Educational Counseling - Pupils - Education - CA

Section § 49600

This law encourages school districts to offer a thorough educational counseling program for students, ideally within a Multi-Tiered Systems of Support framework. Educational counseling is provided by qualified school counselors and includes support for academic, social-emotional, college, and career readiness.

School counselors are tasked with several duties such as providing both direct and indirect services, planning comprehensive programs, using data to improve student outcomes, working with community partners, promoting a safe learning environment, and addressing mental health needs.

Counseling covers areas like academic advising, postsecondary planning, career programs, and individualized plans for students at risk of not progressing. It also emphasizes collaboration with parents, particularly in plans leading to high school graduation and college readiness, and provides mental health resources.

(a) The governing board of a school district may, and is urged to, provide access to a comprehensive educational counseling program for all pupils enrolled in the school district. It is the intent of the Legislature that a school district that provides educational counseling to its pupils implement a structured and coherent counseling program within a Multi-Tiered Systems of Support framework.

(b) For purposes of this section, “educational counseling” means specialized services provided by a school counselor possessing a valid credential with a specialization in pupil personnel services who directly counsels pupils and implements equitable school programs and services that support pupils in their academic development, social emotional development, and college and career readiness.

(1) Engage with, advocate for, and provide both of the following services for all pupils:

(A) Direct services, including, but not limited to, individual counseling, group counseling, risk assessment, crisis response, and instructional services, including, but not limited to, mental health, behavioral, academic, and postsecondary educational services.

(B) Indirect services, including, but not limited to, positive school climate strategies, teacher and parent consultations, and referrals to public and private community services.

(2) Plan, implement, and evaluate comprehensive school counseling programs.

(3) Work within multi-tiered systems of support that use multiple data sources to monitor and improve pupil behavior, attendance, engagement, and achievement.

(4) Develop, coordinate, and supervise comprehensive pupil support systems in collaboration with teachers, administrators, other pupil personnel services professionals, families, community partners, and community agencies, including county mental health agencies.

(5) Promote and maintain a safe learning environment for all pupils by providing restorative practices, positive behavior interventions, and support services, and by developing and responding with a variety of intervention strategies to meet individual, group, and school community needs before, during, and after crisis response.

(6) Intervene to ameliorate school-related problems, including problems related to chronic absences and retention.

(7) Use research-based strategies to promote mental wellness, reduce mental health stigma, and identify characteristics, risk factors, and warning signs of pupils who develop, or are at risk of developing, mental health and behavioral disorders and who experience, or are at risk of experiencing, mistreatment, including mistreatment related to any form of conflict or bullying.

(8) Improve school climate and pupil well-being by, including, but not limited to, addressing the mental and behavioral health needs of pupils during their times of transition, separation, heightened stress, and critical changes, and accessing community programs and services to meet those needs.

(9) Enhance pupils’ social and emotional competence, character, health, civic engagement, cultural literacy, and commitment to lifelong learning and the pursuit of high-quality educational programs.

(10) Provide counseling services for unduplicated pupils who are classified as English learners, eligible for free or reduced-price meals, or foster youth in a manner that promotes equity and access to appropriate education systems and public and private services.

(11) Engage in continued development as a professional school counselor.

(d) Educational counseling shall include academic counseling and postsecondary services, in the following areas:

(1) Development and implementation, with parental involvement, of the pupil’s immediate and long-range educational plans.

(2) Optimizing progress towards achievement of proficiency standards and competencies.

(3) Completion of the required curriculum in accordance with the pupil’s needs, abilities, interests, and aptitudes.

(4) Academic planning for access and success in higher education programs, including advisement on courses needed for admission to colleges and universities, standardized admissions tests, and financial aid.

(5) Provide high-quality career programs at all grade levels for pupils, in which pupils are assisted in doing all of the following:

(A) Planning for the future, including, but not limited to, identifying personal interests, skills, and abilities, career planning, course selection, and career transition.

(B) Becoming aware of personal preferences and interests that influence educational and occupational exploration, career choice, and career success.

(C) Developing work self-efficacy for the ever-changing work environment, the changing needs of the workforce, and the effects of work on the quality of life.

(D) Understanding the relationship between academic achievement and career success, and the importance of maximizing career options.

