From the Chair: #FSCAadvocacy – Use Your Voice

Governor Scott proposed an action plan to keep Florida students safe following the shootings in Parkland, Florida. The action plan includes proposed legislation to keep guns out of the hands of violent people, increased mental health initiatives, and funding for school safety to include required access to dedicated mental health counselors to provide direct counseling services to students at every school. Critical legislation related to the action plan passed the Senate and the House and was signed by the Governor as the Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School Public Safety Act.
 
During this critical legislative session, FSCA board members and school counselors from across the state joined together for our FSCA Day on the Hill to visit Senate offices and sit in on the House debate of the Public Safety Act. The 2018 Florida School Counselor of the Year, Larissa Bennett, was recognized with the Governor’s Shine Award. The details of the legislation and the implementation plans are ambiguous, but implications are that districts will play a critical role in decision making and planning at the local level.
 
Knowing that legislators and district leaders will be making these critical decisions, we encourage all school counselors – as certified personnel who are trained to recognize pre-K–12 students’ mental health needs, deliver preventative curriculum to all students, and work collaboratively with mental health agencies and personnel in our communities – to connect with legislators, state and district leaders.

• School counselors across Florida need to schedule appointments with state legislators when they return to their home districts over the coming months. This link will help you find contact information for your Senate and House legislators.
• If you cannot schedule a face-to-face visit, call your legislators or district leaders and tell them directly about the role you play in supporting student development and the need for 80% of your time to be spent in direct service to students (see Talking Points).
• Let your local district leaders (superintendents, school board members, other supervisors and administrators) know what we do and how we make a difference for students and families. Here are some advocacy documents that can be used to support your conversations: FSCA Advocacy Flyer SC, School Counselor Advocacy
• Send an email or a letter. FSCA leaders have written sample templates that you can copy and modify for legislators or use with local education leaders. Sample SC Ltr is specific to school counselors. Advocates of school counseling, use Advocate Ltr #1 or Advocate Ltr #2.

We will continue to work to identify support for a bill to require that school counselors be placed in every school, at all levels, with at least 80% of the school counselors’ time devoted to delivering preventative programs and services directly to students, families and the school community. We ask that you continue to use your voice for our profession by contacting your representatives, and district leaders, to develop relationships and share what school counselors do and the impact we have on student achievement and success in school and life.
 
Contact Beth Jenkins, FSCA Executive Board Chair, at chair@fla-schoolcounselor.org.