Hawaii House Bill HCR190

Hawaii 2024 Regular Session

• Introduced: 3/8/24
• Refer: 3/14/24
• Report Pass: 4/2/24
• Refer: 4/3/24
• Engrossed: 4/2/24

Caption

Requesting The Board Of Education, In Partnership With The Department Of Education, To Produce A Plan For Adhering To School Counselor Best Practices.

Impact

The proposed plan aims to address several key areas, including ensuring that each public high school in Hawaii is equipped with at least one full-time, twelve-month school counselor. The American School Counselor Association (ASCA) recommends a student-to-counselor ratio of 200-to-1 for effective service, yet many schools do not meet this standard. By adhering to ASCA recommendations, the plan looks to enhance the quality of counselor support and promote higher rates of postsecondary education enrollment among graduates.

Summary

House Concurrent Resolution 190 (HCR190) requests that the Board of Education, in coordination with the Department of Education, develop a comprehensive plan to adhere to best practices for school counseling. The resolution emphasizes the crucial role that school counselors play in facilitating students' academic, career, social, and emotional development. This initiative comes in light of the concerning statistics surrounding Hawaii's public school graduates, notably the drop in postsecondary enrollment rates and the issue of 'summer melt' among high school seniors, particularly those from low-income backgrounds.

Contention

The resolution outlines specific components that the Board of Education should include in the plan: alignment of counselor job descriptions with ASCA guidelines, provision of necessary resources and training for counselors, encouragement for school administrators to foster supportive environments for counselors, and development of comprehensive counseling programs. These considerations aim to streamline counseling services and ensure they can meet all students' needs effectively. There may be contention over the resource allocation and emphasis on standardizing these practices across varying school environments, which can differ significantly in their needs and challenges.