Public Act 102-0876
 
SB3990 EnrolledLRB102 24438 CMG 33672 b

    AN ACT concerning education.
 
    Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois,
represented in the General Assembly:
 
    Section 5. The School Code is amended by changing Section
10-22.24b as follows:
 
    (105 ILCS 5/10-22.24b)
    Sec. 10-22.24b. School counseling services. School
counseling services in public schools may be provided by
school counselors as defined in Section 10-22.24a of this Code
or by individuals who hold a Professional Educator License
with a school support personnel endorsement in the area of
school counseling under Section 21B-25 of this Code.
    School counseling services may include, but are not
limited to:
        (1) designing and delivering a comprehensive school
    counseling program that promotes student achievement and
    wellness;
        (2) incorporating the common core language into the
    school counselor's work and role;
        (3) school counselors working as culturally skilled
    professionals who act sensitively to promote social
    justice and equity in a pluralistic society;
        (4) providing individual and group counseling;
        (5) providing a core counseling curriculum that serves
    all students and addresses the knowledge and skills
    appropriate to their developmental level through a
    collaborative model of delivery involving the school
    counselor, classroom teachers, and other appropriate
    education professionals, and including prevention and
    pre-referral activities;
        (6) making referrals when necessary to appropriate
    offices or outside agencies;
        (7) providing college and career development
    activities and counseling;
        (8) developing individual career plans with students,
    which includes planning for post-secondary education, as
    appropriate, and engaging in related and relevant career
    and technical education coursework in high school as
    described in paragraph (55);
        (9) assisting all students with a college or
    post-secondary education plan, which must include a
    discussion on all post-secondary education options,
    including 4-year colleges or universities, community
    colleges, and vocational schools, and includes planning
    for post-secondary education, as appropriate, and engaging
    in related and relevant career and technical education
    coursework in high school as described in paragraph (55);
        (10) intentionally addressing the career and college
    needs of first generation students;
        (11) educating all students on scholarships, financial
    aid, and preparation of the Federal Application for
    Federal Student Aid;
        (12) collaborating with institutions of higher
    education and local community colleges so that students
    understand post-secondary education options and are ready
    to transition successfully;
        (13) providing crisis intervention and contributing to
    the development of a specific crisis plan within the
    school setting in collaboration with multiple
    stakeholders;
        (14) educating students, teachers, and parents on
    anxiety, depression, cutting, and suicide issues and
    intervening with students who present with these issues;
        (15) providing counseling and other resources to
    students who are in crisis;
        (16) providing resources for those students who do not
    have access to mental health services;
        (17) addressing bullying and conflict resolution with
    all students;
        (18) teaching communication skills and helping
    students develop positive relationships;
        (19) using culturally-sensitive skills in working with
    all students to promote wellness;
        (20) addressing the needs of undocumented students in
    the school, as well as students who are legally in the
    United States, but whose parents are undocumented;
        (21) contributing to a student's functional behavioral
    assessment, as well as assisting in the development of
    non-aversive behavioral intervention strategies;
        (22) (i) assisting students in need of special
    education services by implementing the academic supports
    and social-emotional and college or career development
    counseling services or interventions per a student's
    individualized education program (IEP); (ii) participating
    in or contributing to a student's IEP and completing a
    social-developmental history; or (iii) providing services
    to a student with a disability under the student's IEP or
    federal Section 504 plan, as recommended by the student's
    IEP team or Section 504 plan team and in compliance with
    federal and State laws and rules governing the provision
    of educational and related services and school-based
    accommodations to students with disabilities and the
    qualifications of school personnel to provide such
    services and accommodations;
        (23) assisting in the development of a personal
    educational plan with each student;
        (24) educating students on dual credit and learning
    opportunities on the Internet;
        (25) providing information for all students in the
    selection of courses that will lead to post-secondary
    education opportunities toward a successful career;
        (26) interpreting achievement test results and guiding
    students in appropriate directions;
        (27) counseling with students, families, and teachers,
    in compliance with federal and State laws;
        (28) providing families with opportunities for
    education and counseling as appropriate in relation to the
    student's educational assessment;
        (29) consulting and collaborating with teachers and
    other school personnel regarding behavior management and
    intervention plans and inclusion in support of students;
        (30) teaming and partnering with staff, parents,
    businesses, and community organizations to support student
    achievement and social-emotional learning standards for
    all students;
        (31) developing and implementing school-based
    prevention programs, including, but not limited to,
    mediation and violence prevention, implementing social and
    emotional education programs and services, and
    establishing and implementing bullying prevention and
    intervention programs;
        (32) developing culturally-sensitive assessment
    instruments for measuring school counseling prevention and
    intervention effectiveness and collecting, analyzing, and
    interpreting data;
        (33) participating on school and district committees
