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                                                         References

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                                                         References

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American School Counselor Association (ASCA). (2019). Retrieved from https://www.schoolcounselor.org/

Gallo, L. L. (2017). Professional Issues in School Counseling and Suicide Prevention. Journal of School Counseling, 15(11). Retrieved from https://easydb.angelo.edu/login?url=http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=eric&AN=EJ1151461&site=eds-live

Model School District Policy on Suicide Prevention. (2012). Retrieved January 20, 2019, from https://www.schoolcounselor.org/asca/media/asca/home/ModelPolicySuicidePrevention.pdf

NEA's Bully Free: It Starts with Me. (2019). Retrieved January 20, 2019, from http://www.nea.org/home/neabullyfree.html

Rosa, S. D. (2019, January 15). Don't overlook special ed students in college, career readiness planning. Retrieved January 20, 2019, from https://www.educationdive.com/news/dont-overlook-special-ed-students-in-college-career-readiness-planning/546054/

Sawchuk, S. (2018, December 11). Is the Time Right to Make Education a Constitutional Right? Retrieved January 20, 2019, from https://www.edweek.org/ew/articles/2018/12/12/is-the-time-right-to-make-education.html

Torcasso, G., & Hilt, L. (2017). Suicide Prevention Among High School Students: Evaluation of a Nonrandomized Trial of a Multi-stage Suicide Screening Program. Child & Youth Care Forum, 46(1), 35–49. https://doi-org.easydb.angelo.edu/10.1007/s10566-016-9366-x

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                                                                    Suicide Prevention

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                                                                    Suicide Prevention

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Suicide is the second leading cause of death among adolescents, even though it arguably the most preventable form of death (Gallo, 2017). Screenings, assessments, and awareness can warrant student safety and prevent this occurring. School counselors need to be open and be available to talk to students who may be going through tough times in their lives. Even though suicide may not directly affect a counselors’ life, it will always affect the loved ones and the friends of that student. Over 90 % of individuals who died by suicide had a diagnosable, treatable mental illness and did not receive the mental health services they needed (Torcasso & Hilt, 2017).

There are various factors that may cause a child to contemplate suicide, such as depression, bullying, anxiety, bad family life, and peer pressures. No matter what the socio-economic status of students, suicide can affect any type of student in any environment. Addressing and acting upon these mental health issues can lead to lower suicide rates and better academic achievement among students.

The issue of suicide prevention is important to school counselors as they can play a huge role in saving someone’s life. School districts set forth suicide policies and prevention methods, in which counselors need to adhere to ("Model School District Policy," 2012). Counselors should be cautious of the various risk factors, response actions, and intervention resources that many school districts have in place, even though they vary from district to district. As a potential school counselor, it’s important for me understand different laws, policies, and ethics to best handle suicide threats. Students use counselors to confide information they may not feel safe enough to tell other adults, or even their parents. It would be my legal and ethical responsibility to adhere to district policies and ensure student safety.

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                          Model Suicide Prevention

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                          Model Suicide Prevention

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The article outlines what a suicide threat is, different risk factors that may cause the thoughts, prevention methods, suicide assessments, and referral methods to appropriate mental health professionals ("Model School District Policy," 2012).

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            School Counseling Suicide Prevention

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            School Counseling Suicide Prevention

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School Counselors are the liaisons for a student's safety and well being at school. Suicide is the second leading cause of death among 14-24 year age group, all threats need to be dealt with promptly (Gallo, 2017).

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                   Should Education Be A Right?

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                   Should Education Be A Right?

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This article discusses Rhode Island students who have filed a lawsuit stating the right to an education needs to be a constitutional right. This article discusses education as a right, as well as the possibilities, despite the current state of the US Supreme Court (Sawchuk, 2018).

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A much-anticipated lawsuit argues that, despite nowhere mentioning the word education, the U.S. Constitution does guarantee the provision of an education for the intuitive reason that it is impossible to vote, exercise free speech, or serve on a jury without one.

Filed last month in federal court in Rhode Island on behalf of more than a half-dozen students, the lawsuit faces very long odds on its way to lawbook fame, particularly given the current composition of the U.S. Supreme Court.

But from another vantage point, the timing is spot on, reflecting a resurgence of interest in civics education, as well as general concern over the strength and resilience of America's civic institutions.

"On the one hand, for the legal question, this moment in time may not be the best for the plaintiffs, but the social context might be a really good time to raise this question in the public court, given just how bad people's knowledge of civic institutions are and just how much they are under threat," said Mark Paige, an associate professor in the public-policy department at the University of Massachusetts Dartmouth with expertise in education law.

In the K-12 world, Massachusetts recently became the first state to require secondary students to engage in civics projects as part of the curriculum. And Washington state, Illinois, and New York state have also recently passed laws or convened panels to reassess how they prepare students for citizenship.

