HB 249 — An Act amending the act of March 10, 1949 (P.L.30, No.14), known as the Public School Code of 1949, providing for school counseling services.

PRINTER'S NO.   199

                     THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF PENNSYLVANIA



                         HOUSE BILL
                         No. 249
                                                  Session of
                                                    2025

     INTRODUCED BY SCIALABBA, KAUFFMAN, STAATS, DAY AND WALSH,
        JANUARY 22, 2025

     REFERRED TO COMMITTEE ON EDUCATION, JANUARY 22, 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 school counseling
 6      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                         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
20   student services or interaction.
 1      "Department."      The Department of Education of the
 2   Commonwealth.
 3      "Direct services."       As follows:
 4          (1)   Services that are provided through face-to-face
 5      contact with students.
 6          (2)   The term includes the following:
 7                (i)    Classroom instruction.
 8                (ii)    Individual and group counseling for students.
 9                (iii)    Responsive services on behalf of a student
10          whose academic or career development is at risk.
11          Responsive services include the administration of a risk-
12          assessment.
13                (iv)    Interventions for a student who is:
14                       (A)   at risk of dropping out of school; or
15                       (B)   exhibiting dangerous behaviors, such as drug
16                use, self-harm or gang activity.
17      "Indirect services."       Consultations among a student, a parent
18   or legal guardian of the student, school staff and community
19   agencies concerning the student's academic or career needs.
20      "Plan."   The school counseling plan under section 1302-F.
21      "School entity."       Any of the following:
22          (1)   A school district of any class.
23          (2)   An intermediate unit as described in Article IX-A.
24          (3)   A charter school as defined in section 1703-A.
25          (4)   A cyber charter school as defined in section 1703-A.
26          (5)   A regional charter school as defined in section
27      1703-A.
28          (6)   An area career and technical school as described in
29      section 1841.
30   Section 1302-F.      School counseling plan.

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 1      (a)   Authorization and purpose.--A school entity shall
 2   develop and implement a written school counseling plan that
 3   ensures that student services are coordinated in a manner that
 4   provides academic or career developmental support to all
 5   students of the school entity.
 6      (b)   Requirements generally.--A plan shall:
 7            (1)   Be implemented by a Pennsylvania-certified school
 8      counselor.
 9            (2)   Utilize nationally recognized and State-recognized
10      counselor frameworks, which may not include medical guidance,
11      social and emotional learning, critical race theory or
12      behavioral health.
13            (3)   Be reviewed annually and updated as needed by the
14      school counselor, in collaboration with the affected building
15      principal and other stakeholders, including parents or legal
16      guardians of enrolled students.
17            (4)   Be systemically aligned to kindergarten through
18      grade 12 within the school entity.
19      (c)   Components.--A plan shall contain the following:
20            (1)   A foundation component that includes:
21                  (i)    A vision statement.
22                  (ii)    A mission statement.
23                  (iii)    Plan goals.
24            (2)   A management component that utilizes assessments and
25      other data to develop, implement and evaluate the plan.
26            (3)   A delivery component that focuses on direct services
27      and indirect services through the implementation of the plan.
28            (4)   An accountability component that ensures regular
29      analysis of the plan.
30      (d)   Guidance.--A plan shall:

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 1            (1)   Guide students in academic pursuits and career
 2      planning.
 3            (2)   Follow the school counseling plan guidance provided
 4      by the department that is limited to academic pursuits and
 5      career planning.
 6   Section 1303-F.        School counselor use of time.
 7      (a)   General requirement.--A school entity shall allot
 8   sufficient time for the school entity's counselor to carry out
 9   the duties stated in the school entity's plan.
10      (b)   Direct services and indirect services.--Direct services
11   and indirect services may be provided in collaboration with
12   other school personnel, parents or legal guardians, as provided
13   herein or otherwise deemed appropriate, and include:
14            (1)   Providing academic advisement services, including:
15                  (i)    Developing an individual planning system to
16            guide a student to access and monitor the student's own
17            academic and career progress.
18                  (ii)    Guiding a student along the pathways to
19            graduation.
20                  (iii)    Guiding a student in goal-setting and course
21            selection aligned with the student's post-secondary
22            goals, including college education, trade and industrial
23            education and military service.
24                  (iv)    Addressing accelerated learning opportunities.
25                  (v)    Addressing academic deficits and the
26            accessibility of resources.
27                  (vi)    Providing student assessment reviews, interest
28            inventories or academic results needed to develop, review
29            and revise a student's plan of study.
30                  (vii)    Providing support for students who show

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 1        potential so they are more likely to engage in rigorous
 2        coursework and take advantage of post-secondary
 3        opportunities.
 4        (2)   Providing a career-planning process, including:
 5              (i)     Guidance in understanding the relationship
 6        between classroom performance and success in school and
 7        beyond.
 8              (ii)    The provision of resources to identify career
 9        interests and aptitudes to assist a student in age-
10        appropriate college and career planning, including trade
11        and industrial education and military service.
12              (iii)    Guidance in understanding the advantages of
13        completing career certifications, Junior Reserve
14        Officers' Training Corps, apprenticeships and
15        internships.
16              (iv)    Interpretation of augmented, criterion-
17        referenced or norm-referenced assessments for students
18        and parents or guardians of students.
19              (v)    The provision of information to a parent or
20        legal guardian of a student, such as through workshops on
21        preparing for college, a trade, military service,
22        financial aid and career opportunities.
23              (vi)    Encouragement to a parent or legal guardian of
24        a student to support partnerships in the student's
25        learning and career-planning processes.
26        (3)   Providing skills designed to:
27              (i)    Address bullying, including:
28                     (A)   Training programs for school employees
29              regarding how to recognize bullying behaviors.
30                     (B)   Protocols for responding to bullying that is

