BILL NUMBER: SB 272	AMENDED
	BILL TEXT

	AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY  JUNE 1, 2009

INTRODUCED BY   Senator Wiggins
    (   Coauthor:   Assembly Member  
Torlakson   ) 

                        FEBRUARY 24, 2009

   An act to amend Section 49600 of the Education Code, relating to
educational counseling.


	LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST


   SB 272, as amended, Wiggins. Educational counseling.
   Existing law authorizes the governing board of any school district
to provide a comprehensive educational counseling program for all
pupils enrolled in the  schools of the  district.
Existing law requires that educational counseling include academic
counseling, in which pupils receive counseling regarding
establishment and implementation of educational plans, achievement of
proficiency standards, completion of required curriculum, and access
to, and success in, higher education, and career and vocational
counseling, in which pupils are assisted in planning for the future,
becoming aware of their career potential, developing realistic
perceptions of work, and relating to the work world.
   This bill would state legislative intent relating to the role of
school counselors. The bill would require the academic counseling
component of educational counseling to also include an individualized
review of pupil's academic and deportment records and of his or her
career goals, and the opportunity for a counselor to meet with each
pupil and his or her parents or legal guardian to explain the
academic progress needed to complete middle or high school, pass the
high school exit examination, and be eligible for admission to a
4-year institution of postsecondary education and the availability of
career technical education, among other things.
   The bill would require the career and vocational counseling
component of educational counseling to include identifying personal
interests, skills, and abilities, career planning, course selection,
and career transition, and assisting pupils to understand the
changing work environment, the effect of work on lifestyle, the
relationship between academic achievement and career success, the
importance of maximizing career options, the value of participating
in career technical education and work-based learning activities and
programs, and the need to develop essential employable skills and
work habits, among other things.
   The bill would require ongoing professional development related to
career and vocational counseling to include strategies for pupils
pursuing postsecondary, career technical education, multiple pathway,
college, and global career opportunities.
   Vote: majority. Appropriation: no. Fiscal committee: no.
State-mandated local program: no.


THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:

  SECTION 1.  Section 49600 of the Education Code is amended to read:

   49600.  (a) The governing board of any school district may provide
a comprehensive educational counseling program for all pupils
enrolled in the  schools of the  district.
   For purposes of this section, "educational counseling" means
specialized services provided by a school counselor possessing a
valid credential with a specialization in pupil personnel services
who is assigned specific times to directly counsel pupils.
   (b) It is the intent of the Legislature that school counselors do
all of the following:
   (1) Engage with, advocate for, and provide support for all pupils
with respect to learning.
   (2) Plan, implement, and evaluate programs to promote the
academic, career, personal, and social development of all pupils.
   (3) Use multiple sources of information to monitor and improve
pupil behavior and achievement.
   (4) Collaborate and coordinate with school and community
resources.
   (5) Promote and maintain a safe learning environment for all
pupils.
   (6) Engage in continued development as a professional school
counselor.
   (c) Educational counseling shall include, but not be limited to,
all of the following:
   (1) Academic counseling, in which pupils receive counseling in the
following areas:
   (A) Establishment and implementation, with parental involvement,
of the pupil's immediate and long-range educational plans.
   (B) Optimizing progress towards achievement of proficiency
standards.
   (C) Completion of the required curriculum in accordance with the
pupil's needs, abilities, interests, and aptitudes.
   (D) Academic planning for access and success in higher education
programs including advisement on courses needed for admission to
public colleges and universities, standarized admissions tests, and
financial aid.
   (E) Individualized review of the academic and deportment records
of a pupil.
   (F) Individualized review of the pupil's career goals, and the
available academic and career technical education opportunities and
community and workplace experiences available to the pupil that may
support the pursuit of those goals.
   (G) Opportunity for a counselor to meet with each pupil and, if
practicable, the parents or legal guardian of the pupil to discuss
the academic and deportment records of the pupil, his or her
educational options, the coursework and academic progress needed for
satisfactory completion of middle or high school, passage of the high
school exit examination, eligibility for admission to a four-year
institution of postsecondary education, including the University of
California and the California State University, and the availability
of career technical education. That discussion shall also address the
availability of intensive instruction and services as required
pursuant to subdivision (c) of Section 37254, for up to two
consecutive academic years after the completion of grade 12 or until
the pupil has passed both parts of the high school exit examination,
whichever comes first, for those pupils who have not passed one or
both parts of the high school exit examination by the end of grade
12. The educational options discussed at the meeting shall include,
to the extent these services are available, the college preparatory
program and career technical education programs, including regional
occupational centers and programs and similar alternatives available
to pupils within the school district.
   (H) Identification of pupils who are at risk of not graduating
with the rest of their class, are not earning credits at a rate that
will enable them to pass the high school exit examination, or do not
have sufficient training to allow them to fully engage in their
chosen career.
   (I) In schools that enroll pupils in grades 10 and 12, development
of a list of coursework and experience necessary to assist each
pupil in his or her respective grade who has not passed one or both
parts of the high school exit examination or has not satisfied, or is
not on track to satisfy, the curricular requirements for admission
to the University of California and the California State University,
and to successfully transition to postsecondary education or
employment.
   (J) In schools that enroll pupils in grade 7, development of a
list of coursework and experience necessary to assist each pupil in
grade 7 who is deemed to be at the far-below-basic level in English
language arts or mathematics pursuant to the California Standards
Tests administered to pupils in grade 6, to successfully transition
to high school and meet all graduation requirements, including
passing the high school exit examination.
   (K) In schools that enroll pupils in grade 7, development of a
list of coursework and experience necessary to assist each pupil in
grade 7 to begin to satisfy the curricular requirements for admission
to the University of California and the California State University.

