California School Counselor - Winter 2008 - (Page 16)

legislative update Maintain the MHSSCP By Pamela Bachilla, CASC Legislative Advocate The ﬁrst full year of program implementation for the MHSSCP (2006-2007) brought major victories in California’s eﬀort to reduce the student-to-counselor ratio. The success of the program’s ﬁrst year was due in great part to concentrated eﬀorts to recruit and train new school counselors, a task made particularly challenging because school counseling is a highly specialized profession. The cadre of newly trained and credentialed school counselors that emerged as a direct result of the MHSSCP is a critical resource in any eﬀort to increase student success, and would be diﬃcult to replace or rebuild. Every eﬀort should be made to retain this critical workforce for California’s public schools. The current MHSSCP includes extensive requirements on what must be covered in meetings with students, including requirements to ensure that students are aware of the coursework necessary to graduate, are prepared to pass the CAHSEE, and are aware of their college and career options. Additional requirements should not be added to the MHSSCP without additional program funding. late September that maintains ﬂ at year-over-year funding levels from 2007-08 to 2008-09 for all education programs, including categorical and special education programs. The budget applies a .68 percent COLA to revenue limits only. As you’ll recall, ﬂat funding plus a very small COLA is in line with what we’ve expected all year-just a historic 85 days late. As applied to the Middle and High School Supplemental Counseling Program (MHSSCP, or AB 1802), this means you can count on program funding being allocated at the same level for 2008-09 as was received in 2007-08. The good news for school counselors is that the budget does not contain the categorical ﬂexibility proposals that would have jeopardized school counseling programs by allowing MHSSCP funding to be spent for other purposes. Th is did not just happen—thanks to CASC board members and School Innovation and Advocacy, CASC was able to successfully advocate for consistency in both the MHSSCP and in the level of funding. As in previous years, MHSSCP money is to be used only for the purpose of supplementing existing school counseling programs. On another note, the governor used his line-item veto power to cut $904,000 in support for the Department of Education’s Advancement Via Individual Determination program, claiming that the cut represented the same percentage reduction to 2008-09 full funding levels applied to all other education programs. Congratulations and gracious thanks to all those who fought to keep the money for this critical program in place! ■ Include School Counseling in Education Reform Efforts Much of education policy centers on developing programs that prepare students for success. School counselors bear the responsibility of ensuring students and their parents are aware of their educational options and are well-informed in making decisions about what it is they wish to achieve in school and beyond. In short, most policymakers direct their attention to building pathways for student success, while school counselors help students ﬁ nd those pathways. As such, school counseling must be recognized as a unique and critical component of eﬀorts to keep students in school and prepare them for successful transitions to college and careers. 3413 Larga Ci. San Diego, CA 92110 (858) 605-6463/Fax: (641) 587-5474 sidgoodman@pobox.com/www.whywouldyoubooks.com Bullying, Why Would You Want To Do That? A classroom workbook to facilitate discussions with elementary school age children regarding a wide variety of bullying situations. Learn more at www.whywouldyoubooks.com Why Would you Books Include School Counseling in New Data Programs The MHSSCP should be included in eﬀorts to develop more comprehensive measures of the relationship between student support programs and successful student outcomes. For more information, please visit www.schoolcounselor-ca.org or contact Pamela Bachilla, legislative advocate, at (916) 669-5414 or pamelab@sia-us.com. Home Builders Institute 1201 15th Street N.W., Washington, DC 20005 (202) 266-8927 dlewis@hbi.org • www.buildingcareers.org Home Builders Institute (HBI) is the workforce development arm of the 235,000 member National Association of Home Builders (NAHB). Choosing a career is a process that includes assessing skills and exploring options. Through HBI’s Career Services division, we help students and their inﬂuencers access information on the housing industry’s host of career opportunities. Historically Late State Budget Protects Flat Funding for the MHSSCP Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger signed a $143 billion budget in 16 The California School Counselor | winter 2008 http://www.whywouldyoubooks.com http://www.schoolcounselor-ca.org http://www.buildingcareers.org

Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of California School Counselor - Winter 2008

California School Counselor - Winter 2008 Contents Presidential Perspectives Jackie’s Jottings Executive Director’s Report Creating Possibilities Through Language The Six C’s Orange County Counselors Form Book Review Legislative Update Research CASC’s 2008 Leadership ASCA Announces Hughes Middle School Memory Tips for School, Work and Life California Commission on Teacher Credentialing Releases Statistics on Pupil Personnel Services Credentials Technology Tips Pics, Clicks and Technics Calendar Index to Advertisers

California School Counselor - Winter 2008

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