Professional Standards and Evaluation

This page is designed to support school counselors, school and district administrators, and other stakeholders with information and resources related to the North Carolina Professional Standards for School Counselors, the accompanying evaluation instrument, and additional information related to the professional practice of school counseling. Note that the official school counselor evaluation is housed in NC Home Base under Educator Effectiveness.

Quick links:

Standards and Evaluation Resources

The "Administrator Guide to Effective School Counseling and Evaluation" self-paced module can be found in the NC Home Base TNL Professional Development Suite. Login to Home Base for access.

Also, in NC Home Base, TNL is the more in-depth "NC Professional School Counselor Standards and Evaluation" self-paced module for school counselors which leads school counselors through details and activities for implementing a comprehensive school counseling program aligned with the NC Professional School Counselor Standards and ASCA National Model.

See the Professional Development tab on this site for more information.

For additional NC School Counselor evaluation resources such as Record of Evaluation Activities, Professional Growth Plan and administrator webinar recordings, please visit the NCEES Information and Resources School Counselor page.

ASCA Comprehensive School Counseling Programs

The North Carolina Professional School Counselor Standards are aligned with the American School Counselor Association's ASCA National Model: A Framework for Comprehensive School Counseling. For additional resources related to effective school counselor roles, please visit the American School Counselor Association's Roles and Ratios web pages for information such as:

  • Effective Roles and Ratios (including position statements and more),
  • Education and Training opportunities,
  • Comprehensive School Counseling Program Resources, and
  • Hiring, Interviewing and Evaluating School Counselors (additionally including posting your vacancies).

ASCA National Model 

The Role of the School Counselor Infographics  

ASCA Position Statements on Topics in School Counselor Practice  

Ethical Standards for School Counselors

Related School Counselor Role Resources

NC State Law 115C-316.1 Duties of School Counselors

School Counselor Roles with the Say Something App Tip Crisis Response

Comprehensive School Counseling Video

  • Animated short video using a skate-boarding metaphor to illustrate comprehensive school counseling.

North Carolina Professional Educator Standards: Quick Comparison Chart

NBPTS National School Counselor Certification

  • By participating in this certification process, you are joining tens of thousands of educators in an unprecedented effort to elevate and reshape the field of education and ultimately improve student learning. NC General Statute 115C-296.2 provides an increase in salary for those with NBPTS certification. See the DPI National Board Certification page for additional information, including potential funding.

2020 SISP Panel Address to the NC Child Well-Being Transformation Council

On February 19, 2020 a panel of specialized instructional support personnel were invited to speak to the North Carolina Child Well-Being Transformation Council.  Below you will find audio recording excerpts of the information they shared regarding challenges and needs related to providing effective services for student success, the roles of specialized instructional support personnel, and why school counselors, school social workers, school psychologists and school nurses are all needed for an effective continuum of services.

  • SISP Panelist Speakers (and representation at the time of the meeting):

    • Lyn Bush, Buncombe County Schools School Counselor and NCSCA President

    • Amy Lowder, Cabarrus County Schools Director of Student Safety and Well-Being (School Psychologist)

    • Kristy Newitt, Cumberland County Schools Counseling Coordinator

    • Ami Parker, Gaston County Schools Director of Counseling Services and NCSCA President-Elect

    • Constance Simmons, NC School Social Work Association Past President

    • Sandra Williams, NC School Social Work Association President

Note these are excerpts and not the recording of the entire meeting.

 

Counseling as a Related Service for Special Needs

If you have questions, please contact Kisha Bryant, Ed.D at kisha.bryant@dpi.nc.gov.

The School Counselor and Students with Disabilities ASCA Position Statement

Licensure

NCDPI Licensure web pages. For licensure questions, email asklicensure@dpi.nc.gov.

To work in a North Carolina public school as a school counselor, one must hold a license specifically in school counseling. To be licensed as a Professional School Counselor in North Carolina, one is required to have a master's degree in school counseling from an accredited university and pass the Professional School Counselor Praxis exam. There are routes to provisional licensure as described in State Board of Education Policy LICN-001. Under this policy, individuals who have partially met licensure requirements or have master's degrees in some other areas of counseling can potentially be employed by a school district as a school counselor while they are enrolled in a university program to complete the additional requirements for licensure. For more details on provisional licensure, see section 1.30a of Policy LICN-001 Note that individual universities determine whether a student meets their enrollment criteria and what minimum requirements must be completed. Also, each school district decides whether they are willing to employ those who have not yet completed licensure requirements.

Note that NCDPI does not license Licensed Clinical Mental Health Counselors (LCMHC). Please visit the NC Board of Licensed Clinical Mental Health Counselors website for more information on LCMHC.

For a list of approved School Counselor preparation programs in North Carolina, please visit the NCDPI Educator EPP Licensure Areas page.

School Counselor Licensure Renewal Requirements

  • Per State Board of Education Policy LICN-005, in alignment with State legislative requirements, North Carolina educator license holders must renew their licenses at the end of each five-year period to maintain a Continuing Professional License. The following requirements apply to K-12 student services personnel, including school counselors: 
  • Student services personnel must complete 8.0 renewal credits during each five-year renewal cycle that meet the following requirements:
    • 3 renewal credits that align with the expectations of the North Carolina standards for their professional discipline area.
    • 2 renewal credits addressing the Digital Learning Competencies 
    • 3 general credits (not to include years of experience) at the discretion of the employing LEA. LEAs reserve the right to assign literacy requirements for any educator.

Educators completing the National Board for Professional Teaching Standards certification process may earn all 8.0 renewal credits for completion of the process and certification.  Those who are in the national board renewal cycle may earn two credits.

Additional information on renewing your license, including contacts' information, can be found on the NCDPI Licensure web pages.