   (L) Provision of a copy of the lists developed pursuant to
subparagraphs (J) and (K) to a pupil and his or her parent or legal
guardian, ensuring that the list of coursework and experience is part
of the cumulative records of a pupil.
   (M) Informing each pupil who has failed to pass one or both parts
of the high school exit examination of the option of intensive
instruction and services.
   (N) Development of a list of coursework and experience for a pupil
enrolled in grade 12 including, in addition to the items identified
in subparagraphs (H) to (M), inclusive, options for continuing his or
her education if he or she fails to meet graduation requirements.
These options shall include, but not be limited to, all of the
following:
   (i) Enrolling in an adult education program.
   (ii) Enrolling in a community college.
   (iii) Continuing enrollment in the pupil's current school
district.
   (iv) Continuing to receive intensive instruction and services for
up to two consecutive academic years after completion of grade 12 or
until the pupil has passed both parts of the high school exit
examination, whichever comes first.
   (O) Provision of a copy of the list of coursework and experiences
developed pursuant to subparagraph (N) to the pupil and his or her
parent or legal guardian, ensuring that the list of coursework and
experience is part of the cumulative records of a pupil.
   (P) Offering and scheduling an individual conference with each
pupil in grades 10 and 12 who has failed to pass one or both parts of
the high school exit examination or has not satisfied, or is not on
track to satisfy, the curricular requirements for admission to the
University of California and the California State University and to
successfully transition to postsecondary education or employment, and
with each pupil in grade 7 who is deemed to be at the
far-below-basic level in English language arts or mathematics
pursuant to the California Standards Tests and is unlikely to
successfully transition to high school and meet all graduation
requirements, including passing the high school exit examination, and
with his or her parent or legal guardian, and a school counselor.
The individual conference shall be scheduled, to the extent feasible,
according to the following requirements:
   (i) For a pupil enrolled in grade 7, the conference shall occur
before January of that school year in which the pupil is enrolled in
grade 7.
   (ii) For a pupil enrolled in grade 10, the conference shall occur
between the spring of that school year in which the pupil is enrolled
in grade 10 and the fall of the following school year in which the
pupil would be enrolled in grade 11. For a school operating on a
multitrack, year-round calendar, the conference for a pupil enrolled
in grade 10 shall occur in the timeframe that is equivalent to that
specified timeframe for a school operating on a traditional calendar.

   (iii) For a pupil enrolled in grade 12, the conference shall occur
after November of that school year in which the pupil is enrolled in
grade 12, but before March of the same school year. For a school
operating on a multitrack, year-round calendar, the conference for a
pupil enrolled in grade 12 shall occur in the timeframe that is
equivalent to that specified timeframe for a school operating on a
traditional calendar.
   (Q) Information provided by the school counselor, during the
individual conference described in subparagraph (P), to a pupil and
his or her parent or legal guardian regarding all of the following:
   (i) Consequences of not passing the high school exit examination.
   (ii) Programs, courses, and career technical education options
available to the pupil as needed for satisfactory completion of
middle or high school.
   (iii) Cumulative records and transcripts of the pupil.
   (iv) Results of standardized and diagnostic assessments of the
pupil.
   (v) Remediation strategies, high school courses, and alternative
education options available to the pupil, including, but not limited
to, informing the pupil of the option to receive intensive
instruction and services for up to two consecutive academic years
after completion of grade 12 or until the pupil has passed both parts
of the high school exit examination, whichever comes first.
   (vi) Information on postsecondary education and training.
   (vii) The score of the pupil on the English language arts or
mathematics portion of the California Standards Test administered in
grade 6, as applicable.
   (viii) Eligibility requirements, including coursework and test
requirements, and the progress of the pupil toward satisfaction of
those requirements for admission to four-year institutions of
postsecondary education, including the University of California and
the California State University.
   (ix) The availability of financial aid for postsecondary
education.
   (2) Career and vocational counseling, in which pupils are assisted
in doing all of the following:
   (A) Planning for the future, including, but not limited to,
identifying personal interests, skills, and abilities, career
planning, course selection, and career transition.
   (B) Becoming aware of personal preferences and interests that
influence educational and occupational exploration, career choice,
and career success.
   (C) Developing realistic perceptions of work, the changing work
environment, and the effect of work on lifestyle.
   (D) Understanding the relationship between academic achievement
and career success, and the importance of maximizing career options.
   (E) Understanding the value of participating in career technical
education and work-based learning activities and programs, including,
but not limited to, service learning, regional occupational programs
and centers, partnership programs, job shadowing, and mentoring
experiences.
   (F) Understanding the need to develop essential employable skills
and work habits.
   (G) Understanding the variety of four-year colleges and
universities, community college vocational and technical preparation
programs, as well as admission criteria and enrollment procedures.
   (3) Personal and social counseling, in which pupils receive
counseling pertaining to interpersonal relationships for the purpose
of promoting the development of their academic abilities, careers and
vocations, personalities, and social skills.
   (d) Ongoing professional development related to career and
vocational counseling shall include strategies for pupils pursuing
postsecondary, career technical education, multiple pathway, college,
and global career opportunities.
   (e) Nothing in this section shall be construed as prohibiting
persons participating in an organized advisory program approved by
the governing board of a school district, and supervised by a school
district counselor, from advising pupils pursuant to the organized
advisory program.
   (f) Notwithstanding any provisions of this section to the
contrary, any person who is performing these counseling services
pursuant to law authorizing the performance thereof in effect before
January 1, 1987, shall be authorized to continue to perform those
services on and after that date without compliance with the
additional requirements imposed by this section.