Many state and local policymakers are reassessing the role of pupil services staff, e.g., school counselors, school psychologists, and school social workers.
Budgets are tight, and there are political pressures to pare down noninstructional support staff.
Yet schools are being asked to prepare children to work in the new global economy even while they must deal with serious social and family problems. This Policy Update looks at the different roles currently being discussed for pupil services professionals and reviews some of the policy issues to be considered. Traditionally, the primary responsibility of a school counselor has been to provide guidance on academic progress. A trend driven by our changing economy is to broaden this role into career development counseling, without assuming that college is always the next best step after high school for all students. Pupil services staff members are good candidates to fill these emerging roles.