February 2020 Legislative Update:
https://mailchi.mp/5e37a98da7a1/gavel-to-gavel-february?e=21e647fcfa
Tammi serves on the Taskforce through representation from the Lone Star State School Counselor Association (LSSSCA).
HB906 is an act relating to the establishment of a collaborative task force to study certain public school
mental health services. The taskforce is comprised of an LPC, LSCW or school counselor, a psychiatrist,
two district administrators, a member of a mental health foundation, a member of higher education and
a licensed school psychologist. The taskforce is lead by TEA. The Taskforce is a five-year term and the
goals of the taskforce are to study and evaluate the following:
1) Mental health services that are funded by the state and provided at a school district or open-
enrollment charter school for students, family members and employees of the school district or
open-enrollment charter school;
2) Training provided to an educator employed by the district or open-enrollment charter school on
mental health services;
3) The impact of mental health services;
4) The number of violent incidents that occur in a school districts or open-enrollment charter schools;
5) The suicide rate for individuals that have been provided mental health services;
6) The number of students reported to DPS;
7) The number of students transported to emergency detention centers;
8) The number of students referred to outside mental health counselors.
The Taskforce will incorporate other mental health bills including SB11, HB18 and HB19 as they study
evaluate and make recommendations. The Taskforce will make recommendations to our state
legislature in 2020, 2022 and then in 2024. LSSSCA has completed the first of many work sessions to
provide feedback from the perspective of you, the Texas School Counselor. We look forward to
continued work sessions, with other important stakeholders on the HB906 Taskforce, to assure all Texas
students have access to mental health services and that adults in education are provided adequate
training on mental health in the schools. Through LSSSCA’s robust representation on legislative matters
that effect Texas School Counselors and Texas students, we will make a difference for the next
generation.
We are very excited to announce the Lone Star State School Counselor Association Advocacy Day on Tuesday March 5, 2019. This is our opportunity to let our policymakers at the capitol hear our voices and impact change for professional school counselors, students, and families across the state of Texas.
LSSSCA will provide:
-Brief training/preparation for meeting with your legislator
-List of bills that impact school counseling by number and Author/Sponsor that impact school counseling
-Legislative priorities/handouts for legislators
-Meeting place for school counselors-Capitol Grill Small Banquet Room reserved
-Map of the capitol building
Look up your legislator here:
http://www.fyi.legis.state.tx.us/Home.aspx
Your legislator’s contact information will be provided once you look him/her up on the website. Contact your Senator and House Representative right away and schedule an appointment to meet in person on March 5th. At minimum, take the opportunity to meet with a staffer if that is what is available that day. They will share your information with the legislator.
Check on bills related to counselors/education (search for keywords like: School Counselor, Mental Health, etc):
http://www.capitol.state.tx.us/Search/BillSearch.aspx
We will save a seat for you: Let us know you plan to attend:
https://goo.gl/forms/CjA71WaYbieujaiw2
Agenda For the Day:
Remainder of the day will be dedicated to meeting legislators and sharing school counselor information in support of legislation priorities.
We look forward to seeing you in Austin March 5, 2019 as we Empower School Counselors and Change Lives!
The Texas Legislature is in session and school related issues are taking a front seat this biennium. Two areas that have the attention of our lawmakers are school funding and school safety. As a vital part of the education equation, school counselors certainly have a role in school safety. Additionally, increased and equitable funding of public education will be critical to providing the direct access to school counselors for the students of Texas. Education and taking care of educators are clearly the focus of bipartisan and bicameral agreement.
Governor Abbott has called school finance an emergency item. This directive has helped guide early legislative ideas to include proposals for teacher pay increases and school finance reform. Both of these key issues will undoubtedly be a major focus of the session and could stand to benefit all students and educators.
Governor Abbott was quoted: “Our mission begins with our students.” This is in response to both increased funding and school safety. In response to school safety, LSSSCA has developed talking points that are available on our website to help school counselors communicate the vital role counselors play in school safety. We are certainly a critical puzzle piece to prevention and intervention efforts.
We are at a pivotal moment in our efforts to support students through the work of school counselors. The time to advocate and educate is here. Take the time to visit our advocacy page at:
https://www.lonestarstateschoolcounselor.org/WA-Themes
Look for:
-Talking Points and Legislative Priorities
-Advocacy Day Information
-86th Legislature Bill Tracker Information
-Legislator Look-Up Tool
-Contact information to partner with LSSSCA to advocate on behalf of school counselors
Together our voices will carry across Texas.
LSSSCA's Director of Advocacy, Wes Upton, testified on behalf of school counselors at the Senate Select Committee on Violence in Schools and School Security on July 18, 2018. This was a long day in Austin, but the role of the school counselor is important. Look for the testimony at the 7:56 mark on the recording for our testimony.