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 1              occurring in the school entity.
 2                     (C)   Strategies that support a student who is
 3              being bullied.
 4                     (D)   Protocols for immediate parental or legal
 5              guardian inclusion when responding to all bullying
 6              activity, including initial and subsequent
 7              interactions with students. Anti-bullying materials
 8              must be shared with parents or legal guardians in
 9              advance of being shared with students.
10              (ii)    Address suicide through:
11                     (A)   Strategies that help identify a student who
12              is at risk for suicide. Parents or legal guardians
13              must be immediately notified if their student is
14              considered at risk for suicide.
15                     (B)   Strategies and protocols that help a student
16              who is at risk for suicide, including parental or
17              legal guardian involvement, absent good cause shown
18              as to why the parent or legal guardian should not be
19              involved. If a parent or legal guardian is not
20              involved, the school entity must obtain a court order
21              to that effect.
22                     (C)   Protocols for responding to a suicide death.
23        (4)   Intervening with students who are at risk of
24    dropping out of school to determine if there is a way to keep
25    the students in school.
26        (5)   Providing orientation programs for new students and
27    transferring students at each level of education.
28        (6)   Serving as a contributing member of decision-making
29    teams and programs, which include:
30              (i)    Teams that are convened under section 504 of the

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 1            Rehabilitation Act of 1973 (Public Law 93-112, 29 U.S.C.
 2            § 701 et seq.).
 3                  (ii)    Multitiered System of Supports or Response to
 4            Intervention teams.
 5                  (iii)    English language learner programs.
 6                  (iv)    Parental or legal guardian involvement or
 7            family engagement programs.
 8                  (v)    Advanced placement and gifted and talented
 9            programs.
10      (c)   Administrative activities.--Administrative activities
11   provided by a school counselor in collaboration with other
12   school personnel include:
13            (1)   Coordinating State assessments, cognitive
14      achievement assessments, advanced placement programs and
15      language acquisition testing programs.
16            (2)   Developing master schedules.
17            (3)   Coordinating the following:
18                  (i)    Teams that are convened under section 504 of the
19            Rehabilitation Act of 1973.
20                  (ii)    Response to Intervention teams.
21                  (iii)    English language learner programs.
22                  (iv)    Parental or legal guardian involvement or
23            family engagement programs.
24                  (v)    Advanced placement and gifted and talented
25            programs.
26                  (vi)    Data entry.
27            (4)   Monitoring students in common areas, such as the
28      cafeteria, a hallway, the playground or bus lines.
29   Section 1304-F.        Posting the school counseling plan.
30      A school entity shall post its school counseling plan on the

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 1   school entity's publicly accessible Internet website or, in the
 2   alternative, on the publicly accessible Internet website of the
 3   school entity's school district, under the category of State-
 4   required information.
 5   Section 1305-F.     Parental notification and private right of
 6                  action.
 7      (a)   Policy.--The governing body of a school entity in the
 8   Commonwealth shall adopt a policy concerning school guidance and
 9   counseling programs in the schools under its jurisdiction. At a
10   minimum, the policy shall contain the following:
11            (1)   A provision for written notification, at least
12      annually or more frequently if required in the policy, to
13      parents or legal guardians about the academic and career
14      guidance programs that are available to their children. The
15      notification shall include the purpose and general
16      description of the programs, information regarding ways
17      parents or legal guardians may review materials to be used in
18      guidance and counseling programs at their child's school and
19      information about the procedures by which parents or legal
20      guardians may limit their child's participation in the
21      programs. If social or emotional programs are available or
22      provided, parents or legal guardians must be provided notice
23      of the programs and the associated materials at least two
24      weeks prior to student engagement with the program.
25            (2)   A provision prohibiting the use of counseling
26      techniques that are beyond the scope of the professional
27      certification or training of school counselors, including
28      counseling techniques that are normally employed in medical
29      or clinical settings and focus on mental illness, behavioral
30      health or psychopathology.

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 1            (3)   A provision requiring that information and records
 2      of social and emotional counseling be kept confidential and
 3      separate from a student's educational records and not
 4      disclosed to third parties without prior parental consent or
 5      as otherwise provided by law.
 6            (4)   A provision with respect to social and emotional
 7      counseling stating the procedures by which parents or legal
 8      guardians can elect in writing to have their child opt in to
 9      the counseling. In no event shall a governing body require
10      affirmative parental consent for one-time counseling that is
11      needed to maintain order, discipline or prevent immediate
12      harm to a student. Parents or legal guardians must be present
13      at all times that a student is counseled in the context of
14      social and emotional learning or counseling.
15            (5)   A provision that provides for the meaningful
16      inclusion of a parent or legal guardian when a student
17      receives direct services or indirect services from a school
18      counselor.
19      (b)   Private right of action.--If a parent or legal guardian
20   of a student reasonably believes that the parent or legal
21   guardian has been denied meaningful involvement in counseling or
22   access to the student when receiving direct services or indirect
23   services from a school counselor without good cause, the parent
24   or legal guardian shall have a private right of action against
25   the governing body of the school entity.
26      Section 2.    This act shall take effect immediately.




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