Here's a look at the key questions in A.C. v. Raimondo -and what comes next for the plaintiffs.
What's this lawsuit about again? And what are its odds?
The lawsuit is shaped as a class action against Rhode Island. Lawyers for the plaintiffs allege that, among other things, the state doesn't require students to complete any civics or history classes or exams, doesn't provide enough extracurricular civic opportunities for students, and does not provide English-learners with strong instruction, all of which hinder their civic development.

There's one major obstacle to establishing the principle that the Constitution guarantees some level of education: the Supreme Court's decision in a 1973 case, San Antonio Independent School District v. Rodriguez. In that case, the court ruled that the Constitution's equal-protection clauses didn't extend to school district finance inequities.

But the case also left open the question of whether the document might guarantee some minimum level of education, and the architects of the current lawsuit hope to force an answer to that question. Importantly, the case isn't directly about school finance, although any remedy, like revamping civics education across the nation, would inevitably incur costs.

In addition, federal district courts are often reluctant to read new rights into the Constitution.

And when the legal theories underpinning the case were being developed, the political landscape looked a lot different. President Donald Trump's appointment of Brett Kavanaugh to the Supreme Court gave conservatives a majority and makes a victory there unlikely.

Nevertheless, pointed out Derek W. Black, a law professor at the University of South Carolina, the lawsuit echoes widespread concern about the state of civic knowledge, and so the outcome remains a bit of a wild card. Trump's election "has made an enormous swath of the judiciary concerned about the rule of law, the operation of our democracy, and citizens' ability to make informed decisions far more important than it was," he noted.
After years of state education adequacy lawsuits, why are we seeing federal action again?
Status: Pending

Several other lawsuits are testing out related legal theories, though those cases, like the one filed in Michigan focusing on student literacy, are more narrowly tailored.

Legal experts point to a slowdown in state-level education equity cases following bruising battles in Washington state and Kansas, among other places, as one reason behind the interest in a federal education case.

It's unclear whether the spate of federal litigation could affect potential state-level action, the legal experts said. Some feel that it won't, while others suggest that state courts might not want to make any sudden moves on school finance or equity until the federal question is resolved.
Why do the plaintiffs cite an obscure provision of the Constitution-Article 4, Section 4?
Nearly all previous education equity lawsuits at the federal level have been brought on the grounds of equal protection or due process under the 14th Amendment. This lawsuit includes those claims, too, but also cites this portion of the founding document, which contains a guarantee that every state will establish "a republican form of government."

The clause has been more or less ignored for 200 years, but was the basis of a Stanford Law Review article Black published earlier this year.

In it, he notes that under that clause, and subsequently under the 14th Amendment, the U.S. government forced Southern states to include public education in their own state constitutions as a condition of rejoining the Union after the Civil War.

The plaintiffs' decision to include the unusual historical argument gives the courts additional options to consider-particularly for those judges worried about extending the definition of equal-protection rights, already a well-developed part of constitutional law.

"They may have some concerns about a precedent here, what it will mean for equal-protection cases," Black said. "But the republican guarantee, if they hold it, applies only to education. It's not going to apply to anything else."
What happens if the plaintiffs succeed?
The plaintiffs seek legal clarity, rather than any specific remedy for the students, which means that if the courts uphold the principle in question, they would then require policymakers to develop a program for schools that would supply adequate preparation for citizenship.

"There may well be 50 different approaches, or more than that, taken among the different school districts," said Michael Rebell, the lead counsel on the case and an education law professor at Teachers College, Columbia University. "We're not going to ask the U.S. Supreme Court to come up with a laundry list of what should be in a civics course or what extracurricular opportunity should be afforded to students. A lot of that depends on context, and it's not the kind of nuts-and-bolts work the Supreme Court would want to be involved in."

The plaintiffs' brief contains some clues about what they feel should happen: teacher training; a curriculum that includes media literacy, civic experiences both inside and outside of the classroom; and supports for students learning English.
Could this lawsuit be settled?

Possibly. A spokeswoman for the Rhode Island attorney general said she could not comment on pending litigation.
What happens if the lawsuit is dismissed?
It would throw cold water on the legal arguments advanced in the litigation, making them harder to use for other test cases. That does worry other education law experts.

"The risk, of course, is that a federal court could say no, and then we have another Rodriguez problem," Paige said. "I worry slightly that it would foreclose a theory that might be viable in a different context."

Published in Print: December 12, 2018, as New Legal Strategy: Civics Education Is a Constitutional Right

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Is the Time Right to Make Education a Constitutional Right?

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A much-anticipated lawsuit argues that, despite nowhere mentioning the word education, the U.S. Constitution does guarantee the provision of an education for the intuitive reason that it is impossible to vote, exercise free speech, or serve on a jury without one.

