Definitions

Counselor - For the purposes of this policy, a counselor is a school counselor as defined by the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education (DESE).

School Counseling Advisory Council (SCAC) - A committee composed of a variety of stakeholders, such as parents/guardians, community  leaders, agency  personnel, students, teachers and School Board members.

School Counseling Curriculum

Counselors will create and implement a written school counseling curriculum that promotes students' academic, career and social/emotional development. Resources that support activities for implementation of the school counseling curriculum will be provided. The school counseling curriculum will be systematically reviewed and revised, and modifications to the school counseling curriculum will be based on student data, school data and planning survey data collected at least every three years.

Individual Student Planning

Individual planning activities help students plan, monitor and manage their academic achievement as well as their social/emotional and career development. The foundation for individual planning will be established during the elementary school years through school counseling activities. Building on this foundation, the individual planning component of the school counseling program will assist middle school students as they begin to plan for the future and will continue to support students in their planning endeavors until graduation.

School counselors will assist students in individual student planning (ISP) that addresses educational and career planning, educational transitioning and self-appraisal for decision making. An ISP process will be developed for students at every grade level.

Prior to their ninth-grade year, students will work with school counselors to create an individual career and academic plan (ICAP) as part of the student's ISP. The ICAP will include, but is not necessarily limited to, requirements for graduation; career or postsecondary goals and coursework or a program of study related to those goals, which shall include relevant opportunities that the district may not directly offer; grade-appropriate and career-related experiences as outlined in the grade-level expectations of the Missouri Comprehensive School Counseling Program; and student assessments, interest inventories or academic results needed to develop, review and revise the ICAP.

School counselors will continue to work with students throughout high school to evaluate and, if necessary, amend the plan in order to facilitate on-time graduation of success-ready students.

Students identified as at risk of not graduating from high school success-ready will receive additional support in accordance with law and policy 2812.

If a student is receiving special education services, the student's individualized education program (IEP) team may explicitly waive or exempt the student from the provisions of this section.

Academic and Career Counseling Program

The district may establish an academic and career counseling program in cooperation with parents/guardians and the local community that is in the best interest of and meets the needs of students in the community.

Responsive Services

Responsive services are referrals and other actions taken by the district in response to the immediate needs and concerns of a particular student or identified needs and concerns of groups of students. The purpose of the responsive services component of the comprehensive school counseling program is to work with students whose personal circumstances, concerns or problems are interfering or threatening to interfere with their academic, career or social/emotional development. Responsive services will be implemented through individual counseling, small group counseling, consultation and referral.

Referrals shall be made in accordance with Board policies and district procedures. Procedures will be developed for staff to use to identify students who may need a referral for assistance beyond that regularly provided by the counseling staff. All staff members who, in the course of their duties, have contact with students on a regular basis will receive annual training on these procedures.

In the event of a pandemic or other emergency, school counseling staff will assist students with personal and emotional issues. The district's crisis intervention plan will include methods for continuing counseling support even in the event of a long-term school closure.

System Support

The Board recognizes system support as a crucial component in the implementation of a comprehensive school counseling program. System support of the comprehensive school counseling program includes administration and management activities that support the school counseling program, such as program management, professional development, staff-community relations, consultation, committee participation, community outreach, and research and development.

Personal Goals

The district will strive to meet the program goals in each of the following areas:

1. Social/Emotional Development
   • Assist students in gaining an understanding of self as an individual and as a member of diverse local and global communities by emphasizing knowledge that leads to the recognition and understanding of the interrelationship of thoughts, feelings and actions in students' daily lives.
   • Provide students with a solid foundation for interacting with others in ways that respect individual and group differences.
   • Aid students in learning to apply physical and psychological safety and promoting the student's ability to advocate for him- or herself.
2. Academic Development
   • Guide students to apply the skills needed for educational achievement by focusing on self-management, study and test-taking skills.
   • Teach students skills to aid them as they transition between grade levels or schools.
   • Focus on developing and monitoring individual education plans, emphasizing the understanding, knowledge and skills students need to develop meaningful ICAPs.
3. Career Development
   • Enable students to apply career exploration and planning skills in the achievement of life career goals.
   • Educate students about where and how to obtain information about the world of work and postsecondary training and education.
   • Provide students the opportunity to learn employment readiness skills and skills for on-the-job success, including responsibility, dependability, punctuality, integrity, self-management and effort.

The program shall be implemented in each attendance area and is considered an integral part of each school's education program. It shall be implemented by certified school counselors with the support of district staff, students, parents, community and external organizations and agencies.

Confidentiality

It is necessary for counselors to build trusting relationships with students and district staff; however, counselors are not permitted to promise students complete confidentiality. Counselors may at times be required to disclose information to parents/guardians, report child abuse or neglect, convey to district staff information necessary to better serve a student, or report to supervisors as appropriate.

Care should be taken in explaining to students, in a developmentally appropriate manner, the limits of confidentiality. Notice of the limits of confidentiality may be made by a variety of methods.

District counselors have the responsibility to protect the confidentiality of student records and only release information in accordance with state and federal law and Board policy. Information transmitted or stored electronically must maintain the same level of confidentiality as traditional paper records. Care shall be taken to send sensitive information by a means that protects student identity.

School Counseling Program and Evaluation

The SCAC will systematically review the district's comprehensive school counseling program, including the school counseling curriculum, through the development and use of a comprehensive evaluation plan. The comprehensive evaluation plan will minimally assess the impact of the comprehensive school counseling program on the Missouri School Improvement Plan (MSIP) performance standards and other relevant criteria including, but not limited to, attendance, grades and behaviors.