(Updated March 2011)
LEGISLATION
Many bills have been introduced in the House and Senate to variously amend, or alter, the main federal education law, the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA). It was last reauthorized as the No Child Left Behind Act of 2001. Congress has yet to take up comprehensive legislation to fully reauthorize the law.
LATEST INFORMATION
Since coming into office, the Obama Administration has called on Congress to reauthorize the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA), and Congress is working on draft language. ACA has been highly engaged on the matter with Congress and the administration, advocating specific changes in the law to strengthen the frequently forgotten third leg of the education stool: credentialed school counselors and related specialized instructional support personnel and programs necessary for all children to succeed. See ACA's latest ESEA recommendations for reauthorizing ESEA.
In 2010, ACA also submitted written testimony on an ESEA-related hearing held by the Senate. ACA emphasized the need for Congress to ensure that professional school counselors are recognized as key partners with teachers and principals in addressing “the whole child” and helping all students succeed in school and in life.
Other high-profile issues have dominated the legislative calendar. It is therefore unclear when ESEA reauthorization will officially begin in Congress. Current-law ESEA requirements will remain in effect until a reauthorization bill is enacted.
WHAT YOU CAN DO
If you would like to lend your voice and contacts to advance school counseling and supports to advance student success, please contact:
Dominic W. Holt
Legislative Representative
American Counseling Association
5999 Stevenson Avenue
Alexandria, VA 22304
800.347.6647 x242
dholt@counseling.org
BACKGROUND
The federal government's primary law on K-12 education, the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (ESEA), was last renewed, or reauthorized, as the No Child Left Behind Act of 2001. Major federal laws are typically scheduled for thorough debate and revision—in legislative language, “reauthorization”—every five years. ESEA has been due for reauthorization since 2007, but other congressional priorities have delayed reauthorization. The pending reauthorization provides advocates with a rare opportunity to influence federal education policy for years to come.
In 2001, ESEA authorized programs that support guidance counseling, mental health services, violence prevention activities, academic advisement, school counselors' professional development, and more. Today, there are over 100,000 highly trained credentialed school counselors working in America's public schools. Professional school counselors advocate for and care for students, and are important members of the educational team. They consult and collaborate with teachers, administrators and families to help all students be successful academically, vocationally and personally.
However, the continued, serious shortage of qualified school counselors in America’s schools has undermined efforts to make schools safe, improve academic achievement, and ensure bright futures for all our children. School counselors currently working in schools are stretched thin, and children often do not get the help they need. In 1998, the average U.S. public school student-to-counselor ratio was 561:1. In 2008, the average student-to-counselor ratio was 457:1, nearly double what ACA recommends for a maximum student-to-counselor ratio, 250:1.
ACA strongly supports the main purpose of ESEA: to afford all children an equal opportunity to receive a quality education and, in doing so, to close the achievement gap between disadvantaged children and their more advantaged peers. ACA believes that highly qualified teachers are critical to student achievement; but if children are not physically and mentally prepared to learn, the best classroom instruction will not produce the desired results. That is why we need more credentialed school counselors in our schools.
Thus, ACA and other education advocates continue to educate Congress and the administration about the need for more jobs for credentialed school counselors, and the high-quality, comprehensive programs and services school counselors provide, helping to improve school safety, school climate, and, ultimately, students’ well-being and academic achievement.