| Agency Description Additional demands have been placed on school counselors, and the need for counselor support is anticipated to increase due to demographic changes and the implementation of the Profile of a Virginia Graduate.
The role of the school counselor has been impacted by expanding responsibilities, including provision of comprehensive services to address students' academic, social and emotional development needs throughout their K-12 experience. These responsibilities are in addition to traditional counselor roles such as providing one-on-one services related to academic and career planning. For difficult to serve populations, the school counselor is increasingly involved in the coordination of academic intervention services and dropout prevention.
The Profile of a Virginia Graduate intensifies the need for additional counselors, as academic and career planning will be enhanced at all grade levels, requiring more one-on-one planning time to work with students to select and review their pathways to graduation. Counseling roles will also be impacted in lower grades because these students will be expected to begin exploring career interests in elementary school.
The last change to the required staffing ratio for school counselors was in 1989, when elementary schools were first required to provide counselors. In 1983, the current staffing ratio was established for middle and high schools.
During the most-recent recession, language was added to the Appropriation Act that waived the requirement for school divisions to meet staffing ratio requirements for certain positions, including guidance counselors for new hires.
The Virginia Department of Education (VDOE) proposes to reduce the staffing ratio for school counselors to 1:250 for all schools over a period of three years. In this decision package, VDOE proposes to make approximately 1/3 of the progress towards the total cost of the recommended staffing ratio in the first year (fiscal year 2020).
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| Explanations and Methodologies The estimate was computed by lowering the school counselor ratio in the SOQ Model for high, middle, and elementary schools. The ratio in elementary schools was lowered from 1:500 to 1:375. Middle school ratios were lowered from 1:400 to 1:325. High school ratios were lowered from 1:350 to 1:300.
The additional positions also receive credit for the 3.0 percent Compensation Supplement that is funded in fiscal year 2020 in Chapter 2. The impact of the Compensation Supplement is $1.6 million within Program 17802. |