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How often have you said, “If only …. “
WHY:
FSCA recognized that school
counselors are far too frequently tapped to use their work time on “other”
services, rather than directly impacting students and applying graduate
degree level skills and knowledge. Does this sound like YOUR work week?
WHAT:
FSCA worked with the FSCA
lobbyist and Senator Detert’s office to draft a bill, now filed as SB
1162 and HB 1045 to address how school counselors can better use
their time and knowledge/skills to help students. CLICK HERE for more information about these
bills.
WHERE:
The legislative session
begins in Tallahassee January 12th at 10:00 a.m. and bills will begin to be
reviewed. Each Florida school counselor CAN make a difference for
this bill.
HOW:
This does not require you
to take a great deal of your time!
Action is not up to a few
of us but each of us.
We all have to depend on
each one of us to do AT LEAST one of the following:
- Email – call
- or send a postal letter to your Florida House Representative and
Senator. Click HERE for a sample email. You can copy and
paste segments of this email, but please personalize it as well to
make it more meaningful.
- Visit your
Legislators at their district office. See talking points on the web or
contact summerkuba4@gmail.com
WHEN:
NOW!! The
legislative session begins January 12th… it is critical you act
today, tomorrow, this week. Take 15 to 30 minutes of your time to contact
your representatives… one voice is nice but the collection of 6,000 school
counselor voices is powerful and loud! Time for school
counselors to ROAR!
Help YOU and YOUR COLLEAGUES turn the phrase of
“If only…”
into
“Remember When…”
FSCA will track and post the progress of the bill to
the FSCA Blog &/or the FSCA Website.
Questions?
Sample Email Text to Send
Legislators (remember to add your personal touch!):
The Honorable_______________________,
My name is
________________________ and I am a constituent in your area. I am
currently a school counselor for grades ___________________at
_________________________school. I am writing about a specific piece
of legislation, (SB1162/HB1045). This bill is particularly important
for the overall success of Florida's students now and in the future
because as you know, State and
national workforce projections predict
that over 60% of Florida jobs will require some form of postsecondary education
or training by the year 2020, yet currently, only 38% of working-age Floridians
holds an associate’s degree or higher. School counselors are able
to provide the services students need to help reach this goal such
as academic, social and emotional
counseling, core curricula programing with structured lessons designed to
meet student standards and competencies of the Florida Framework for School
Counseling Programs, career and educational counseling, including helping
students make informed academic and career choices using multiple student
data sources and education and career placement services, individual and
group counseling, crisis intervention and preventive counseling, referrals
to community agencies, educational consultations and collaborations with
teachers, administrators, parents, and community leaders, follow-up
counseling services, conflict resolution and peer mediation. Through all of these direct services, certified
school counselors are able to help ensure the academic success, social emotional development, and
college and career readiness of our students.
I am asking you to please
consider supporting this critical piece of legislation, our children’s
future depends on it.
Sincerely,
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