Ala. Admin. Code r. 290-3-3-.49

Current through Register Vol. 43, No. 1, October 31, 2024

Section 290-3-3-.49 - School Counseling (Grades P-12)

(1)Rationale. School counselors should be knowledgeable of effective counseling theories, practices, and techniques in order to meet the needs of a multicultural school population and to facilitate academic, career, and personal/social success. They also analyze and use data to enhance the school counseling program. These standards are aligned with the standards for the preparation of school counselors of the Council for Accreditation of Counseling and Related Educational Programs (CACREP) and the Comprehensive Counseling and Guidance Model for Alabama Public Schools.

(2)Unconditional Admission to a School Counseling Program. The study of school counseling begins at the Class A level. Requirements for unconditional admission shall include:

(a) A valid bachelor's-level or valid master's-level professional educator certificate in a teaching field or a valid master's-level professional educator certificate in another area of instructional support. If an individual is unconditionally admitted to an Alabama Class A program based on a valid bachelor's- or valid master's-level professional educator certificate in another state, completes a Class A program, and subsequently applies for Alabama certification at the Class A level, then the individual must hold at least a valid Class B Professional Educator Certificate before applying for Class A certification.

(b) Effective July 1, 2017, and thereafter, two full years of full-time, acceptable professional educational work experience. Effective July 1, 2019, two full years of full-time, acceptable P-12 professional educational work experience. See Definition (18).

(3)Program Curriculum Essential for All School Counselors. In addition to meeting Rule 290-2-2 -.47(2)(a) -(e), the program must meet the following requirements:

(a)Professional counseling orientation and ethical practice. Prospective school counselors shall demonstrate knowledge of:

1. History and philosophy of the counseling profession and the origins of the counseling specialty areas.

2. The multiple professional roles and functions of counselors across specialty areas and their relationships with other human service providers, including interagency and interorganizational collaboration and consultation.

3. Counselors' roles and responsibilities as members of interdisciplinary community outreach and emergency management response teams.

4. The role and process of the professional counselor advocating on behalf of the profession.

5. Advocacy processes needed to address institutional and social barriers that impede access, equity, and success for clients.

6. Professional organizations, including membership benefits, activities, services to members, and current issues.

7. Professional credentialing, including certification, licensure, and accreditation practices and standards, and the effects of public policy on these issues.

8. Ethical standards of professional organizations and credentialing bodies, and applications of ethical and legal considerations in professional counseling.

9. Technology's impact on the counseling profession.

10. Strategies for personal and professional self-evaluation and implications for practice.

11. Self-care strategies appropriate to the counselor role.

12. Counseling supervision models, practices, and processes.

(b)Social and cultural diversity. Prospective school counselors shall demonstrate knowledge of:

1. Research addressing multicultural and pluralistic characteristics within and among diverse groups nationally and internationally.

2. Theories and models of multicultural counseling, identity development, and social justice and advocacy.

3. Strategies for identifying and eliminating barriers, prejudices, and processes of intentional and unintentional oppression and discrimination.

4. Learning activities to foster students' self-understanding of the impact of their heritage, attitudes, beliefs, understandings, and acculturative experiences on their views of others.

5. Learning activities that foster understanding of the help-seeking behaviors of diverse clients.

6. Learning activities that foster understanding of the impact of spiritual beliefs on clients' and counselors' worldviews.

7. Multicultural competencies and strategies for working with and advocating optimum wellness for diverse populations.

(c)Human growth and development. Prospective school counselors shall demonstrate knowledge of:

1. Theories of individual and family development across the lifespan.

2. Theories of learning.

3. Theories of normal and abnormal personality development.

4. Theories and etiology of addictions and addictive behaviors.

5. Individual, biological, neurological, physiological, systemic, spiritual, and environmental factors that affect human development, functioning, and behavior.

6. Effects of crisis, disasters, and other trauma-causing events on diverse individuals across the lifespan.

7. A general framework for understanding differing abilities and strategies for differentiated interventions.

8. Ethical and culturally relevant strategies for promoting resilience and optimum development and wellness across the lifespan.

(d)Career counseling. Prospective school counselors shall demonstrate knowledge of:

1. Theories and models of career development, counseling, and decision-making.

2. Approaches for conceptualizing the interrelationships among and between work, family, and other life roles and factors.

