MSCA News: Education and Legislation

MSCA Summer Training Series: Unpacking Lauryn’s Law

By Nikki Ham

On two beautiful summer days, more than 60 school counselors from across the state gathered at Bowie State University for a two-day professional development course, “Unpacking Lauryn’s Law for School Counselors: Approaches to Prevention, Intervention, and Postvention.” Scott Showalter, mental health coordinator for Prince Georges County Public Schools and an expert in the field of crisis training, taught the course. The co-facilitators for the course were Dr. Richard Scott, retired section chief of Student, Family and School Support at the Maryland State Department of Education, and Dr. Marja Humphrey, assistant professor at Bowie State University. The participants also heard a presentation from Linda Diaz, mother of Lauryn and founder of Lauryn’s Law, LLC.

The participants reviewed, discussed and engaged in interactive activities that focused on the need for intervention or referral in response to indicators of mental illness and behavioral distress. The behavioral distress covered in this course included depression, trauma, violence, youth suicide and substance abuse. The program also identified professional resources and best practices for distributing resources to parents or guardians to help students in crisis. This course for school counselors provided a current, interactive overview of these skills and supported participants’ development and acquisition of a resource bank for distribution to parents or guardians, school staff and students, as appropriate.

A joint professional development event with Bowie State University and the Maryland School Counselor Association, the course satisfied the one-credit requirement of the Maryland State Legislation law HB0920 and the COMAR regulation 13A.12.03.02. The law states that before the renewal or reinstatement of a school counselor’s current certificate, an educator certified as a school counselor shall provide coursework, professional development, or continuing education credit (continuing education units). Participants attending this event earned one MSDE Continuing Professional Development credit and/or one National Board of Certified Counselor approved contact hour.

Did you miss this event? Would you like to attend the next training? Sign the Maryland School Counselor Association interest form here or scan this QR code.

Contact Nikki Ham, MSCA president-elect, at nham@mscaonline.org.

Legislative Committee News

By Holly Kleiderlein

If you are responsible for the ASCA-recommended 250 students or less, or if you spend 80 percent of your time delivering appropriate direct services to students and stakeholders, you are welcome to ignore the following information. Still reading? Then become familiar with recent legislation and proposed bills for the 2020 legislative session.

Work from the Kirwan Commission laid the foundation for Senate Bill 1030 of 2019, “The Blueprint for Maryland’s Future.” School counselors employed in schools in which 80 percent or more of students qualify for free or reduced meals should see additional funds to create “community schools” this coming year. Pre-kindergarten and special education should also receive higher levels of funding. View the interim report here and read Policy Area 4 in Chapter 4 beginning on page 106.

Your MSCA Legislative Committee is working to support legislation to decrease the student-to-school-counselor ratio and increase the number of mental health professionals in schools. You can help by following these action steps:

• Use this link to identify the elected officials that represent your school communities
• Bookmark the General Assembly Maryland website
• Monitor MSCA’s social media accounts for Legislative Committee ppdates

Holly Kleiderlein, NBCT, MSCA legislative chair, @CounselorTweets