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                                          IEP'S FOR SPED'S

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                                          IEP'S FOR SPED'S

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Individualized Education Programs (IEP'S) are put into place to assist a special education or general education student with a learning disability in the least restrictive environment as possible. This articles discusses the ramifications for IEP'S and how IEP'S can enable and empower students, regardless of a learning impairment (Rosa, 2019).

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Dive Brief:

When preparing students in K-12 special education programs for the transition from high school to careers or higher education, it must be done in a way in which students won't notice the upheaval in their lives - which can be achieved via internships or coursework at a community college, David Test, a professor of special education at the University of North Carolina at Charlotte, tells District Administration.

Students are now more involved in planning their individualized education programs (IEPs) so the post-graduation transition mirrors their interests and goals, and administrators are working more closely with outside employers to ensure a smoother entry to life after graduation.

The 2008 recession took a toll on these transitional programs, but funding has finally rebounded, with some examples including a partnership between Boston Public Schools and Roxbury Community College called " Knowledge. Enrichment. Engagement.," which teaches soft skills like time management that can be particularly difficult for students with special needs. Another program, at Cleveland County Schools in North Carolina, provides coursework that includes all the requirements needed to obtain a high school diploma in that state, along with soft skills training.

Though they aren't often spotlighted in college and career readiness conversations, special education services are critical components of what public school districts offer the community. And failure to be on par with these offerings can also have legal ramifications under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act.

When it comes to preparing for college and career readiness, these students need at least the same level of support as their peers - even if it's modified. And, in part because of the Higher Education Opportunity Act, colleges have expanded options for career, academic and skills-related college programs. Universities often have options catered to students with special needs, and some community colleges also provide training for specific occupations including medical assistance, computer programming and criminal justice.

Special education students graduate high school in lower numbers than their peers: During the 2015-16 school year, the nation's public high school graduation rate was 65.5% for students with disabilities, compared to 84.1% for the total student population. Preparing for a post-graduate transition is important for any student, and for those with disabilities, a clearer, more structured path can help prevent any hurdles they could face after getting their diplomas.

Regardless of whether students transition into college or the workforce, s chools should he effort is worth it: these students often have high IQs and can flourish after high school be on the lookout for programs - at either the local, state or national level - that support those with disabilities beyond their high school graduation. And t if given the proper support. Schools should measure students' interests, help them set goals and provide appropriate support for the next stage by helping them make a post-high school plan.

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Don't overlook special ed students in college, career readiness planning

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When preparing students in K-12 special education programs for the transition from high school to careers or higher education, it must be done in a way in which students won't notice the upheaval in their lives - which can be achieved via internships or coursework at a community college, David Test, a professor of special education at the University of North Carolina at Charlotte, tells District Administration.

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                                Suicide Treatment

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                                Suicide Treatment

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How school counselors respond to suicide threats can be vital and can lead to a life being saved and a parent not losing their child. Counselors who follow proper protocol provided by their school districts and engage with the student appropriately can protect that student from harmful behavior. I chose this topic because these students have their entire lives to live. They need to know whatever they're going through, suicide is not the option and they can get through it. I want to be able to handle suicide threats swiftly and effectively.

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                    National Education Association

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                    National Education Association

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The National Education Association (NEA) identifies a multitude of different issues that may arise in and outside of schools. An issue that is very prevalent in schools is that of bullying. Examples include "fake deportation notices being handed out, swastikas drawn in bathrooms, hate speech, nooses. racist graffiti, LGBTQ students threatened, hijab headscarves being torn off, and girls being assaulted." School Counselors need to adhere to specific state guidelines and laws on what constitutes bullying, the course of actions to be taken, and how to ensure to all students that American schools are truly "No Place For Hate." ("NEA's Bully Free," 2019).

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Exploration Option 2- Issues According to the American

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                              American School Counselor Association

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                              American School Counselor Association

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The American School Counselor Association (ASCA) identifies competencies and standards school counselors should adhere to. While researching their website, I located the issue of a student and suicide threats. School Counselors need to take all suicide threats or reports serious, as the risk of child harm or death is too high. Counselors should converse with the parents, give assessments, and involve the assistance of a mental health counselor. Counselors can also face issues with confidentiality, as it becomes a challenge to understand when to disclose to parents their child is suicidal and how to handle the accompanying steps. (ASCA, 2019).

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                          Educational Objective

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                          Educational Objective

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Upon completion of my M.ED in Guidance and Counseling from ASU, I will become a secondary school counselor. Once completed with the state certification process, I will look for jobs in Waco, Texas or the Dallas-Fort Worth metroplex area. I would then like to become a collegiate academic adviser for student athletes.