3. Processes for identifying and utilizing career, avocational, educational, occupational and labor market information resources, technology, and information systems.

4. Approaches for assessing the conditions of the work environment on clients' overall life experiences.

5. Strategies for assessing abilities, interests, values, personality and other factors that contribute to career development.

6. Strategies for career development program planning, organization, implementation, administration, and evaluation.

7. Strategies for advocating for diverse clients' career and educational development and employment opportunities in a global economy.

8. Strategies for facilitating client skill development for career, educational, and lifework planning and management.

9. Methods of identifying and utilizing assessment tools and techniques relevant to career planning and decision making.

10. Ethical and culturally relevant strategies for addressing career development.

(e)Counseling and helping relationships. Prospective school counselors shall demonstrate knowledge of:

1. Theories and models of effective counseling and wellness programs.

2. A systems approach that provides an understanding of family, social, community, and political networks.

3. Theories, models, and strategies for understanding and practicing consultation.

4. Ethical and culturally relevant strategies for developing helping relationships.

5. Counselor characteristics and behaviors that influence the helping process.

6. Essential interviewing, counseling, and case conceptualization skills.

7. Developmentally relevant counseling treatment or intervention plans.

8. Development of measurable outcomes for clients.

9. Empirically-based counseling strategies and techniques for prevention, intervention, and advocacy.

10. Strategies to promote client understanding of and access to a variety of community-based resources.

11. Suicide prevention models and strategies.

12. Crisis intervention and psychological first aid strategies.

13. Processes for aiding students in developing a personal model of counseling.

(f)Group counseling. Prospective school counselors shall demonstrate knowledge of:

1. Theoretical foundations of group work.

2. Dynamics associated with group process and development.

3. Therapeutic factors and how they contribute to group effectiveness.

4. Characteristics and functions of effective group leaders.

5. Approaches to group formation, including recruiting, screening, and selecting members.

6. Types of groups and other considerations that affect conducting groups in varied settings.

7. Ethical and culturally relevant strategies for designing and facilitating groups.

8. Direct experiences in which candidates participate as group members in a small group activity, approved by the program, for a minimum of 10 clock hours over the course of one academic term.

(g)Assessment and testing. Prospective school counselors shall demonstrate knowledge of:

1. Historical perspectives concerning the nature and meaning of assessment.

2. Methods of effectively preparing for and conducting initial assessment meetings.

3. Procedures for assessing risk of aggression or danger to others, self-inflicted harm or suicide.

4. Procedures for identifying and reporting abuse.

5. Use of assessments for diagnostic and intervention planning purposes.

6. Basic concepts of standardized and non-standardized testing, norm-referenced and criterion-referenced assessment, and group and individual assessments.

7. Statistical concepts, including scales of measurement, measures of central tendency, indices of variability, shapes and types of distributions, and correlations.

8. Reliability and validity in the use of assessments.

9. Use of assessments relevant to academic/educational, career, personal, and social development.

10. Use of environmental assessments and systematic behavioral observations.

11. Use of symptom checklists, personality, and psychological testing.

12. Use of assessment results to diagnose developmental, behavioral, and mental disorders.

13. Ethical and culturally and developmentally relevant strategies for selecting, administering, and interpreting assessment and test results.

(h)Research and program evaluation. Prospective school counselors shall demonstrate knowledge of:

1. The importance of research in advancing the counseling profession, including its use to inform evidence based practice.

2. Needs assessments.

3. Development of outcome measures for counseling programs.

4. Evaluation of counseling interventions and programs.

5. Qualitative, quantitative and mixed research methods.

6. Designs used in research and program evaluation.

7. Statistical methods used in conducting research and program evaluation.

8. Analysis and use of data in counseling.

9. Ethical and culturally relevant strategies for conducting, interpreting, and reporting the results of research and/or program evaluation.

(4)Program Curriculum Specific to School Counselors. Candidates who are preparing to specialize as school counselors will demonstrate the professional knowledge, skills, and practices necessary to promote the academic, career, and personal/social development of all P-12 students through data-informed school counseling programs. In addition to the common core curricular experiences, programs must provide evidence that candidate learning has occurred in the following domains.