    to advocate for student programs and resources, as well as
    establishing a school counseling advisory council that
    includes representatives of key stakeholders selected to
    review and advise on the implementation of the school
    counseling program;
        (34) acting as a liaison between the public schools
    and community resources and building relationships with
    important stakeholders, such as families, administrators,
    teachers, and board members;
        (35) maintaining organized, clear, and useful records
    in a confidential manner consistent with Section 5 of the
    Illinois School Student Records Act, the Family
    Educational Rights and Privacy Act, and the Health
    Insurance Portability and Accountability Act;
        (36) presenting an annual agreement to the
    administration, including a formal discussion of the
    alignment of school and school counseling program missions
    and goals and detailing specific school counselor
    responsibilities;
        (37) identifying and implementing
    culturally-sensitive measures of success for student
    competencies in each of the 3 domains of academic, social
    and emotional, and college and career learning based on
    planned and periodic assessment of the comprehensive
    developmental school counseling program;
        (38) collaborating as a team member in Response to
    Intervention (RtI) and other school initiatives;
        (39) conducting observations and participating in
    recommendations or interventions regarding the placement
    of children in educational programs or special education
    classes;
        (40) analyzing data and results of school counseling
    program assessments, including curriculum, small-group,
    and closing-the-gap results reports, and designing
    strategies to continue to improve program effectiveness;
        (41) analyzing data and results of school counselor
    competency assessments;
        (42) following American School Counselor Association
    Ethical Standards for School Counselors to demonstrate
    high standards of integrity, leadership, and
    professionalism;
        (43) knowing and embracing common core standards by
    using common core language;
        (44) practicing as a culturally-skilled school
    counselor by infusing the multicultural competencies
    within the role of the school counselor, including the
    practice of culturally-sensitive attitudes and beliefs,
    knowledge, and skills;
        (45) infusing the Social-Emotional Standards, as
    presented in the State Board of Education standards,
    across the curriculum and in the counselor's role in ways
    that empower and enable students to achieve academic
    success across all grade levels;
        (46) providing services only in areas in which the
    school counselor has appropriate training or expertise, as
    well as only providing counseling or consulting services
    within his or her employment to any student in the
    district or districts which employ such school counselor,
    in accordance with professional ethics;
        (47) having adequate training in supervision knowledge
    and skills in order to supervise school counseling interns
    enrolled in graduate school counselor preparation programs
    that meet the standards established by the State Board of
    Education;
        (48) being involved with State and national
    professional associations;
        (49) participating, at least once every 2 years, in an
    in-service training program for school counselors
    conducted by persons with expertise in domestic and sexual
    violence and the needs of expectant and parenting youth,
    which shall include training concerning (i) communicating
    with and listening to youth victims of domestic or sexual
    violence and expectant and parenting youth, (ii)
    connecting youth victims of domestic or sexual violence
    and expectant and parenting youth to appropriate in-school
    services and other agencies, programs, and services as
    needed, and (iii) implementing the school district's
    policies, procedures, and protocols with regard to such
    youth, including confidentiality; at a minimum, school
    personnel must be trained to understand, provide
    information and referrals, and address issues pertaining
    to youth who are parents, expectant parents, or victims of
    domestic or sexual violence;
        (50) participating, at least every 2 years, in an
    in-service training program for school counselors
    conducted by persons with expertise in anaphylactic
    reactions and management;
        (51) participating, at least once every 2 years, in an
    in-service training on educator ethics, teacher-student
    conduct, and school employee-student conduct for all
    personnel;
        (52) participating, in addition to other topics at
    in-service training programs, in training to identify the
    warning signs of mental illness and suicidal behavior in
    adolescents and teenagers and learning appropriate
    intervention and referral techniques;
        (53) obtaining training to have a basic knowledge of
    matters relating to acquired immunodeficiency syndrome
    (AIDS), including the nature of the disease, its causes
    and effects, the means of detecting it and preventing its
    transmission, and the availability of appropriate sources
    of counseling and referral and any other information that
    may be appropriate considering the age and grade level of
    the pupils; the school board shall supervise such training
    and the State Board of Education and the Department of
    Public Health shall jointly develop standards for such
    training; and
        (54) participating in mandates from the State Board of
    Education for bullying education and social-emotional
    literary; and .
        (55) promoting career and technical education by
    assisting each student to determine an appropriate
    postsecondary plan based upon the student's skills,
    strengths, and goals and assisting the student to
    implement the best practices that improve career or
    workforce readiness after high school.
    School districts may employ a sufficient number of school
counselors to maintain the national and State recommended
student-counselor ratio of 250 to 1. School districts may have
school counselors spend at least 80% of his or her work time in
direct contact with students.
    Nothing in this Section prohibits other qualified
professionals, including other endorsed school support
personnel, from providing the services listed in this Section.
(Source: P.A. 101-290, eff. 8-9-19.)

Effective Date: 1/1/2023