Senate Bill No. 292
(By Senators Dalton and Brackenrich)
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[Introduced March 5, 1993;
referred to the Committee on Education;
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, relating to education;
and requiring county boards of education to provide for
counselors in public schools in relation to the number of
pupils in a school.
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 to read as follows:
ARTICLE 5. COUNTY BOARD OF EDUCATION.
§18-5-18b. School counselors in public schools.
A school counselor means a professional educator who holds
a valid school counselor's certificate in accordance with article
three, chapter eighteen-a of this code.
Each county board of education, by the school year onethousand 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 one thousand nine hundred
ninety-three--
ninety-four and thereafter, each public elementary
school having an enrollment of three hundred fifty or more
students in adjusted enrollment must have at least one full-time
school guidance counselor. Schools of less than three hundred
fifty students adjusted enrollment must have at least a one half-
time guidance counselor.
The school counselor shall work with individual pupils and
groups of pupils in providing developmental, preventive and
remedial guidance and counseling programs to meet academic,
social, emotional and physical needs; including programs to
identify and address the problem of potential school dropouts.
The school counselor may also provide consultant services for
parents, teachers and administrators and may use outside referral
services when appropriate if no additional cost is incurred by
the county board.
The state board may adopt rules and regulations regarding
the activities of the school counselor, and the school counselor
is authorized to perform such services as are not inconsistent
therewith. 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.
School counselors shall be full-time professional personnel,shall spend at least seventy-five percent of work time in a
direct counseling relationship with pupils, and shall devote no
more than one fourth of the work day to administrative
activities:
Provided, That such activities are counselor
related.
Nothing herein shall prohibit a county board from exceeding
the provisions of this section.
NOTE: The purpose of this bill is to require county board
of education to provide, the school year 1993-94, one full-time
school guidance counselor in each public elementary school having
an adjusted enrollment of 350 or more students and at least a one
half-time school guidance counselor for schools having less than
350 adjusted enrollment.
Strike-throughs indicate language that would be stricken
from the present law, and underscoring indicates new language
that would be added.
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