Massachusetts 2025-2026 Regular Session

Massachusetts Senate Bill S283 Compare Versions

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

Old	New	Differences
1	1	1 of 1
2	2	SENATE DOCKET, NO. 809 FILED ON: 1/14/2025
3	3	SENATE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . No. 283
4	4	The Commonwealth of Massachusetts
5	5	_________________
6	6	PRESENTED BY:
7	7	Pavel M. Payano
8	8	_________________
9	9	To the Honorable Senate and House of Representatives of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts in General
10	10	Court assembled:
11	11	The undersigned legislators and/or citizens respectfully petition for the adoption of the accompanying bill:
12	12	An Act expanding licensure opportunity for school counselors.
13	13	_______________
14	14	PETITION OF:
15	15	NAME:DISTRICT/ADDRESS :Pavel M. PayanoFirst Essex 1 of 3
16	16	SENATE DOCKET, NO. 809 FILED ON: 1/14/2025
17	17	SENATE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . No. 283
18	18	By Mr. Payano, a petition (accompanied by bill, Senate, No. 283) of Pavel M. Payano for
19	19	legislation to expand licensure opportunity for school counselors. Consumer Protection and
20	20	Professional Licensure.
21	21	[SIMILAR MATTER FILED IN PREVIOUS SESSION
22	22	SEE SENATE, NO. 210 OF 2023-2024.]
23	23	The Commonwealth of Massachusetts
24	24	_______________
25	25	In the One Hundred and Ninety-Fourth General Court
26	26	(2025-2026)
27	27	_______________
28	28	An Act expanding licensure opportunity for school counselors.
29	29	Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General Court assembled, and by the authority
30	30	of the same, as follows:
31	31	1 SECTION 1. The first paragraph of section 165 of chapter 112 of the General Laws, as
32	32	2appearing in the 2022 Official Edition, is hereby amended by striking out clause (3) and inserting
33	33	3in place thereof the following clause:-
34	34	4 (3) demonstrates to the board, the successful completion of a masters degree in a relevant
35	35	5field from an educational institution licensed by the state in which it is located and meets
36	36	6national standards for granting of a masters degree with a subspecialization in marriage and
37	37	7family therapy, rehabilitation counseling, counseling, or a relevant subspecialization approved by
38	38	8the board; provided, however, that all relevant graduate coursework credits, as determined by the
39	39	9board, that an individual earns that count towards the credit requirement for professional
40	40	10licensure as specialized instructional support personnel, which is inclusive of school counselors, 2 of 3
41	41	11school social workers, adjustment counselors, and school psychologists, by the department of
42	42	12elementary and secondary education shall be applied towards this educational requirement for
43	43	13applicants seeking licensure as a mental health counselor, including credits earned in a graduate
44	44	14program that is less than 60 credits. To be eligible for licensure, an applicant must have 2
45	45	15additional years of supervised clinical experience in the relevant field in: (i) either a clinic or
46	46	16hospital licensed by the department of mental health or accredited by the Joint Commission on
47	47	17Accreditation of Hospitals or in an equivalent center or institute; (ii) in a school setting as a
48	48	18specialized instructional support personnel licensed by the department of elementary and
49	49	19secondary education; or (iii) under the direction of a supervisor approved by the board. For
50	50	20purposes of this clause, “Supervision” shall be defined as no less than 200 hours of supervised
51	51	21clinical experience, including experience as a specialized instructional support personnel
52	52	22licensed by the department of elementary and secondary education, at least 100 hours of which
53	53	23shall consist of individual supervision with a clinician who has expertise in marriage and family
54	54	24therapy, rehabilitation counseling, school counseling, educational psychology, social work, or
55	55	25counseling and who holds a masters degree in social work, marriage and family therapy,
56	56	26rehabilitation counseling, educational psychology, counseling or an equivalent field or holds a
57	57	27doctorate degree in psychology, or a medical degree with a subspecialization in psychiatry;
58	58	28provided, however, that experience as specialized instructional support personnel shall only
59	59	29apply towards the supervised experience requirement for applicants who are seeking licensure as
60	60	30a mental health counselor;
61	61	31 SECTION 2. Said section 165 of said chapter 112, as so appearing, is hereby further
62	62	32amended by inserting after the word “section”, in line 30, the following words:- provided, 3 of 3
63	63	33however, that a school counselor shall be qualified to sit for the written or oral examination for
64	64	34licensure as a mental health counselor.