(E) Understanding the value of participating in career technical education pathways, programs, and certifications, including, but not limited to, those related to regional occupational programs and centers, the federal program administered by the United States Department of Labor offering free education and vocational training to pupils, known as “Job Corps,” the California Conservation Corps, work-based learning, industry certifications, college preparation and credit, and employment opportunities.

(F) Understanding the need to develop essential employable skills and work habits.

(G) Understanding entrance requirements to the Armed Forces of the United States, including the benefits of the Armed Services Vocational Aptitude Battery (ASVAB) test.

(e) Educational counseling may also include counseling in any of the following:

(1) Individualized review of the academic and deportment records of a pupil.

(2) Advising pupils, in consultation with their parents and legal guardians when at all possible, who are at risk of not promoting or graduating with the rest of their class.

(3) Developing a list of coursework and experience necessary to assist each pupil in middle school to successfully transition to high school and meet all graduation requirements.

(4) In schools that enroll pupils in grades 6 to 12, inclusive, developing a list of coursework and experience necessary to assist and counsel each pupil to begin to satisfy the A–G requirements for admission to the University of California and the California State University and encourage participation in college preparation programs, including, but not limited to, the Advancement Via Individual Determination (AVID) program, and early college, dual enrollment, advanced placement, and international baccalaureate programs.

(5) Developing pupil knowledge of financial aid planning for postsecondary education by providing pupils with financial aid information, including, but not limited to, information on the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA), the California Dream Act application (CADAA), the Cal Grant Program established pursuant to Chapter 1.7 (commencing with Section 69430) of Part 42 of Division 5 of Title 3, local and national scholarship programs, financial aid programs and resources for foster and homeless youth, fee waiver programs, and other financial aid programs and options, and net college cost.

(6) Providing a copy of the lists developed pursuant to paragraph (4) to a pupil and the pupil’s parent or legal guardian, ensuring that the list of coursework and experience is part of the pupil’s cumulative record.

(7) Developing a list of coursework and experience for a pupil enrolled in grade 12, including options for continuing the pupil’s education if the pupil fails to meet graduation requirements. These options shall include, but are not limited to, all of the following:

(A) Enrolling in an adult education program.

(B) Enrolling in a community college.

(8) Providing a copy of the list of coursework and experiences developed pursuant to paragraph (7) to the pupil and the pupil’s parent or legal guardian, ensuring that the list of coursework and experience is part of the cumulative records of a pupil.

(9) Offering and scheduling an individual conference with each pupil in grades 10 and 12 who has not satisfied, or is not on track to satisfy, the curricular requirements for admission to the University of California and the California State University and to successfully transition to postsecondary education or employment, and providing the following information to the pupil and the pupil’s parent or legal guardian:

(A) The score of the pupil on the English language arts or mathematics portion of the California Assessment of Student Performance and Progress, established pursuant to Article 4 (commencing with Section 60640) of Chapter 5 of Part 33, administered in grade 6, as applicable.

(B) The availability of financial aid for postsecondary education.

(10) Providing mental and behavioral health services to which pupils receive prevention, early intervention, and short-term counseling services and receive classroom instruction in mental health to reduce stigma and increase awareness of counseling support services.

(11) Providing training to school staff to recognize mental health warning signs.

(f) This section does not prohibit persons participating in an organized advisory program approved by the governing board of a school district, and supervised by a school district counselor, from advising pupils pursuant to the organized advisory program.

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Section § 49601

This law requires the State Department of Education in California to create a career guidance model specifically for science and technology fields. The model was to be developed by December 31, 1986, and it targets students in grades 7 through 12, helping them understand job opportunities and educational requirements in these fields. The aim is to inform students about potential careers in science and technology and help them prepare for these paths. To develop this model, the department should use resources from both public and private organizations.

(a) The State Department of Education shall, no later than December 31, 1986, develop a career guidance model for science and technology for use in school district counseling programs, and shall make the model available to the governing boards of all school districts in this state.

(b) The model shall be designed to provide information for use in career guidance offered to pupils in grades 7 through 12, regarding the potential for employment, educational requirements, and other matters pertaining to careers in the fields of science and technology. The purposes of the model shall be to objectively acquaint pupils with the option of pursuing careers in those fields, and to advise them in a timely manner of the preparation necessary to undertaking those careers.

(c) In developing the model, the State Department of Education shall employ materials and other resources that are available from public and private organizations, to the extent appropriate for the purposes of this section.

