Senate Bill No. 441
(By Senator Prezioso, Plymale, Minear, Boley, Rowe, Bowman,
Love, Mitchell, Oliverio, Caldwell, Hunter, Redd, Facemyer,
Sharpe, Minard, Kessler, Edgell, Fanning, Helmick, Unger,
Anderson, Bailey, McKenzie, Ross, McCabe and Sprouse)
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[Introduced January 30, 2002; referred to the Committee
on Education; and then to the Committee on Finance.]
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A BILL to amend and reenact section eighteen-b, article five,
chapter eighteen of the code of West Virginia, one thousand
nine hundred thirty-one, as amended; and to amend article
four, chapter eighteen-a of said code by adding thereto a
new section, designated section two-b, all relating to
public school counselors; making legislative findings with
respect to the importance of counseling for providing a
thorough and efficient education for all students;
establishing recommended number of students per counselor
and providing for additional pay when number exceeded;
requiring state board rule conforming to national standards for counseling programs to the extent practicable and
certain other provisions, including minimum standards for
supervision of counselors and minimum required annual staff
development related to school counseling; clarifying
administrative activities to which counselors may devote a
portion of their time and certain duties which may not be
the duties of counselors; providing for a statewide salary
supplement for counselors who hold national certification
and counselors who are licensed in this state or who are
both nationally certified and licensed; and providing for
reimbursement of expenses for national certification
subject to legislative appropriation.
Be it enacted by the Legislature of West Virginia:
That section eighteen-b, article five, chapter eighteen of
the code of West Virginia, one thousand nine hundred thirty-one,
as amended, be amended and reenacted; and that article four,
chapter eighteen-a of said code be amended by adding thereto a
new section, designated section two-b, all to read as follows:
CHAPTER 18. EDUCATION.
ARTICLE 5. COUNTY BOARD OF EDUCATION.
§18-5-18b. School counselors in public schools.
(a) The Legislature finds that high quality school
counseling programs impact student skills and facilitate learning opportunities in an active and preventive manner that
ensures all students can achieve school success through
academic, career and personal/social development experiences.
As specialists in child and adolescent development, school
counselors coordinate the objectives, strategies and activities
of a comprehensive and developmental school counseling program
to meet the personal, social, educational and career development
needs of all students. School counselors advocate for all
students as they strive to meet the challenges and demands of
the school system and prepare for the transition to options
after high school. School counselors call attention to
situations in schools that are defeating or frustrating students
and thereby hindering their success. School counseling programs
empower students to overcome obstacles to school achievement and
ensure access to appropriate services for students with varying
degrees of needs. Therefore, high quality school counseling
services are essential for a thorough and efficient system of
schools wherein all students achieve optimal personal growth,
acquire positive social skills and values, set appropriate
career goals and realize their full academic potential to become
productive, contributing members of the world community.
(b) A school counselor means a professional educator who
holds a valid school counselor's certificate in accordance with article three of chapter eighteen-a of this code.
(c) Each county board of education
by the school year one
thousand nine hundred eighty-seven--eighty-eight, shall provide
counseling services for each pupil enrolled in the public
schools of the county.
By the school year two thousand ten, and
thereafter, the recommended number of students per counselor
shall be two hundred fifty. If the number of students for whom
a counselor is responsible exceeds two hundred seventy-five, the
counselor shall be paid an additional salary supplement of five
hundred dollars for the school year, which supplement shall be
increased by an additional five hundred dollars for each
additional twenty-five students.
(d) The school counselor shall work with individual pupils
and groups of pupils in providing developmental, preventive and
remedial guidance and counseling programs to meet
their
academic, social, emotional and physical needs
in accordance
with the rules established by the state board; including
programs to identify and address the problem of potential school
dropouts. The school counselor
may shall also provide
consultant services for parents, teachers and administrators and
may shall use outside referral services when appropriate if no
additional cost is incurred by the county board.
(e) The state board
may shall adopt rules
and regulations regarding the activities of the school counselor, and the school
counselor
is authorized to shall perform such services as are
not inconsistent therewith.
