FSCA News

Throughout the 22-23 school year, the Florida School Counselor Association (FSCA) has served as a catalyst for collaboration and growth, fostering an environment that encourages counselors to connect with peers and share innovative ideas. This sense of community has been invaluable in continuously raising the bar for our profession and ensuring that students receive the support they need to thrive. We believe that our profession is strong and have been actively engaged with state leaders as new laws and initiatives have been issued in the past year. One of the cornerstones of the work the FSCA Board accomplished this past year has been advocating for the profession itself. By engaging in ongoing conversations with policymakers and stakeholders, the FSCA Board championed the importance of school counseling and have made significant strides in gaining recognition for the vital role that counselors play in student success, even in the face of challenging legislative actions. We are pleased to share with you the following State of Affairs from the Fiscal Year 2023.

The FSCA Board of Directors once again voted to approve the reappointment of our Executive Director, Dr. Rebecca Schumacher. Our Executive Director (ED) has spent a lifetime committed to helping school counselors and the students they serve.  Each year, the ED provides the Board with an annual report, detailing her time and the progress made toward annual objectives and assigned tasks.  In the past four years she has averaged 142 hours a month, working well beyond her contracted time to serve the school counselors in our state. She started serving in this role in 2016 and the Board has been thrilled with her performance, renewing her contract year after year.  The Board has wanted to increase her salary on multiple occasions over the years because she is so valuable to the operations of our organization. Time after time, she has refused a raise, wanting to keep more money within the organization. This is the definition of dedication.  This past year, Becky returned to her home state of Indiana. It is not uncommon for an Executive Director to live in a different state from their organization’s home office, especially post-pandemic.  We believe this has no bearing on her commitment to FSCA or the school counselors in Florida. A zip code is never the indicator of results, rather it is the work delivered.

As a non-profit association, maintaining visibility lends to informing and educating those in the public. To this end, FSCA has had success. We have developed partnerships with various stakeholders to increase awareness and understanding of school counseling in Florida.  In 2017, FSCA had only two partners: FL CAN (FCAN) and FL DOE Student Support Services. Extensive outreach efforts during the early years of the ED’s contract, resulted in an increase of partnerships with multiple state organizations. As a result of these initial efforts, FSCA is now contacted, consulted, and invited by others to participate in round table discussions, presentations, forums, task forces, and planning/steering committees by many professional organizations. Others now knock on FSCA’s door for support. One particular partnership is a mental health advisory council and consortium composed of representatives from the Florida Counseling Association (FCA), the Florida Association of School Psychologists (FASP), the Florida Association of School Social Workers (FASSW), the Florida PTA, the Florida Association of Student Services Administrators (FASSA), the Florida Association of School Nurses (FASN), the Florida Psychological Association, a pediatric MD, and Equality Florida.

FSCA has been actively engaged in discussions with FLDOE leaders at the Vice Chancellor and Senior Director levels since April 2023, discussing and contributing ideas to the First Lady’s Initiative that will be implemented this coming school year. During the past three years, FSCA enthusiastically advocated for legislative action. Despite no positive end results, this has not discouraged FSCA from continuing efforts legislatively, even knowing the arduous task of getting a legislative bill across the finish line. Additionally, instead of taking a confrontational approach in response to this past year’s legislative actions and initiatives related to school counseling, FSCA has and continues conversations with DOE and relevant stakeholders, collaborating on strategies to support and better school counseling in Florida. This process is ongoing. FSCA did and will continue to update its members on these efforts, and we welcome any feedback from the public.

Back-to-school brought new statutes to the practice of school counseling in the form of HB 1557 and the Parental Rights in Education movement.  In response, FSCA published two public position statements, and an exclusive membership Q & A document to benefit FSCA members in practice.  We have also published the following press releases to our membership in response to other relevant changes this past year:

March

In the past 72 hours, FLDOE announced the adoption of FL First Lady DeSantis’ Resiliency Standards and the Incentive for Parent Involvement. FSCA was not consulted prior to this announcement. FSCA values partnerships with parents, the community, mentors, and all school stakeholders, as it takes many people working together so that students may learn and be successful.  FSCA also recognizes the extensive training and supervised clinical internships of school counseling professionals. Please know that FSCA is exploring more information from the FL Department of Education on these new opportunities discussed in the round table press conference. As we get more information, we will update you.

