TITLE: Relating to the duties of a public school counselor regarding student discipline.

SUMMARY: Relating to the duties of a public school counselor regarding student discipline.

FULL TEXT:
AN ACT relating to the duties of a public school counselor regarding student discipline. BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS: SECTION 1. Section 33.006, Education Code, is amended by amending Subsection (b) and adding Subsection (d) to read as follows: (b) In addition to a school counselor's responsibility under Subsection (a), the school counselor shall: (1) participate in planning, implementing, and evaluating a comprehensive developmental guidance program to serve all students and to address the special needs of students: (A) who are at risk of dropping out of school, becoming substance abusers, participating in gang activity, or committing suicide; (B) who are in need of modified instructional strategies; or (C) who are gifted and talented, with emphasis on identifying and serving gifted and talented students who are educationally disadvantaged; (2) consult with a student's parent or guardian and make referrals as appropriate in consultation with the student's parent or guardian; (3) consult with school staff, parents, and other community members to help them increase the effectiveness of student education and promote student success; (4) coordinate people and resources in the school, home, and community; (5) with the assistance of school staff, interpret standardized test results and other assessment data that help a student make educational and career plans; (6) deliver classroom guidance activities or serve as a consultant to teachers conducting lessons based on the school's guidance curriculum; [and] (7) serve as an impartial, nonreporting resource for interpersonal conflicts and discord involving two or more students, including accusations of bullying under Section 37.0832;(8) serve on a placement review committee under Section 37.003; (9) assist with a student placed into a disciplinary alternative education program as provided by Section 37.008; and (10) serve on a committee to review a student's placement in an alternative education program under Section 37.306.(d) A school counselor may not be required to assume a disciplinary role at a school, or to otherwise be assigned a duty involving student discipline that is inconsistent with the counselor's primary responsibility under Subsection (a) and additional responsibilities under this section. This subsection does not prohibit a school counselor from serving on: (1) a placement review committee under Section 37.003; or (2) a committee to review a student's placement in an alternative education program under Section 37.306. SECTION 2. Section 37.008, Education Code, is amended by amending Subsection (a) and adding Subsection (a-2) to read as follows: (a) Each school district shall provide a disciplinary alternative education program that: (1) is provided in a setting other than a student's regular classroom; (2) is located on or off of a regular school campus; (3) provides for the students who are assigned to the disciplinary alternative education program to be separated from students who are not assigned to the program; (4) focuses on English language arts, mathematics, science, history, and self-discipline; (5) provides for students' educational and behavioral needs; (6) provides supervision and counseling from a school counselor employed by the district;and (7) employs only teachers who meet all certification requirements established under Subchapter B, Chapter 21. (a-2) The minimum standards adopted by the agency under Subsection (a-1) must require a school district to consult with the district's school counselor in developing a plan for a student's transition from a disciplinary alternative education program to a regular campus. SECTION 3. This Act applies beginning with the 2019-2020 school year. SECTION 4. This Act takes effect immediately if it receives a vote of two-thirds of all the members elected to each house, as provided by Section 39, Article III, Texas Constitution.