The rules adopted by the state
board shall conform to the extent practicable to the national
standards for school counseling programs established by the
American school counselor association. The rules shall further
include: (1) Minimum standards for the supervision of
counseling services at the state and county level to ensure a
uniform high quality in the delivery of counseling service to
all students; and (2) minimum required annual staff development
approved by the department of education for all counselors
employed in the public schools.
(f) Each county board of education shall develop a
comprehensive drop-out prevention program utilizing the
expertise of school counselors and any other appropriate
resources available.
(g) School counselors shall be full-time professional
personnel, shall spend at least seventy-five percent of
their
work time in a direct counseling relationship with pupils, and
shall devote no more than one fourth of
the work day their work
time to counseling administrative activities,
Provided, That
such activities are counselor related including, but not limited
to, college and career planning programs, career and college fairs, financial aid workshops, organizing group college visits,
bringing in career focused speakers, disseminating information
on college organized student visitation programs and
disseminating information on opportunities for job shadowing,
community service, work experience programs related to career
majors and the availability of dual credit and college courses
for high school students; classroom guidance programs including
computer labs to educate students about the changing job market;
organizing developmental guidance, preventive focused programs
and other such student-centered activities consistent with the
national standards for school counseling; writing letters of
recommendation for students containing discriminate information;
providing a communication link to community mental health
agencies and resources; supervising the maintenance of student
records; and maintaining accurate counseling case notes. The
duties of counselors may not include: Filing student records and
forms; data entry; duplication of documents and materials for
distribution; and other activities of a clerical nature that
limit the amount of time available for counselors to spend on
their counseling duties.
(h) Nothing herein shall prohibit a county board from
exceeding the provisions of this section.
CHAPTER 18A. SCHOOL PERSONNEL.
ARTICLE 4. SALARIES, WAGES AND OTHER BENEFITS.
§18A-4-2b. State minimum salary supplement for certified and
licensed school counselors.
(a) The Legislature finds that school counselors who meet
the requirements for national certification through the national
board for certified counselors or who are licensed professional
counselors in this state are highly trained and capable
professionals who possess a superior level of knowledge and
skills necessary to provide the high quality counseling services
needed to ensure that all students receive a thorough and
efficient education in the public schools of this state. The
purpose of this section is to create an incentive for all school
counselors to increase their knowledge and skills by providing
reimbursement for national certification expenses and an
additional statewide salary supplement for school counselors who
hold national certification by the national board for certified
counselors and for school counselors who are licensed in this
state as professional counselors, or who are both nationally
certified and licensed.
(b) In addition to any amounts prescribed in the applicable
state minimum salary schedule, each professional educator
employed as a school counselor who holds national certification
by the national board for certified counselors or who is licensed in this state as a professional counselor, or who is
both nationally certified and licensed, shall be paid annually
a supplement of two thousand five hundred dollars. The payments
shall be paid in equal monthly installments and shall be
considered a part of the state minimum salaries for teachers.
(c) Subject to an appropriation by the Legislature for this
purpose, a school counselor who attains national certification
by the national board for certified counselors on or after the
first day of July, two thousand two, shall upon an application
to the department of education be reimbursed for expenses
actually incurred in attaining the certification. The
reimbursement shall not exceed one-half of the certification fee
paid by the applicant and six hundred dollars in additional
expenses approved by the department of education. If the
appropriation in any one fiscal year is not sufficient to pay
all of the approved applications received by the department in
the order they were received, applicants not paid shall have a
prior claim on any funds appropriated in the next fiscal year.
NOTE: The purpose of this bill is
to redefine school
counseling and institute annual professional development for
school counselors. A statewide salary supplement and expense
reimbursement are provided to encourage and recognize the
superior qualifications of counselors who attain national
certification through the national board for certified
counselors and for licensed professional counselors. The duties
of counselors are clarified to enable counselors to spend all of their time on counseling.
Strike-throughs indicate language that would be stricken
from the present law, and underscoring indicates new language
that would be added.
18A-4-2b is new; therefore, strike-throughs and
underscoring have been omitted.
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