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Policies and Effects on School Counseling

Jazmin Quintana

Grand Canyon University

SCN-610

Dr. Duane Johnson

03/23/2022
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Policies and Effects on School Counseling

Government policies and legislative actions are continually changing and have an impact

on the school system which also affects the school counseling profession. Policies that are

implemented dictate what the school and staff must do to ensure they comply. With legislative

actions taking place it is important for staff to keep up to date with the actions or changes that

can occur and seek assistance if one does not fully comprehend how this impacts their part in the

school system. It is imperative for school counselors to understand how legislative policies

impact counseling, what actions school counselors can take to overcome potential obstacles,

identify ways counselors can utilize legislation to advocate for students, and continue to

implement ASCA mindsets and behaviors into lessons while complying with policies.

Effects of Legislation on School Counseling

Government legislation and policies that have been put in place widely revolve around

the need for funding to support school counselor positions in the school system. Every Student

Succeeds Act (ESSA) which was established in 2015 and has provided many opportunities for

school districts to work to expand their school counseling programs (Federal Legislation-

American School Counselor Association (ASCA), 2022). ESSA has helped implement many

areas for improvement of the school counseling programs, such as allotting funds to ensure

counselors are receiving professional development dollars, ensures improvement of school

conditions incorporate school counseling provisions which incorporate school counseling is

provided to all students (Federal Legislation- American School Counselors Association, 2022).

This legislation also outlined the need for specialized instructional support personnel which

includes school counseling professionals as well as other professionals working in the school

(Federal Legislation- American School Counselors Association, 2022). ESSA has helped outline
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the need for school counselors and establish funding to ensure schools can provide additional

support which focuses on the well being, mental health and behavioral concerns which leads to

supporting the academic growth of students through supporting all the students needs instead of

focusing solely on academics. Through ESSA it has also led to other legislation being

implemented to help provide schools with a more detailed and prominent school counseling

program such as the ASCA program plan which provides a strong framework for schools to

implement and follow.

How to Overcome Negative Effects

Although ESSA helped provide funding for and identify the need for school counselors

the legislation did not clearly outline how school counselor programs would be implemented.

School counselors were identified as an integral support to helping students succeed, although

schools’ counselors were identified as imperative school systems were left without a uniform

plan or program of implementation. This can be very taxing on school counselors to identify and

implement their program in school systems which do not utilize school counseling programs to

help guide their lessons. School counselors can take actions to overcome limitations through

incorporating models such as the ASCA National Model, which is widely utilized today, this

model helps provide school counselors with structured topics to discuss monthly, templates,

ways to identify what in the school program is working and what is not through their Closing the

GAP template (ASCA, 2022). Teachers can overcome challenges or lack of direction due to

legislation which is not the same across every state by working with their departments to

advocate for structure or implementation of different programs to help ease and identify the ways

school counselors can provide support.

How Can School Counselors Advocate for Students?

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Advocating for students is an imperative part of a school counselors’ job. As school

counselors it is one of our obligations to advocate for the success of every one of our students

and ensure that we work reform policies which harm the progress of students (Trusty & Brown,

2005). School counselors must ensure when advocating for students they consider how their

advocacy will be impacted by legislation. ESSA can help school counselors advocate for their

students through identifying how what the counselor is advocating for will help ensure the

student succeeds academically. Utilization of school policies and procedures, legal rights of the

individuals and families are tools which can be utilized to help school counselors advocate for

students within the scope of their practice and help to ensure students have access to clubs,

resources, or tools which will help them continue towards academic success (Trusty & Brown,

2005). Utilization of legislation will also help in favor of the school counselor if the stakeholders

and administration see the school counselor did their research before bringing this issue to the

administration. Legislation and policies can be an effective tool for school counselors when they

are working to advocate for students.

Implementation of the ASCA Mindsets & Behaviors

The ASCA Student Mindsets and Behaviors are beneficial guidance tools to help school

counselors when developing class lessons, working with students one on one or developing

group sessions. These mindsets can be incorporated through utilization of the ASCA’s lesson

plan tool which identifies which mindset and behavior the lesson will meet. The mindsets and

behaviors identify the knowledge, attitudes, and skills counselors want students to walk away

with (American School Counselor Association, 2021). The mindsets and behaviors help school

counselors ensure they are working to instill social emotional learning skills, mindfulness, as

well as academic goals which will help them towards their overall success. Implementation of
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the mindsets and behaviors allows for counselors to really understand what the school needs by

utilizing assessment tools or the numbers of referrals or absences to identify areas of focus for

the school (American School Counselors Association, 2021). Implementation of the mindsets

and behaviors identified by ASCA may take work on the school counselors end but in the long

run will be a beneficial tool to helping students succeed.

Conclusion

School counselors who understand how legislative policies influence their career, identify

ways to overcome obstacles faced due to legislation, how legislation and policies can be used to

help advocate for students, and understand the importance of the ASCA mindsets and behaviors

will be able to help their students in many ways. Legislation which focus on education has

allowed school counselors more opportunities to make an impact and provide necessary mental

health support which improves the daily lives and well-being of students allowing them to focus

more on their academics. The role of school counselors has become important in ensuring

students have additional support which does not solely focus on academics but helping students

focus on themselves and understand their own emotions and ways to deal with them. Legislation

is an integrals part of the school system and can be utilized to help advocate for student in

ensuring students have all their needs met to succeed. Programs or models such as the ASCA

national mode which developed mindsets and behaviors ensure school counselors tools to guide

them in helping their students address concerns and needs which may fall through the crack

without guidance or topics to help school counselors create effective lessons, groups, or

discussions.
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References

American School Counselor Association (2021). ASCA Student Standards; Mindsets and

Behaviors for Student Success. Alexandria, VA: Author

ASCA National Model - American School Counselor Association (ASCA). (2022). American

School Counseling Association. https://www.schoolcounselor.org/About-School-

Counseling/ASCA-National-Model-for-School-Counseling-Programs

Federal Legislation - American School Counselor Association (ASCA). (2022). American School

Counselors Association.

https://www.schoolcounselor.org/About-School-Counseling/Legislative-Issues/Federal-

Legislation

Trusty, J., & Brown, D. (2005). Advocacy Competencies for Professional School Counselors.

ASCA Professional School Counseling, 259–265.

https://www.schoolcounselor-ca.org/files/Advocacy/Advocacy%20Competencies%20for

%20School%20Counselors.pdf