HB 1743 — An Act amending the act of March 10, 1949 (P.L.30, No.14), known as the Public School Code of 1949, providing for comprehensive school counseling services.

PRINTER'S NO.   2145

                     THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF PENNSYLVANIA



                         HOUSE BILL
                         No. 1743
                                                  Session of
                                                    2025

     INTRODUCED BY STEELE, KHAN, SANCHEZ, PROBST, HILL-EVANS, WAXMAN,
        ABNEY, RIVERA, SCHLOSSBERG, INGLIS, D. WILLIAMS, KRAJEWSKI
        AND CIRESI, JULY 16, 2025

     REFERRED TO COMMITTEE ON EDUCATION, JULY 16, 2025


                                       AN ACT
 1   Amending the act of March 10, 1949 (P.L.30, No.14), entitled "An
 2      act relating to the public school system, including certain
 3      provisions applicable as well to private and parochial
 4      schools; amending, revising, consolidating and changing the
 5      laws relating thereto," providing for comprehensive school
 6      counseling services.
 7      The General Assembly of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania
 8   hereby enacts as follows:
 9      Section 1.     The act of March 10, 1949 (P.L.30, No.14), known
10   as the Public School Code of 1949, is amended by adding an
11   article to read:
12                               ARTICLE XIII-F
13               COMPREHENSIVE SCHOOL COUNSELING SERVICES
14   Section 1301-F.    Definitions.
15      The following words and phrases when used in this article
16   shall have the meanings given to them in this section unless the
17   context clearly indicates otherwise:
18      "Administrative activities."      Activities that are not
19   directly related to the plan and that are absent of any direct
 1   student services or interaction.
 2      "Department."      The Department of Education of the
 3   Commonwealth.
 4      "Direct services."       As follows:
 5          (1)   Services that are provided through face-to-face
 6      contact with students.
 7          (2)   The term includes the following:
 8                (i)    Classroom instruction.
 9                (ii)    Individual and group counseling for students.
10                (iii)    Responsive services on behalf of a student
11          whose immediate personal concerns and problems put the
12          student's academic, career or social and emotional
13          development at risk. Responsive services include the
14          administration of a risk-assessment.
15                (iv)    Interventions for a student who is:
16                       (A)   at risk of dropping out of school; or
17                       (B)   exhibiting dangerous behaviors, such as drug
18                use, self-harm or gang activity.
19      "Indirect services."       Consultations among a student, a parent
20   or legal guardian of the student, school staff and community
21   agencies concerning the student's academic, career or social and
22   emotional needs.
23      "Plan."   The comprehensive school counseling plan under
24   section 1302-F.
25      "School entity."       Any of the following:
26          (1)   A school district.
27          (2)   (Reserved).
28          (3)   An intermediate unit as described in Article IX-A.
29          (4)   A charter school as defined in section 1703-A.
30          (5)   A cyber charter school as defined in section 1703-A.

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 1            (6)   A regional charter school as defined in section
 2      1703-A.
 3            (7)   An area career and technical school as described in
 4      section 1841.
 5   Section 1302-F.    Comprehensive school counseling plan.
 6      (a)   Authorization and purpose.--Each school entity shall
 7   develop and implement a written comprehensive school counseling
 8   plan that ensures that student services are coordinated in a
 9   manner that provides comprehensive and developmental support to
10   all students of the school entity.
11      (b)   Requirements generally.--A plan must:
12            (1)   Be implemented by a Pennsylvania-certified school
13      counselor or counseling team working within each school in
14      the school entity.
15            (2)   Utilize nationally recognized and State-recognized
16      counselor frameworks.
17            (3)   Be reviewed annually and updated as needed by the
18      school counselor or counseling team, in collaboration with
19      each affected building principal as well as other
20      stakeholders and staff of each school entity.
21            (4)   Be systemically aligned from kindergarten through
22      grade 12 within the school entity, including transitions
23      across schools within the school entity.
24            (5)   Include sections for each grade and building within
25      the school entity, including student transitions between
26      grades and buildings as well as student transition to other
27      school entities.
28            (6)   Be reflected in and integrated alongside the school
29      entity's student services plan as required under 22 Pa. Code
30      § 4.13 (relating to strategic plans) or any successor

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 1    regulation.
 2    (c)   Components.--A plan must contain the following:
 3          (1)   A foundation component, which must include:
 4                (i)    A vision statement.
 5                (ii)    A mission statement.
 6                (iii)    Plan goals.
 7          (2)   A management component, which utilizes assessments
 8    and other data to develop, implement and evaluate the plan.
 9          (3)   A delivery component, which focuses on direct
10    services and indirect services through the implementation of
11    the plan and which shall include:
12                (i)    A plan for each grade taught by the school
13          entity.
14                (ii)    A plan for students with individualized
15          education plans and other special needs.
16                (iii)    A plan for each building in the school entity,
17          if applicable.
18          (4)   An accountability component, which ensures regular
19    analysis of the plan.
20    (d)   Contents.--A plan must:
21          (1)   Guide students in academic pursuits, career planning
22    and social and emotional learning.
23          (2)   Follow the comprehensive school counseling program
24    guidance provided by the department.
25          (3)   Include goals that are developed annually based on
26    the vision and mission statements that are shared by
27    stakeholders to ensure equitable access to opportunities for
28    all students.
29          (4)   Identify student needs through a multilevel school
30    data review that includes:

