Massachusetts 2023-2024 Regular Session

Massachusetts Senate Bill S2473 Compare Versions

Only one version of the bill is available at this time.

Old	New	Differences
1	1	SENATE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . No. 2473
2	2	The Commonwealth of Massachusetts
3	3	_______________
4	4	In the One Hundred and Ninety-Third General Court
5	5	(2023-2024)
6	6	_______________
7	7	SENATE, October 19, 2023.
8	8	The committee on Consumer Protection and Professional Licensure, to whom was
9	9	referred the petitions (accompanied by bill, Senate, No. 210) of Pavel M. Payano for legislation
10	10	to expand licensure opportunity for school counselors; and (accompanied by bill, House, No.
11	11	3915) of Andres X. Vargas and Ryan M. Hamilton relative to expanding licensure opportunities
12	12	for school counselors, reports the accompanying bill (Senate, No. 2473).
13	13	For the committee,
14	14	John J. Cronin 1 of 2
15	15	FILED ON: 10/16/2023
16	16	SENATE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . No. 2473
17	17	The Commonwealth of Massachusetts
18	18	_______________
19	19	In the One Hundred and Ninety-Third General Court
20	20	(2023-2024)
21	21	_______________
22	22	An Act expanding licensure opportunity for school counselors.
23	23	Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General Court assembled, and by the authority
24	24	of the same, as follows:
25	25	1 SECTION 1. The first paragraph of section 165 of chapter 112 of the General Laws, as
26	26	2appearing in the 2020 Official Edition, is hereby amended by striking out clause (3) and inserting
27	27	3in place thereof the following clause:-
28	28	4 (3) demonstrates to the board, the successful completion of a masters degree in a relevant
29	29	5field from an educational institution licensed by the state in which it is located and meets
30	30	6national standards for granting of a masters degree with a subspecialization in marriage and
31	31	7family therapy, rehabilitation counseling, counseling, or a relevant subspecialization approved by
32	32	8the board; provided, however, that all relevant graduate coursework credits, as determined by the
33	33	9board, that an individual earns that count towards the credit requirement for professional
34	34	10licensure as a school counselor by the department of elementary and secondary education shall
35	35	11be applied towards this educational requirement for applicants seeking licensure as a mental
36	36	12health counselor, including credits earned in a graduate program that is less than 60 credits. To
37	37	13be eligible for licensure, an applicant must have two additional years of supervised clinical
38	38	14experience in the relevant field in: either a clinic or hospital licensed by the department of mental 2 of 2
39	39	15health or the department of public health or accredited by the Joint Commission on Accreditation
40	40	16of Hospitals or in an equivalent center or institute under the direction of a supervisor approved
41	41	17by the board. For purposes of this clause, “Supervision” shall be defined as no less than two
42	42	18hundred hours of supervised clinical experience, at least one hundred hours of which shall
43	43	19consist of individual supervision with a clinician who has expertise in marriage and family
44	44	20therapy, rehabilitation counseling, educational psychology, or counseling and who holds a
45	45	21masters degree in social work, marriage and family therapy, rehabilitation counseling,
46	46	22educational psychology, counseling or an equivalent field or holds a doctorate degree in
47	47	23psychology, or a medical degree with a subspecialization in psychiatry. A maximum one
48	48	24hundred hours may be completed in a school setting as a school counselor licensed by the
49	49	25department of elementary and secondary education; provided, however, that experience as a
50	50	26school counselor shall only apply towards the supervised experience requirement for applicants
51	51	27who are seeking licensure as a mental health counselor; and provided, however, that experience
52	52	28as a school counselor may be supervised by an individual who holds a masters in school
53	53	29counseling and is duly licensed as a mental health counselor;
54	54	30 SECTION 2. Said section 165 of said chapter 112, as so appearing, is hereby further
55	55	31amended by inserting after the word “section”, in line 30, the following words:- provided,
56	56	32however, that a school counselor shall be qualified to sit for the written or oral examination for
57	57	33licensure as a mental health counselor.