary authorities.  This case emphasizes the importance of school counselors spending the time during their workdays addressing the needs of students. School counselors who are busy with non-counselor duties might be unavailable to hear the cries for help from their students.

Link:
https://case-law.vlex.com/vid/eisel-v-board-of-886017225

*School Counselors duty to report
*School Counselors recognition of suicidal ideations

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Through the Office of Elementary and Secondary Education, and more specifically, the Office of Safe and Supportive Schools, several grants exist in order to provide funding for more mental health initiatives.  Whether it is a grant to fund the hiring of more mental health care providers on campuses, or provide more extensive mental health care educations programs, there is a push at the national level to improve the mental health of children and adolescents through the school setting.

Link:
https://oese.ed.gov/offices/office-of-formula-grants/safe-supportive-schools/

*Opportunities for funding
*Need for more mental health care providers
*Need for more mental health care programs

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*Districts need to ensure that there are enough school counselors hired for each campus in order to maintain the state recommended counselor to student ratio of 1:350 (TEA, 2018).

*Campus and district administrators need to be trained and educated on the specific roles and responsibilities of school counselors and the statutes that go with their role.

*Districts need to implement a CSCP in order to meet the educational, career, personal, and social development of their students (TEA, 2018).

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*Doing what is in the best interest of students is always at the forefront of my mind.  I believe the intention behind Tex. Edu. Code §33.006 is just that, ensuring that school counselors spend the majority of their time meeting the various needs of students.

*I am a rule follower by nature, so having the opportunity to plan, implement, and assess a CSCP on my campus is important to me.  I want to be in compliance with the state requirements for my role, especially because I believe in the purpose behind the requirements.

*Knowing the laws and regulations provides tools to those that have to fight for the opportunity to perform their responsibilities on a campus.  The campus I am currently on recognizes the roles and responsibilities of the school counselor, so there is little conflict in that area.  However, I know I may not always be that fortunate with campus or district administration.

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*Know the laws and ethical standards
*Educate others on school counselor roles and responsibilities
*Assess time spent on tasks/responsibilities
*Alert campus or district administration if out of compliance
*Provide suggestions for alternatives ways to accomplish non-counselor duties
*Be willing to advocate for your role
*Collect and provide data to show benefit of the campus CSCP for your students and other stakeholders
*Be willing to receive feedback for ways to improve the services of the campus CSCP
*Continually assess and improve the campus CSCP