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 1                  (i)    Data analysis.
 2                  (ii)    Use-of-time data review.
 3                  (iii)    Program results data.
 4                  (iv)    Communication and contact with administrators,
 5            students, parents and guardians of students and
 6            stakeholders.
 7   Section 1303-F.        School counselor use of time.
 8      (a)   General requirement.--Sufficient time at each school
 9   entity shall be allotted for the school entity's counselor to
10   carry out the duties stated in the school entity's plan.
11      (b)   Direct and indirect services.--
12            (1)   A school counselor shall spend at least 80% of the
13      school counselor's working time during student contact days
14      providing direct services and indirect services to students.
15            (2)   Direct services and indirect services may be
16      provided in collaboration with other school personnel and
17      include:
18                  (i)    Providing academic advisement services,
19            including:
20                         (A)   Developing an individual planning system to
21                  guide a student to access and monitor the student's
22                  own educational, career and social and emotional
23                  progress.
24                         (B)   Guiding a student along the pathways to
25                  graduation.
26                         (C)   Guiding a student in goal-setting
27                  experiences and course selection aligned with the
28                  student's postsecondary goals.
29                         (D)   Addressing accelerated learning
30                  opportunities.

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 1                    (E)   Addressing academic deficits and the
 2             accessibility of resources.
 3                    (F)   Providing student assessment reviews,
 4             interest inventories or academic results needed to
 5             develop, review and revise a student's plan of study.
 6                    (G)   Providing support for students who show
 7             potential so they are more likely to engage in
 8             rigorous coursework and take advantage of
 9             postsecondary opportunities.
10             (ii)    Providing a career planning process, including:
11                    (A)   Guidance in understanding the relationship
12             between classroom performance and success in school
13             and beyond.
14                    (B)   The provision of resources to identify
15             career interests and aptitudes to assist a student in
16             age-appropriate college and career planning.
17                    (C)   Guidance in understanding the advantages of
18             completing career certifications and internships.
19                    (D)   Interpretation of augmented, criterion-
20             referenced or norm-referenced assessments for
21             students and parents or guardians of students.
22                    (E)   The provision of information to a parent or
23             legal guardian of a student, such as through
24             workshops on preparing for college, financial aid and
25             career opportunities.
26                    (F)   Encouragement to a parent or legal guardian
27             of a student to support partnerships in the student's
28             learning and career planning processes.
29             (iii)    Providing social and emotional skills designed
30        to support students, including programs to:

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 1                    (A)   Promote cultural and social awareness,
 2             positive communication and relationship skills,
 3             collaboration with others and responsible decision
 4             making.
 5                    (B)   Improve culture and climate in the school
 6             entity so that all students can feel that they are in
 7             a safe and supportive environment.
 8                    (C)   Develop conflict-resolution skills.
 9                    (D)   Prevent bullying, including:
10                          (I)    Training programs for school employees
11                    regarding how to recognize bullying behaviors.
12                          (II)    Protocols for responding to bullying
13                    that is occurring in the school entity.
14                          (III)    Strategies that support a student who
15                    is being bullied.
16                          (IV)    Strategies that help a bystander speak
17                    out against bullying.
18                    (E)   Address age-appropriate suicide awareness
19             and prevention through:
20                          (I)     Strategies that help identify a student
21                    who is at risk for suicide.
22                          (II)    Strategies and protocols that help a
23                    student who is at risk for suicide.
24                          (III)    Protocols for responding to a suicide
25                    death.
26             (iv)    Intervening with students who are at risk of
27        dropping out of school to determine if there is a way to
28        keep the students in school.
29             (v)    Providing orientation programs for new students
30        and transferring students at each level of education.

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 1                (vi)    Serving as a contributing member of decision-
 2          making teams and programs, which include:
 3                       (A)   Teams that are convened under 29 U.S.C. §
 4                794 (relating to nondiscrimination under Federal
 5                grants and programs).
 6                       (B)   Multitiered System of Supports or Response
 7                to Intervention teams.
 8                       (C)   English language learner programs.
 9                       (D)   Parental involvement or family engagement
10                programs.
11                       (E)   Positive behavioral intervention support
12                programs.
13                       (F)   Advanced placement and gifted and talented
14                programs.
15    (c)   Administrative activities.--
16          (1)   Administrative activities performed by a school
17    counselor shall not exceed more than 20% of the school
18    counselor's time spent working during student contact days.
19          (2)   Administrative activities provided by a school
20    counselor in collaboration with other school personnel
21    include:
22                (i)    Coordinating State assessments, cognitive
23          achievement assessments, advanced placement programs and
24          language acquisition testing programs.
25                (ii)    Developing master schedules.
26                (iii)    Coordinating the following:
27                       (A)   Teams that are convened under 29 U.S.C. §
28                794.
29                       (B)   Response to Intervention teams.
30                       (C)   English language learner programs.

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 1                         (D)   Parental involvement or family engagement
 2                  programs.
 3                         (E)   Positive behavioral intervention support
 4                  programs.
 5                         (F)   Advanced placement and gifted and talented
 6                  programs.
 7                         (G)   Data entry.
 8                  (iv)    Monitoring students in common areas, such as
 9            the cafeteria, a hallway, the playground or bus lines.
10   Section 1304-F.        Monitoring and support.
11      (a)   Posting of plan.--Each school entity shall be
12   responsible for posting its plan on the school entity's publicly
13   accessible Internet website or, in the alternative, on the
14   publicly accessible Internet website of the school entity's
15   school district, under the category of State-required
16   information.
17      (b)   Oversight.--Beginning with the 2025-2026 school year,
18   the department shall monitor each school entity to ensure
19   implementation and compliance with this article.
20      (c)   Departmental duties.--The department shall:
21            (1)   Employ at least one individual who is certified as a
22      school counselor.
23            (2)   Provide a multilevel system of support to school
24      entities to assist in complying with this article.
25            (3)   Provide guidance and technical assistance to school
26      entities to support equitable access to school counseling
27      services.
28      Section 2.     This act shall take effect immediately.




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