January 9, 2022
The Florida School Counselor Association expands the image and influence of school counselors through advocacy, leadership, collaboration and system change at the state level.
PLEASE SHARE WITH COLLEAGUES AND ASSOCIATES
The FSCA Advocacy Committee has secured sponsorships for school counseling bills for the 2022 Florida Legislative Session. The bills are
House Bill (HB) #941 sponsored by Rep. David Silvers
Senate Bill (SB) #1404 sponsored by Senator Shevrin D. “Shev” Jones
https://www.flsenate.gov/Session/Bill/2022/1404/BillText/Filed/PDF
During the next two months – January 11, 2022 to March 11, 2022 the Florida Legislators will be in session making critical decisions on bill passage. It is crucial that ALL Florida School Counselors connect with legislators and state leaders. This link will help you find contact information for your Senate and House legislators.
It would be ideal for you to call your legislators and tell them directly about the role you play in supporting student development and the great need for students. (See the Talking Points document.)
If that’s not possible, then send your legislators an email or a letter. FSCA leaders have written sample templates that you can copy and modify as needed. Sample SC Letter is specific to school counselors.
We are also organizing a DAY ON THE HILL in Tallahassee for Tuesday, January 18th If you can attend, please contact FSCA at fsca@fla-schoolcounselor.org and include your phone number to reach you. We will provide you with more details about the Day on the Hill.
We will continue to provide updates on proposed legislation and ask that you continue to advocate for our profession by contacting your representatives in the Senate and the House to develop relationships and share what school counselors do and the impact we have on student achievement and success in school and life.
Questions?
Please contact the Advocacy Committee at advocacy@fla-schoolcounselor.org, fsca@fla-schoolcounselor.org, Dr. Robert Pincus at pincus@fla-schoolcounselor.org or Dr. Erik Hines at hines@fla-schoolcounselor.org.
January 28, 2019
FSCA is moving full-force ahead with our 2019 advocacy efforts! It is our hope that you will contact your legislators and share important information about who we (school counselors) are how our students are different because of the services we provide. The following letter can be used to help guide you in these critical conversations with legislators.
Below you will also find the link to identifying your local representative.
If you are interested in attending the Day on the Hill, we have decided that National School Counseling week (Feb. 4-8) will be the most impactful week to attend. Please watch our website (https://www.fla-schoolcounselor.org/) for more information on this trip.
Please pass this information on to anyone who is passionate about making a difference in the lives of Florida’s students.
March 19, 2018
#FSCA Advocacy – Use Your Voice
Critical legislation related to the Governor’s action plan passed the Senate and the House and was signed by the Governor on Friday, March 9th, 2018 as the Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School Public Safety Act. The details of the legislation and the implementation plans are in the developmental stages and ambiguous at this point, but implications are that school districts will play a critical role in decision making and planning at the local level.
During the legislative session, FSCA board members and school counselors from across the state joined together for our FSCA Day on the Hill to visit Senate offices and sit in on the House debate of the Public Safety Act. The 2018 Florida School Counselor of the Year, Larissa Bennett, was recognized with the Governor’s Shine Award. We appreciate efforts to date to contact legislators and encourage ALL school counselors to continue to advocate for our profession. As the implementation plans are formed, we need to use our voices and be a part of this work.
Knowing that legislators and district leaders will be making critical decisions on the funding and implementation of the Public Safety Act, we encourage all school counselors as certified personnel who are trained to recognize preK -12 students’ mental health needs to connect with legislators, state and district leaders.
- School Counselors across Florida need to schedule appointments with state legislators when they return to their home districts over the coming months (April, May, June). This link will help you find contact information for your Senate and House legislators.
- We need to let our local district leaders (superintendents, school board members, principals, other supervisors and administrators) know what we do and how we make a difference for students and families. Invite local leaders to your school to see your work firsthand. Here are some advocacy documents (FSCA Advocacy Flyer SC, and School Counselor Advocacy) that can b
e used to support your conversations. - If you cannot schedule a face to face visit, call your legislators or district leaders and tell them directly about the role you play in supporting student development and the need for 80% of your time to be spent in direct service to students. (See the Talking Points document.)
- Continue to send emails or letters from your personal email account. FSCA leaders have written sample templates that you can copy and modify for legislators or for use with local education leaders. Sample SC Ltr is specific to school counselors. If you are an advocate of school counseling, use Advocate Ltr #1 or Advocate Ltr #2.
We will continue to provide advocacy updates and work to be involved with planning committees and implementation groups. We ask that you continue to use your voice for our profession by contacting your legislators, as well as district leaders, to share our role in schools and use your data to educate on the impact we have and how we can meet the needs of even more students and families given appropriate ratios and use of time.
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February 26, 2018
The Florida School Counselor Association expands the image and influence of school counselors through advocacy, leadership, collaboration and system change at the state level.
On Friday, February 23, 2018, Governor Scott proposed an action plan to keep Florida students safe following the shootings in Parkland, Florida. The action plan includes proposed legislation to keep guns out of the hands of violent people, increased mental health initiatives, and funding for school safety to include required access to dedicated mental health counselors to provide direct counseling services to students at every school.
School counselors are trained to recognize preK -12 students’ mental health needs, deliver preventative curriculum to all students, and work collaboratively with mental health agencies and personnel in our communities. We offer our support to the Governor’s plan and as frontline interventionists, play an essential role in addressing mental health and student safety. During the next week, legislators will be making critical decisions on the funding and implementation of this proposed plan. It is crucial that ALL Florida School Counselors connect with legislators and state leaders. This link will help you find contact information for your Senate and House legislators.
It would be ideal for you to call your legislators and tell them directly about the role you play in supporting student development and the need for 80% of your time to be spent in direct service to students. (See the Talking Points document.)
If that’s not possible, then send your legislators an email or a letter. FSCA leaders have written sample templates that you can copy and modify as needed. Sample SC Ltr is specific to school counselors. If you are an advocate of school counseling, use either Advocate Ltr #1 or Advocate Ltr #2
We are also organizing a DAY ON THE HILL in Tallahassee for Wednesday, March 7th. Our 2018 School Counselor of the Year, Larissa Bennett, will receive the Governor’s Shine Award at 9:00 a.m. and we will visit legislative offices during the remainder of the day with a planned departure time of 3:00 p.m. Please let us know if you can attend so we can help in coordinating carpooling and planned visits to legislative offices. If you can attend, please contact Dr. Rebecca Schumacher at fsca@fla-schoolcounselor.org.
We will continue to provide updates on proposed legislation and ask that you continue to advocate for our profession by contacting your representatives in the Senate and the House to develop relationships and share what school counselors do and the impact we have on student achievement and success in school and life.
Questions?
Please contact the Advocacy Chair, Dr. Summer Kuba, at summerkuba4@gmail.com, Executive Director, Dr. Rebecca Schumacher at fsca@fla-schoolcounselor.org, or 2017 – 2018 Governing Board Chair, Beth Jenkins at chair@fla-schoolcounselor.org.
