Senate Bill No. 451

Introduced by Senator Lara

February 25, 2015

An act to amend Section 49600 of the Education Code, relating to pupil instruction and services.

LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL’S DIGEST

SB 451, as introduced, Lara. Pupil instruction and services: educational counseling.

Existing law authorizes the governing board of a school district to provide a comprehensive educational counseling program for all pupils enrolled in the schools of the district, and, if the program is provided, requires educational counseling to include both academic counseling and career and vocational counseling in specified areas.

This bill would instead require educational counseling to include academic counseling in specified areas, and would provide that educational counseling may include specified areas, including, among others, career and vocational counseling. The bill would state the Legislature’s intent that school counselors perform specified functions and services, and would require professional development related to career and vocational counseling to include strategies for counseling pupils in specified areas. The bill would make a conforming change by deleting a provision relating to school counselors providing services prior to January 1, 1987.

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 begin delete any end delete begin insert a end insert school district may
provide a comprehensive educational counseling program for all
pupils enrolled in the begin delete schools of the end delete begin insert school end insert district. begin insert It is the intent
of the Legislature that a school district that provides educational
counseling to its pupils implement a structured and coherent
counseling program. end insert

begin delete

For

end delete

begin insert (b) end insert begin insert   end insert begin insert For end insert 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.

begin delete

(b) Educational counseling shall include, but not be limited to,
all of the following:

end delete begin insert

(c) 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 and achievement.

(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 by providing restorative justice practices, positive behavior
interventions, and support services.

(6) Intervene to ameliorate school-related problems, including
issues related to chronic absences.

(7) Use research-based strategies to reduce stigma, conflict,
and pupil-to-pupil mistreatment and bullying.

(8) Improve school climate and pupil well-being.

(9) Enhance pupils’ social and emotional competence,
character, health, civic engagement, cultural literacy, and
commitment to lifelong learning and the pursuit of high-quality
educational programs.

(10) Provide counseling interventions and support services for
pupils classified as English learners, eligible for free or
reduced-price meals, or foster youth, including providing equity
and access to the education system and community services.

(11) Engage in continued development as a professional school
counselor.

end insert begin delete

(1) Academic

end delete

begin insert (e) end insert begin insert   end insert begin insert Educational counseling shall include academic end insert counseling,
in which pupils receive counseling in the following areas:

begin delete

(A)

end delete

begin insert (1) end insert  Establishment and begin delete implementation end delete begin insert implementation, end insert with
parental begin delete involvement end delete begin insert involvement, end insert of the pupil’s immediate and
long-range educational plans.

begin delete

(B)

end delete

begin insert (2) end insert  Optimizing progress towards achievement of proficiency
standards.

begin delete

(C)

end delete

begin insert (3) end insert  Completion of the required curriculum in accordance with
the pupil’s needs, abilities, interests, and aptitudes.

begin delete

(D)

end delete

begin insert (4) end insert  Academic planning for access and success in higher
education begin delete programs end delete begin insert programs, end insert including advisement on courses
needed for admission to public colleges and universities,
begin delete standarized end delete begin insert standardized end insert admissions tests, and financial aid.

begin insert

(f) Educational counseling may also include counseling in any
of the following:

end insert begin insert

(1) Individualized review of the academic and deportment
records of a pupil.

(2) 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.

(3) 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, education opportunities at
community colleges, 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.

(4) Identifying 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.

(5) In schools that enroll pupils in grades 10 and 12, developing
a list of coursework and experience necessary to assist each pupil
in his or her 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.

(6) Developing a list of coursework and experience necessary
to assist each pupil in middle school to successfully transition to
high school and meet all graduation requirements, including
passing the high school exit examination.

(7) In schools that enroll pupils in grades 6 to 12, inclusive,
developing a list of coursework and experience necessary to assist
each pupil to begin to satisfy the curricular requirements for
admission to the University of California and the California State
University.

(8) Providing a copy of the lists developed pursuant to
paragraphs (6) and (7) to a pupil and his or her parent or legal
guardian, ensuring that the list of coursework and experience is
part of the pupil’s cumulative record.

(9) 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.

(10) Developing a list of coursework and experience for a pupil
enrolled in grade 12, including options for continuing his or her
education if he or she fails to meet graduation requirements. These
options shall include, but are not limited to, all of the following:

(A) Enrolling in an adult education program.

(B) Enrolling in a community college.

(C) Continuing enrollment in the pupil’s current school district.

(D) 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.

(11) Providing a copy of the list of coursework and experiences
developed pursuant to paragraph (10) 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.

(12) 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 providing the following information to the pupil
and his or her parent or legal guardian:

(A) Consequences of not passing the high school exit
examination.

(B) Programs, courses, and career technical education options
available to the pupil as needed for satisfactory completion of
middle or high school.

(C) Cumulative records and transcripts of the pupil.

(D) Results of standardized and diagnostic assessments of the
pupil.

(E) 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.

(F) Information on postsecondary education and training.

(G) The score of the pupil on the English language arts or
mathematics portion of the California Standards Test administered
in grade 6, as applicable.

(H) 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.

(I) The availability of financial aid for postsecondary education.

end insert begin delete

(2)

end delete

begin insert (13) end insert  Career and vocational counseling, in which pupils are
assisted in doing all of the following:

(A) Planning for the begin delete future. end delete begin insert future, including, but not limited
to, identifying personal interests, skills, and abilities, career
planning, course selection, and career transition. end insert

(B) Becoming aware of begin delete their career potential. end delete begin insert personal
preferences and interests that influence educational and
occupational exploration, career choice, and career success. end insert

(C) Developing realistic perceptions of begin delete work. end delete begin insert work, the changing
work environment, and the effect of work on lifestyle. end insert

begin delete

(D) Relating to the work world.

end delete begin insert

(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 centers and programs, 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 and community college vocational and technical
preparation programs, as well as admission criteria and enrollment
procedures.

end insert begin delete

(3)

end delete

begin insert (14) end insert  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, begin delete personalities, end delete and begin insert personal and end insert social skills.

begin insert

(g) Professional development related to career and vocational
counseling shall include strategies for counseling pupils pursuing
postsecondary education, career technical education, multiple
pathways, college, and global career opportunities.

end insert begin delete

(c)

end delete

begin insert (h) end insert  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.

begin delete

(d) 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.

end delete