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Section § 49602

This law ensures that personal information shared by students aged 12 and older during counseling sessions with school counselors is kept confidential and does not become part of the student's official records without consent. Exceptions to this confidentiality include discussing the information for referral purposes, mandatory reporting of child abuse, preventing immediate harm, and situations involving criminal activity. Counselors can also disclose information if a written waiver is signed or must share with law enforcement if ordered by a court. It protects school counselors from liability for maintaining confidentiality and encourages them to use confidentiality to help students communicate better. Personal information doesn't include routine academic or career guidance data.

Any information of a personal nature disclosed by a pupil 12 years of age or older in the process of receiving counseling from a school counselor as specified in Section 49600 is confidential. Any information of a personal nature disclosed to a school counselor by a parent or guardian of a pupil who is 12 years of age or older and who is in the process of receiving counseling from a school counselor as specified in Section 49600 is confidential. The information shall not become part of the pupil record, as defined in subdivision (b) of Section 49061, without the written consent of the person who disclosed the confidential information. The information shall not be revealed, released, discussed, or referred to, except as follows:

(a) Discussion with psychotherapists as defined by Section 1010 of the Evidence Code, other health care providers, or the school nurse, for the sole purpose of referring the pupil for treatment.

(b) Reporting of child abuse or neglect as required by Article 2.5 (commencing with Section 11165) of Chapter 2 of Title 1 of Part 4 of the Penal Code.

(c) Reporting information to the principal or parents of the pupil when the school counselor has reasonable cause to believe that disclosure is necessary to avert a clear and present danger to the health, safety, or welfare of the pupil or the following other persons living in the school community: administrators, teachers, school staff, parents, pupils, and other school community members.

(d) Reporting information to the principal, other persons inside the school, as necessary, the parents of the pupil, and other persons outside the school when the pupil indicates that a crime, involving the likelihood of personal injury or significant or substantial property losses, will be or has been committed.

(e) Reporting information to one or more persons specified in a written waiver after this written waiver of confidence is read and signed by the pupil and preserved in the pupil’s file.

Notwithstanding the provisions of this section, a school counselor shall not disclose information deemed to be confidential pursuant to this section to the parents of the pupil when the school counselor has reasonable cause to believe that the disclosure would result in a clear and present danger to the health, safety, or welfare of the pupil.

Notwithstanding the provisions of this section, a school counselor shall disclose information deemed to be confidential pursuant to this section to law enforcement agencies when ordered to do so by order of a court of law, to aid in the investigation of a crime, or when ordered to testify in any administrative or judicial proceeding.

Nothing in this section shall be deemed to limit access to pupil records as provided in Section 49076.

Nothing in this section shall be deemed to limit the counselor from conferring with other school staff, as appropriate, regarding modification of the pupil’s academic program.

It is the intent of the Legislature that counselors use the privilege of confidentiality under this section to assist the pupil whenever possible to communicate more effectively with parents, school staff, and others.

No person required by this section to keep information discussed during counseling confidential shall incur any civil or criminal liability as a result of keeping that information confidential.

As used in this section, “information of a personal nature” does not include routine objective information related to academic and career counseling.

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Section § 49603

This law states that public high schools, including charter schools and county education offices in California, must allow military recruiters the same access to campuses as any other employer. They cannot restrict the military from visiting students in grades 9 through 12.

'Military services' in this context refers to all branches of the United States military, reserves, the National Guard, State Guard, and active militia.

(a) Each school district, county office of education, and charter school offering instruction in any of grades 9 to 12, inclusive, that provides on-campus access to employers, shall not prohibit access to the military services.

(b) “Military services,” for purposes of this section, includes the United States Army, the United States Navy, the United States Air Force, the United States Marine Corps, the United States Coast Guard, the United States Space Force, or any reserve component of those federal forces, the National Guard, the State Guard, and the active militia.

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Section § 49604

This law requires California's Superintendent of Public Instruction to notify middle, junior high, and high schools about offering suicide prevention training for school counselors. The notice should include details on the availability of a training curriculum developed by the State Department of Education and explain how schools can access these services.

The Superintendent of Public Instruction shall send a notice to each middle school, junior high school, and high school that encourages each school to provide suicide prevention training to each school counselor at least one time while employed as a counselor, provides information on the availability of the suicide prevention training curriculum developed by the State Department of Education, and informs schools about the suicide prevention training provided by the department and describes how a school might retain those services.

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