Policy/Legislation

No

GS 115C-316.1 states that the duty of "coordination of standardized testing" cannot be the school counselor's. In the first few lines, it states "(a) School counselors shall implement a comprehensive developmental school counseling program in their schools. Counselors shall spend at least eighty percent (80%) of their work time providing direct services to students. Direct services do not include the coordination of standardized testing." In section (b) it further states "(b) School counseling program support activities do not include the coordination of standardized testing. During the remainder of their work time, school counselors may assist other staff with the coordination of standardized testing."

School counselors may assist with testing in capacities similar to those of other school personnel. Having a school counselor serve in the role of backup testing coordinator is putting them in the role of "coordination of standardized testing" and taking that time away from implementing the comprehensive school counseling program. There is a distinct difference between assisting with something vs. being in charge of coordinating it. Page 10 of the DPI "Guidelines to Implement G.S. §115C-316.1" above specifically clarifies that school counselors are not to be used as backup testing coordinators. Also available above are memos that were distributed from NCDPI that contain some additional details for clarification regarding this statute.

Most of the remaining 20% of time is to be spent in planning and management of the services delivered during the 80% of time and in collaborating with other school personnel and stakeholders. Some of the 20% of time can also be spent in "fair share" duties, which are the routine running-of-the-school responsibilities that all members of the school staff take equal turns doing to ensure the school’s smooth operation, such as assisting others with testing coordination and implementation.

No

The first two sentences of GS 115C-316.1 state, "(a) School counselors shall implement a comprehensive developmental school counseling program in their schools. Counselors shall spend at least eighty percent (80%) of their work time providing direct services to students." In comprehensive school counseling programs in which school counselors spend 80% of time in direct services to students, most of the remaining 20% of time is spent in the planning and management of the services delivered during the 80% of time such as planning counseling activities, securing needed resources for counseling activities, collaborating with teachers or other stakeholders about student needs, reviewing school data in order to align school counseling services with school improvement plan goals, etc. Some of the 20% of time can also be spent in "fair share" duties which are the routine running-of-the-school responsibilities that all members of the school staff take equal turns doing to ensure the school’s smooth operation such as serving on committees/teams, attending professional development, co-planning staff development with the administrator, and assisting others with test implementation.

No

Per GS 115-316.1 and NC Professional School Counselor Standards, school counselors are to use a variety of delivery methods. GS 115C-316.1 states that "Direct services shall consist of:

1. Delivering the school guidance curriculum through large group guidance, interdisciplinary curriculum development, group activities, and parent workshops.
2. Guiding individual student planning through individual or small group assistance and individual or small group advisement.
3. Providing responsive services through consultation with students, families, and staff; individual and small group counseling; crisis counseling; referrals; and peer facilitation.
4. Performing other student services listed in the Department of Public Instruction school counselor job description that has been approved by the State Board of Education."

There is not an "or" at the end of the four delivery requirements included in GS 115-316.1. School counselors are expected to do all four. So, for example, it would be inappropriate to lock a school counselor into a classroom guidance schedule that consumed an inordinate amount of time because that would be an example only of "(1) Delivering the school guidance curriculum through large group guidance" and would not allow sufficient time for the other services in (1), (2), (3) and (4).