BILL REQ. #:  H-4850.2 

READ FIRST TIME 02/03/06.   

     AN ACT Relating to creating a comprehensive guidance, counseling, and planning program in schools; adding a new section to chapter 28A.600 RCW; and creating new sections.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF WASHINGTON:

NEW SECTION.  Sec. 1   The legislature recognizes that there are specific skills and a body of knowledge that each student needs to chart a course through middle school, high school, and posthigh school options. Each student needs active involvement from parents and at least one supportive adult in the school who knows the student well and cares about the student's progress and future. Effective guidance and counseling programs are essential to creating a learning environment where staff, students, and their families work cooperatively to create a personalized educational experience for every student. To empower and motivate all students and parents to take a greater role in charting the students' own educational experiences, the legislature intends to strengthen schools' guidance, counseling, and planning programs.

NEW SECTION.  Sec. 2   A new section is added to chapter 28A.600 RCW to read as follows:
     (1) The legislature encourages each middle school, junior high school, and high school to implement a comprehensive guidance, counseling, and planning program for all students. The purpose of the program is to support students as they navigate their education and plan their future; encourage an ongoing and personal relationship between each student and an adult in the school; and involve parents in students' educational decisions and plans.
     (2) A comprehensive guidance, counseling, and planning program is a program that contains at least the following components:
     (a) A curriculum intended to provide the skills and knowledge students need to select courses, explore options, plan for their future, and take steps to implement their plans. The curriculum may include such topics as analysis of students' test results; assessments of student interests and aptitude; goal-setting skills; planning for high school course selection; independent living skills; and postsecondary options and how to access them;
     (b) Regular meetings between each student and a teacher or counselor who serves as an advisor and mentor throughout the student's enrollment at the school;
     (c) Student-led conferences with the student's parents, guardians, or family members and the student's advisor for the purpose of demonstrating the student's accomplishments; identifying weaknesses; planning and selecting courses; and setting long-term goals; and
     (d) Data collection that allows schools to monitor students' progress.

NEW SECTION.  Sec. 3   (1) Subject to the availability of funds appropriated for this purpose, the superintendent of public instruction shall:
     (a) Develop and disseminate the curriculum for the comprehensive guidance, counseling, and planning program under section 2 of this act to all school districts no later than the beginning of the 2006-07 school year;
     (b) Develop and disseminate electronic student planning tools and a software package to analyze the impact of the implementation of the program on student performance;
     (c) Develop and conduct regional training seminars for teachers on the curriculum and on counseling and mentoring skills;
     (d) Monitor and evaluate implementation of the program during the fall of 2006 in order to revise and improve the curriculum by the spring of 2007; and
     (e) Allocate grants to selected schools for the purpose of implementing the program. The superintendent shall develop and publish the grant selection criteria, number of awards, and award amounts. The first round of at least twenty-five grant recipients shall be selected and notified by September 2006. The second round of at least seventy-five grant recipients shall be selected and notified by January 2007. The purpose of the grants is to provide time for school staff to plan and integrate the comprehensive program into their schools. To the extent possible, the superintendent shall include representation from school districts of varying sizes and from different geographic regions of the state in the grant allocation.
     (2) By January 1, 2009, the superintendent of public instruction shall report to the education committees of the legislature regarding the impact of comprehensive guidance, counseling, and planning programs on student performance.