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American Association of Community Colleges. (2018). Policy positions and analyses. Retrieved from: https://www.aacc.nche.edu/advocacy/policy-positions-analyses/

American School Counselor Association. (2018). Legislative affairs. Retrieved from: https://www.schoolcounselor.org/school-counselors-members/legislative-affairs

ASCA. (2012). ASCA School Counselor Competencies. Retrieved from: https://www.schoolcounselor.org/asca/media/asca/home/SCCompetencies.pdf.

Paterson, J. (2018). Legislation to allow access to more student success data likely to advance. Retrieved from EducationDive: https://www.educationdive.com/news/legislation-to-allow-access-to-more-student-success-data-likely-to-advance/526996/

Texas State Texas School Safety Center. (2018). School safety law toolkit. Retrieved from: https://txssc.txstate.edu/tools/law-toolkit/.

Williams, S., Schneider, M., Wornell, C., & Langhinrichsen-Rohling, J. (2018). Student’s perceptions of school safety: It Is not just about being bullied. The Journal of School Nursing, 34(4), 319-330.

Zamudio-Suaréz, F. (2018). Education dept. proposes tossing Gainful-Employment rule, which took aim at for-profit colleges. Retrieved from: The Chronicle of HIgher Education: https://www.chronicle.com/article/Education-Dept-Proposes/244238?cid=wcontentgrid

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My professional perspective is to complete my internship successfully this year.  I have accepted a guidance counselor position this year with West Texas High School in Stinnett, Texas.  I am fortunate to be the counselor of the campus where I have taught Algebra II  for fourteen years. My intentions are to focus on college and career readiness for my students and promoting safety in school.

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Exploration Option 2--American School Counselor Association (ASCA)

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Exploration Option 2--American School Counselor Association (ASCA)

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The ASCA places emphasis on the Perkins V that replaces the Carl D. Perkins Act of 2006. This will impact school counselors by requiring more regulations in the Career and Technical Education (CTE) department along with a comprehensive needs assessment to evaluate student data and CTE  course requirements.

Another issue I found when reviewing the ASCA website is the framework for safe and successful schools.  ASCA is pushing for congress and administration to improve school safety and place emphasis on mental health services for students.

(ASCA, 2018)

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Legislative Affairs | American School Counselor Association (ASCA)

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Exploration Option 2--American Association of Community Colleges (AACC

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Exploration Option 2--American Association of Community Colleges (AACC

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During my research of the AACC, I found support for the Perkins Act.  This act provides for improvements in  Career and Technical Education (CTE) programs for high school and post-secondary students.

AACC supports the re-authorization of the Higher Education Act to provide continued support for the Strengthening Institutions Program (Title III-A). This program provides funds for institutions that serve a large population of low-income students.

(AACC, 2018)

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Legislative and Regulatory Positions AACC's Brief Summary of the "Promoting Real Opportunity and Success and Prosperity through Education Reform Act" AACC Position on Authorizing Colleges to Reduce Student Borrowing AACC Position on House HEA Bill's "Risk-Sharing" Provisions AACC Position on House HEA Bill's Elimination of Title III-A (Strengthening Institutions) of the HEA Carl D.

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Exploration Option 3--The Chronicle of Higher Education

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Exploration Option 3--The Chronicle of Higher Education

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Found in The Chronicle of Higher Education (Zamudio-Suarez, 2018), this article provides an insight to the elimination of Gainful-Employment Rule which punished higher-education programs whose students acquired high student loan debt. This rule, if eliminated, will be replaced with a College Scorecard. The Scorecard will provide data that will help students make better enrollment decisions.

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The U.S. Department of Education has officially proposed repealing the gainful-employment rule, a policy that punished higher-education programs whose graduates accumulated excessive student-loan debt, according to a notice of proposed rulemaking released Friday.

The rule, first proposed by the Obama administration in 2011, would have penalized programs if their graduates had student-loan payments that exceeded a specific percentage of their incomes. It was controversial from Day 1, especially among for-profit colleges, who pointed to analyses arguing that the sector would be disproportionately affected.

The rule has had a checkered history. In 2012, part of the rule was scrapped by a federal judge. The rule was later revised and took effect in 2014, but that change was put on hold last year by the Trump administration's education secretary, Betsy DeVos.

Last month, The New York Times and The Wall Street Journal reported that DeVos, who has led the department's rollbacks of other Obama-era regulations that aimed to protect consumers who felt defrauded by for-profit colleges, would scrap the rule. (Experts had speculated that she would merely weaken it.)

Now, in lieu of the rule, the department proposes to update its College Scorecard, or a similar online tool, to display program-level metrics on student outcomes to students and families. (The scorecard, intended as a public-facing accountability tool, does not currently publish that data.) Adding to the scorecard "would improve transparency and inform student enrollment decisions through a market based accountability system," according to the notice.

