By: Menéndez S.B. No. 2055
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
relating to funding for comprehensive school counseling programs.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. Section 33.002, Education Code, is amended by
amending Subsections (a) and (c) and adding Subsections (a-1) and
(a-2) to read as follows:
(a) From funds appropriated for the purpose or other funds
that may be used for the purpose, the commissioner shall distribute
funds for programs under this subchapter. In distributing those
funds, the commissioner shall give preference in the following
order:
(1) to a school district that received funds under
this subsection for the preceding school year; and
(2) [then] to the districts that have the highest
concentration of students at risk of dropping out of school, as
described by Section 29.081, and either:
(A) receive federal funding under Title I,
Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. Section
6301 et seq.); or
(B) are wholly or partly located in a federally
designated mental health care health professional shortage area.
(a-1) To receive funds for the program under Subsection (a),
a school district must apply to the commissioner. For each school
year that a school district receives funds under Subsection (a)
[this subsection], the district shall allocate an amount of local
matching funds for comprehensive school [guidance and] counseling
programs that is equal to or greater than the sum of:
(1) the amount of funds that the district receives
under that subsection; and
(2) the amount of local funds other than matching
funds required under this subsection that the [school] district
allocated for that purpose during the preceding school year.
(a-2) This section applies only to a school district that
receives funds as provided by Subsection (a) [this subsection].
(c) A school district with fewer than 500 enrolled students
[enrolled in elementary school grades] shall provide comprehensive
school [guidance and] counseling services to those [elementary
school] students by:
(1) employing a part-time school counselor certified
under the rules of the State Board for Educator Certification;
(2) employing a part-time teacher certified as a
school counselor under the rules of the State Board for Educator
Certification; or
(3) entering into a shared services arrangement
agreement with one or more school districts to share a school
counselor certified under the rules of the State Board for Educator
Certification.
SECTION 2. Section 33.004(b), Education Code, is amended to
read as follows:
(b) Each school, before implementing a comprehensive school
[and developmental guidance and] counseling program under Section
33.005, shall annually conduct a preview of the program for parents
and guardians. All materials, including curriculum to be used
during the year, must be available for a parent or guardian to
preview during school hours. Materials or curriculum not included
in the materials available on the campus for preview may not be
used.
SECTION 3. Section 33.005, Education Code, is amended to
read as follows:
Sec. 33.005. COMPREHENSIVE SCHOOL [DEVELOPMENTAL GUIDANCE
AND] COUNSELING PROGRAMS. (a) A school counselor shall work with
the school faculty and staff, students, parents, and the community
to plan, implement, and evaluate a comprehensive school
[developmental guidance and] counseling program. The school
counselor shall design the program to include:
(1) a guidance curriculum to help students develop
their full educational potential, including the student's
interests and career objectives;
(2) a responsive services component to intervene on
behalf of any student whose immediate personal concerns or problems
put the student's continued educational, career, personal, or
social development at risk;
(3) an individual planning system to guide a student
as the student plans, monitors, and manages the student's own
educational, career, personal, and social development; and
(4) system support to support the efforts of teachers,
staff, parents, and other members of the community in promoting the
educational, career, personal, and social development of students.
SECTION 4. Section 42.152, Education Code, is amended by
adding Subsection (e) to read as follows:
(e) From the total amount of funds appropriated for
allotments under this section, the commissioner shall, each fiscal
year, withhold $7.5 million or a greater amount as specified in the
General Appropriations Act, and distribute that amount to school
districts for programs under Subchapter A, Chapter 33, in the
manner provided by Section 33.002. After deducting the amount
withheld under this subsection from the total amount appropriated
for allotments under this section, the commissioner shall reduce
each district's allotment proportionately and allocate funds to
each district accordingly.
SECTION 5. This Act takes effect September 1, 2020.