HOUSE BILL REPORT
HB 1964
BYRepresentatives Walker, Valle, Pruitt, Holland, Betrozoff, Peery, Doty, May, Schoon, Todd and Spanel
Authorizing funds for elementary school counseling and intervention services.
House Committe on Education
Majority Report: Do pass with amendment. (20)
Signed by Representatives Peery, Chair, Spanel, Vice Chair, Appelwick, Betrozoff, Butterfield, Cole, Cooper, Ebersole, Holland, Holm, P. King, Pruitt, Rasmussen, Rayburn, Rust, Schoon, Taylor, Todd, Valle and Walker.
House Staff:Susan Patrick (786-7111)
AS REPORTED BY COMMITTEE ON EDUCATION FEBRUARY 3, 1988
BACKGROUND:
A student's ability to learn may be affected by the complexities of modern life including drug and alcohol abuse, child abuse, poverty and transiency. These influences, and many others, may not be readily apparent, but may present e, themselves in school failure, absenteeism, drug and alcohol abuse, dropping out and delinquency. Some school districts offer a variety of specialized programs to address these problems. Other school districts have elected to use school counselors to provide the assistance and support necessary to children and their families.
SUMMARY:
BILL AS AMENDED: The Superintendent of Public Instruction shall grant funds for the employment of elementary school counselors or intervention specialists to school districts which submit an application and meet specific criteria. To be eligible, a district must not currently employ an elementary counselor or intervention specialist. The district must commit matching funds equal to the grant they will receive to the employment of an elementary counselor or intervention specialist. The grant will provide one elementary counselor or intervention specialist for schools with three hundred or more students and a half-time counselor or intervention specialist for schools with less than three hundred students. The district must have developed a plan for an annual evaluation of the effectiveness of the elementary counselor or intervention specialist. The evaluation should consider the number of contacts with parents, students and teachers, types of problems identified, community referrals and effectiveness of the service provided. The districts shall report to the Superintendent of Public Instruction no later than August 1, 1989 to enable the superintendent to report to the legislature no later than January 15, 1990 on the effectiveness of the programs.
One-third of the projects may elect to hire intervention specialists. An intervention specialist is a social worker, nurse, or school psychologist. The elementary school counselor or intervention specialist must be certified as an educational staff associate.
School districts awarded the grants may enter into cooperative agreements or contract for the provision of counseling or intervention services with another school district or the appropriate educational service district. The service provider must spend the majority of the total time contracted for within the school building to assure that he or she is knowledgeable of the unique nature of the individual school and the families and children it serves.
Schools with three hundred or more students may receive a maximum of fifteen thousand dollars. Schools with less than three hundred students shall receive a maximum of seven thousand five hundred dollars. No district or cooperative of districts may receive more than fifteen thousand dollars.
The superintendent of public instruction shall appoint a volunteer advisory committee on elementary school counseling and intervention specialists composed of a counselor, intervention specialist, principal, parent, classroom teacher and administrator and a member of the superintendent of public instruction's staff. The committee shall develop criteria for the award of funds which will assure that the funds are distributed between large, small, urban, rural, eastern and western Washington and what criteria should be used to award funds if more applications are received than can be funded by the appropriation made for this purpose. Additional criteria may include lack of counseling services in the community, location within the district of an early childhood assistance program, and participation in adult literacy classes for parents of at-risk children.
The sum of three hundred thousand dollars is appropriated for the biennium ending June 30, 1989.
AMENDED BILL COMPARED TO ORIGINAL: When determining whether a district has employed a school counselor or intervention specialist; the decision should be based on whether these specialists are employed in the building which will benefit from the grant.
Appropriation: $300,000 to the Superintendent of Public Instruction.
Fiscal Note: Requested January 15, 1988.
House Committee ‑ Testified For: Evan Humphreys, Counselor, North Thurston School District, Washington School Counselor's Association; Amy Keselburg, Student; Rick Klumpar, Association of Washington School Principals; Ann Olson, PTA and Washington Roundtable; John Kvamme, PTA; Bob Fisher, Washington Education Association; Judy Hartmann, Superintendent of Public Instruction; Monica Schmidt, State Board of Education; and Roger Valentine, Washington School Counselor's Association; Becky Bogard, Washington Association of School Counseling and Development.
House Committee - Testified Against: None Presented.
House Committee - Testimony For: In modern life it is important that we provide students the support they need to address the pressures of our society. Even at the elementary level children must face the problems of divorce, substance abuse, suicide, depression, and family problems such as alcoholic or mentally ill parents. The support we provide at an early age can prevent the need for crisis intervention on long standing problems at the high school level. It is a cost effective investment in our youth.
House Committee - Testimony Against: None Presented.