In the notice of its intent to scrap the rule, the department cited research results that "undermine the validity" of comparing students' loan debt to their earnings as a means to determine whether institutions are eligible to receive federal funding under Title IV.

"The Department has determined that in order to adequately inform student enrollment choices and create a framework that enables students, parents, and the public to hold institutions of higher education accountable, program-level outcomes data should be made available for all Title IV-participating programs," reads the notice.

The department's proposed change is now open for public comment for 30 days.

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Education Dept. Proposes Tossing Gainful-Employment Rule, Which Took Aim at For-Profit Colleges

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The U.S. Department of Education has officially proposed repealing the gainful-employment rule, a policy that punished higher-education programs whose graduates accumulated excessive student-loan debt, according to a notice of proposed rulemaking released Friday. The rule, first proposed by the Obama administration in 2011, would have penalized programs if their graduates had student-loan payments that exceeded a specific percentage of their incomes.

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An article in Education Dive (Paterson, 2018), discusses how legislation will make student outcome data more widely accessible to higher institutions with the implementation of the College Data Transparency Act. This Act is being considered in hopes to assist students with choosing a college and enable colleges to align course offerings to student needs.

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Dive Brief:

Legislation that would make more data about student outcomes available to students, institutions and higher education policymakers has gained the support of a key Republican senator, which should mean it will pass soon, according to Inside Higher Education.

The College Data Transparency Act, which would overturn a ban that has limited collection of student data, has been endorsed by powerful Sen. John Cornyn of Texas, and advocates say its broad bipartisan support probably means it will be approved.

A Republican member of Congress who sponsored the initial legislation to protect student privacy has blocked its repeal, Inside Higher Education reports, despite support from both the business community and higher education officials for the change. They note that more transparency will help students choose colleges and push colleges to better align their offerings with what employers need.

Dive Insight:

Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.), who sponsored the bill with Sen. Orrin Hatch (R-Utah) and two others, says it will provide "actionable and customizable" information for students as they choose colleges.

The privacy-protected data would be reported to the National Center for Education Statistics, which would then develop post-college outcome reports and present summaries on a user-friendly website, according to a fact sheet about the proposed legislation. Critics, however, are still concerned that publication of the data would infringe upon student privacy, particularly for undocumented students.

GOP legislators have become more interested in collecting such information as they have increasingly sought more college accountability and better information about the "value" of various degrees. In addition, the National Association of Independent Colleges and Universities last month indicated it would support legislation that would increase the data reported to the government, a shift from its previous position.

The U.S. Department of Education has tried to provide better information through its College Scorecard, and the Brookings Institution has developed its own rankings using that information. States such as Texas also have attempted to work around the lack of data to provide prospective students better information.

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Legislation to allow access to more student success data likely to advance

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Legislation that would make more data about student outcomes available to students, institutions and higher education policymakers has gained the support of a key Republican senator, which should mean it will pass soon, according to Inside Higher Education. The College Data Transparency Act, which would overturn a ban that has limited collection of student data, has been endorsed by powerful Sen.

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Promoting school safety is the Legal and Ethical issue that has my interest.  

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Promoting school safety is the Legal and Ethical issue that has my interest.  

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I chose school safety as a topic of interest because students need to feel safe in order to promote a positive learning environment.  Providing a safe school environment will assist students in obtaining a successful academic outcome.

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When browsing the Angelo State Library, I found a qualitative study " Student’s Perceptions of School Safety:  It Is Not Just About Being Bullied" by  Susan Williams,   Mallory Schneider,  Cory Wornell, and  Jennifer Langhinrichsen-Rohling. This article states that factors other than bullying play into students feeling safe at school. These factors include student and teacher relationships, a clean environment, and the feeling of belonging.

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My internet search led me to a Texas School Safety Center website. This website includes a school safety law toolkit. Within this toolkit is a reference to all laws in Texas governing school safety.

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School Safety Law Toolkit | Texas School Safety Center

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This tool can be used as a resource for finding current school safety legislation. Applicable topics are listed below with additional resources to help schools meet legal requirements. Please be aware that this tool does not provide information about all laws, rather it focuses on mandates related to school safety and security.

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School Safety Legal or Ethical Implications

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School Safety Legal or Ethical Implications

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To provide students with a positive learning experience, schools must promote a safe learning environment. A safe learning environment has a positive impact on factors such as classroom engagement, academic success, and student well-being (Williams, Schneider, Wornell, & Langhinrichsen-Rohling, 2018).

The Texas Legislature has laws set in place to address school safety and security.  All educational stakeholders should be aware of the enacted laws to establish a safe school environment (Texas State Texas School Safety Center, 2018).

As a high school counselor, I should collaborate with "stakeholders such as parents and guardians, teachers, administrators and community leaders to create learning environments that promote educational equity and success for every student" (ASCA, 2012, p. 2). Therefore, it is imperative that I help to promote a safe learning environment so that students are able to stay focused on academics and achieve educational success.