BILL ANALYSIS
SB 272
Page 1
Date of Hearing: June 17, 2009
ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON EDUCATION
Julia Brownley, Chair
SB 272 (Wiggins) - As Amended: June 1, 2009
SENATE VOTE : 25-12
SUBJECT : Educational counseling
SUMMARY : Requires school districts that choose to provide an
educational counseling program to include in that program
specific academic, career and vocational counseling; provides
that professional development shall include strategies for
pupils about educational and career options; and includes
legislative intent language regarding the role and
responsibilities of counselors. Specifically, this bill :
1) Requires districts that choose to provide a comprehensive
educational counseling program to provide, but not be
limited to the following:
a) Specific academic counseling services such as
reviewing a pupil's academic and deportment records,
and career goals;
b) An opportunity for a counselor to meet with each
pupil and his or her parents to discuss a pupil's
records, educational goals, and academic progress;
c) Coursework information for pupils having
difficulty passing one or both parts of the high
school exit exam (HSEE) or satisfying curricular
requirements for admission to the University of
California (UC) and the California State University
(CSU), and assisting and informing pupils of available
services and options, as specified;
d) Identification of pupils who are at risk of not
graduating with the rest of their class;
e) An individual conference with each pupil in
grades 10 and 12 who has failed to pass one or both
parts of the HSEE or has not satisfied or is not on
track to satisfy the curricular requirements for
SB 272
Page 2
admission to the UC and the CSU and to successfully
transition to postsecondary education or employment,
and requires the conference to take place according to
the specified schedule;
f) An individual conference 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 Test (CST) and is unlikely to
successfully transition to high school and meet all
graduation requirements;
g) Specified information related to the consequences
of not passing the HSEE, program options, results of
standardized tests, and availability of financial aid;
and,
h) Career and vocational counseling services such as
those that help pupils identify personal interests,
skills, and abilities, understand the relationship
between academic achievement and career success, and
understand the value of participating in career
technical education and work-based learning
activities, and other services, as specified.
2) Provides that 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.
3) States the intent of the Legislature that school counselors
engage with, advocate for and provide support for all
pupils, plan, implement, and evaluate programs to promote
the academic, career, personal, and social development of
all pupils, engage in continued development as a
professional school counselor, and other activities as
specified.
EXISTING LAW:
1)Authorizes school districts to provide a comprehensive
educational counseling program for all pupils that includes
academic counseling, career and vocational counseling, and
personal and social counseling.
SB 272
Page 3
2)Defines educational counseling to mean specialized services
provided by a school counselor possessing a valid Pupil
Personnel Services credential issued by the Commission on
Teacher Credentialing.
3)Establishes the Middle and High School Supplemental Counseling
(MHSSC) program to provide additional counseling services to
pupils in grades seven to twelve, inclusive.
4)Provides that as a condition of receiving funds, the governing
board of each school district maintaining any of grades seven
to twelve, inclusive, shall meet specified requirements and
shall submit an annual report as determined by the
Superintendent of Public Instruction.
FISCAL EFFECT : This bill is keyed non-fiscal.
COMMENTS : The 2006-2007 Budget Act provided $200 million in
ongoing funds to support additional counseling services for
students in grades 7-12, and Chapter 79, Statutes of 2006, (AB
1802 -Budget Committee) established the MHSSC program. School
districts are eligible to apply for this funding to support
additional and appropriate counseling services for all students
in grades seven through twelve and to reduce the
counselor-to-pupil ratio at all schools.
Additionally, SB 405 (Steinberg), Chapter 732, Statutes of 2007,
expanded the provisions of the MHSSC program to add specific
requirements for an individualized review of the career goals
of, and the available academic and career technical education
opportunities and workplace experiences available to pupils, as
well as an explanation of eligibility requirements for admission
to a four-year institution of postsecondary education. This
bill seeks to amend existing counseling statutes in the
Education Code to make them consistent with the MHSSC program
provisions to ensure consistency regarding the role of school
counselors.
School districts are currently not required to implement a
counseling program. Nevertheless, this bill requires districts
that choose to provide a counseling program to implement the
program as prescribed by this bill. A school district would not
have the authority to implement a counseling program that
differs from the specifications in this bill.
SB 272
Page 4
In consideration of the budget reductions that school districts
have had to cope with, this bill may unintentionally create a
disincentive for districts to continue counseling programs if
those programs currently do not meet the requirements of this
bill or if the districts have to modify their programs to meet
the requirements of this bill. To address these concerns, staff
recommends the bill be amended as follows:
On page 3, line 5, delete "shall" and insert
"may"
On page 6, line 37, delete "all of"
These amendments remove the requirement for districts that
choose to implement a counseling program to do so as specified
by this bill. Furthermore, the amendments allow districts to
implement counseling programs using different approaches and
allow for local decision-making on the design of counseling
programs.
To stress the importance of providing a coherent and structured
counseling program, as is the author's intent, staff suggests
adding legislative intent to the bill to encourage districts to
implement structured and coherent school counseling programs.
Additionally staff recommends the following technical
amendments:
On page 7 line 25, after "for" insert
"counseling"
On page 7 line 26, after "postsecondary" add
"education" and strike out "pathway" and insert
"pathways"
The Careers Project : The California Research Bureau (CRB)
recently completed its Careers Project research study which was
requested by a bipartisan group of members of the Legislature.
Some of the key findings in the report relevant to this bill
show that about 20% of schools in the school survey sample
reported not having a school counselor. Only 70% of counselors
and 60% of principals indicated that school counselors provide
career guidance to students in addition to academic and
personal/social issues. Additionally, the study reports that
school counselors that participated in focus groups suggested
that career development counseling was not a priority at their
schools, and several parents commented that there were not
SB 272
Page 5
enough counselors available to provide career guidance to their
children, particularly given other priorities related to student
academic progress.
Categorical flexibility : The enactment of SB 4 3X (Ducheny),
Chapter 12, Statutes of 2009, gives districts flexibility in the
use of MHSSC program funds starting with the 2008-09 fiscal year
through the 2012-13 fiscal year. Essentially, local educational
agencies (LEAs) have the option to allocate funds from the MHSSC
program and other programs for any educational purpose during
those five years and LEAs that use the flexibility provisions
are deemed to be in compliance with program and funding
requirements contained in statutory, regulatory, and provisional
language, applicable to the MHSSC program and whether the LEAs
comply with the provisions or not. It is unclear how that
flexibility will affect the availability of school counselors
through 2012-13.
The author states, "The current definition of a school counselor
no longer reflects standards and practices that are central to
the profession and critical to supporting student achievement.
Consequently, this outdated definition fails to provide guidance
to administrators, educators, and even school counselors on
successful methods that allow school counselors to provide
comprehensive support to students. Without clear and specific
standards the delivery of counseling services becomes
inconsistent, the job of a counselor becomes more challenging
and the quality of the programs diminishes. In addition, by
specifying the roles of school counselors, students can be
provided with better assistance by becoming more knowledgeable
of their career interests and options."
REGISTERED SUPPORT / OPPOSITION :
Support
California Association of Regional Occupational Centers and
Programs
California Association of School Counselors
California Association of Leaders for Career Preparation
California League of High Schools
California League of Middle Schools
California Teachers Association
Western Association for College Admission Counseling
SB 272
Page 6
Opposition
None on file.
Analysis Prepared by : Marisol Avi?a / ED. / (916) 319-2087