Bill would add school counselors

Anticipating greater demand for school counselors, state Rep. Eddie Lucio III has introduced legislation to require school districts to employ more of them and provide the funding to do so.

Lucio, D-San Benito, filed a bill that would require one counselor to every 300 students, compared to the current one counselor for every 500 students. The bill includes a funding provision to employ more counselors.

Lucio said student populations in school districts across Texas are growing. He cited the Brownsville Independent School District as an example, noting the district has more than 50 campuses, nearly 50,000 students and is building five new schools.

"Even children at the elementary level have issues that come up on a daily basis, things that are bothering them that they want to talk to someone about," Lucio said. "That's what attracts people to the counseling profession in the first place. This is not something I dreamed up out of thin air. Experts in the field say 300 to 350 students per counselor is what the best practices models recommend."

According to the Texas Education Agency, the American School Counselor Association recommends one counselor to every 250 students. The Texas School Counselor Association, Texas Association of Secondary School Principals, and the Texas Elementary Principals and Supervisors Association have recommended ratios of 1:350. TEA notes that populations with intensified or special needs, such as educationally or economically disadvantaged areas, would benefit from lowered ratios.

A second bill, also authored by Lucio, would address time management for counselors, requiring that they spend not more than 10 percent of their time on duties not related to counseling or guidance.

"School counselors are essential in reducing dropout rates, improving academic performance and increasing participation in post-secondary education," Lucio said. "Counselors are the gatekeepers of our students' well-being and development. It is crucial that they are provided the time and resources to perform that critical service."

Lucio also added his support to improving early childhood education in Texas by co-authoring a bill to expand pre-kindergarten programs across the state.

Companion bills in the House and Senate would authorize expansion of half-day pre-k programs to full day. The bills would provide state formula funding to allow school districts to expand half-day pre-k programs to full day for currently eligible 4-year-old children.

Lucio said he signed on as a co-sponsor after visiting Tuesday with Traci Wickett, chief executive officer of the United Way of Southern Cameron County and a longtime advocate of early childhood education.

Wickett, who also serves on the executive committee of the Texas Early Childhood Coalition, was in Austin for the annual Pre-K Day at the Texas Capitol.