April 

An Update to the March 2023 announcement regarding the Resiliency Standards and the addition of community involvement in schools. The Florida School Counselor Association (FSCA) and the FL Department of Education (DOE) began conversation last week about the Resiliency Standards and Four Pathways of student support and mentorship, per the First Lady’s Parent Initiative. Conversations about the development and implementation are scheduled to continue.

Overall, the intent of each of the four pathways is designed to provide more time and more caring adults in schools trained in basic skills to address day-to-day student challenges [not mental health challenges]. By doing so, school counselors then may focus more on those students with greater challenges.

As FSCA continues these conversations with DOE, updates will be sent. In the meantime, should you have questions about something you are hearing, please reach out so we may confirm and clarify information. Misinformation in any variety is not helpful. FSCA’s goal is to be helpful and as resourceful as we can. So please do reach out.

May

Update Regarding the Draft DOE School Counseling Standards, Resiliency Standards, and the First Lady-Casey Desantis’ Initiative to Incentivize Parental Involvement in Schools

The Florida School Counselor Association (FSCA) and the FL Department of Education (DOE) began conversations in April about the new Resiliency Standards and the Four Pathways of student support and mentorship. FSCA hopes that the following May message will help to alleviate concerns arising from this new Initiative, as well as the draft school counseling standards.

Question 1: Is a Resiliency Coach going to take over a school counselor position? Are school counselors eliminated?

• Answer: NO, this pathway is not being developed to eliminate school counselors. School counselors by Florida Rule, must hold an advanced degree and are recognized as highly knowledgeable and skilled. See State of Florida Rule FL DOE Certification Rule 6A-4-0181. The Resiliency Coach requirements will include mandated screening and completion of a training program with a certification to confirm training outcomes were met. The intent of a Resiliency Coach is to support students in everyday challenges, allowing a school counselor to provide more intensive Tier 2 and Tier 3 services.

Question 2: Are parents/community members going to be school counseling apprentices?

• Answer: This path is designed to encourage more people to enter the field of school counseling to help fill the shortages that exist. Parents/community members who decide that school counseling may be a future career interest may decide that they want to pursue a counseling degree.  Apprentice qualifications are still being established by FLDOE.  FSCA is encouraged that the Apprentice program may provide compensation for school counseling interns or for clinical counselors to find a more streamlined pathway toward school counselor certification in Florida.

Question 3: Is providing mental health services going to be removed as part of a school counseling service?

• Answer: NO. FL Rule 6A-4.0010 (2) (b) defines a school counselor certified under Rule 6A-4.0181, F.A.C  as the school-based mental health provider.  Additionally, the draft School Counselor Standards in (2) (a) cite, a school counselor is responsible for “personal and social adjustments” and (2) (b) cite school counseling programs meet unique needs of students for “responsive mental health counseling services”.

As FSCA continues these conversations with DOE, updates will be sent. In the meantime, should you have questions about something you are hearing, please reach out so we may confirm and clarify information.

In March, when the new School Counseling Standards were first introduced for public comment, FSCA flooded DOE with comments and recommendations.  Many suggestions were honored, including the addition of school counselors being providers of school-based “mental health services” to students, as noted in the current statute. 

Finally, FSCA responded to state issues with a Position Statement to Support Student Educational Opportunities which was sent to membership on June 1 and an Open Letter to Florida’s First Lady was sent to membership on June 24, 2023.

The Florida School Counselor Association serves its members by expanding the image and influence of school counselors in the state of Florida. FSCA empowers school counselors with the knowledge, skills, connections and resources to promote equity, access to high quality education and overall student success in school. The Vision of the FSCA is to represent all school counselors and promote the implementation of a comprehensive school counseling program in every Florida school. The Mission of FSCA is to support and promote school counselors, their ethical practices and professionalism, and to impact students’ academic, college/career, and social/emotional development.

Please feel free to reach out with any questions. fsca@fla-schoolcounselor.org

Respectfully submitted July 10, 2023 by the FSCA Board.

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