(a)Foundations. Prospective school counselors shall demonstrate knowledge of:

1. History and development of school counseling.

2. Models of school counseling programs.

3. Models of school-based collaboration and consultation.

4. Principles of school counseling, including prevention, intervention, wellness, education, leadership, and advocacy.

5. Assessment relevant to P-12 education.

(b)Contextual Dimensions. Prospective school counselors shall demonstrate knowledge of:

1. School counselor roles as leaders, advocates, and systems change agents in P-12 schools.

2. School counselor roles in consultation with families, school personnel, and community agencies.

3. School counselor roles in student support and school leadership teams.

4. School counselor roles and responsibilities in relation to the school emergency management plans, and crises, disasters, and other trauma-causing events.

5. Competencies to advocate for school counseling roles.

6. Characteristics, risk factors, and warning signs of students at risk for mental health and behavioral disorders.

7. Common medications that affect learning, behavior, and mood in children and adolescents.

8. Signs and symptoms of substance abuse in children and adolescents as well as the signs and symptoms of living in a home where substance abuse occurs.

9. Qualities and styles of effective leadership in schools.

10. Community resources and referral sources.

11. Professional organizations, preparation standards, and credentials that are relevant to the practice of school counseling.

12. Legal and ethical considerations specific to school counseling.

(c)Practice. Prospective school counselors shall demonstrate knowledge of or ability to:

1. Develop school counseling program mission statements and objectives.

2. Design and evaluate school counseling programs.

3. Core curriculum design, lesson plan development, classroom management strategies, and differentiated instructional strategies.

4. Interventions to promote academic development.

5. Use of developmentally appropriate career counseling interventions and assessments.

6. Techniques of personal/social counseling in school settings.

7. Strategies to facilitate school and life transitions.

8. Skills to critically examine the connections between social, familial, emotional, and behavior problems and academic achievement.

9. Approaches to increase promotion and graduation rates.

10. Interventions to promote career and/or college readiness.

11. Strategies to promote equity in student achievement.

12. Techniques to foster collaboration and teamwork within schools.

13. Strategies for implementing and coordinating peer intervention programs.

14. Use of accountability data to inform decision making.

15. Use of data to advocate for programs and students.

(5)Requirements for Certification in School Counseling. Readiness to serve as a school counselor shall include:

(a) At least a valid Class B Professional Educator Certificate in a teaching field, a valid Class A Professional Leadership Certificate, or a valid Class A Professional Educator Certificate in a teaching field or in another area of instructional support.

(b) An official transcript from a regionally accredited institution documenting an earned master's degree.

(c) A survey of special education course is required unless that course was taken for prior level certification. [See Rule 290-3-3-.01(51)] . An individual who completed a survey of special education course prior to the semester when the individual met requirements for unconditional admission to a Class A program July 1, 2017, and thereafter, must take a course focused primarily on one of the following categories: methods of accommodating instruction to meet the needs of students with exceptionalities in inclusive settings, multicultural education, teaching English language learners, rural education, or urban education. A diversity course used to meet this requirement for one level of certification may not be used to meet the requirement for a higher level of certification.

(d) Satisfactory completion of a State-approved program with a minimum GPA of 3.0 in all courses in the Alabama State Board of Education approved program for school counseling. For candidates unconditionally admitted to a Class A school counseling program July 1, 2017, and thereafter, a minimum GPA of 3.25 on all courses in the Alabama State Board of Education approved school counseling program.

(e)Practicum. For candidates admitted prior to August 1, 2010, a practicum that includes a minimum of 30 clock hours of supervised, direct service work in individual and group counseling with early childhood/elementary and secondary school students. For candidates admitted on or after August 1, 2010, a practicum of at least 100 clock hours in a school-based setting, including a minimum of 40 clock hours of supervised, direct service work in individual and group counseling with early childhood/elementary and secondary school students.

(f)internship. For candidates admitted prior to August 1, 2010, competence to perform all activities that a school counselor is expected to perform as demonstrated in a supervised elementary and secondary school-based internship of at least 300 clock hours, begun subsequent to completion of the practicum. For candidates admitted on or after August 1, 2010, competence to perform all the activities that a school counselor is expected to perform as demonstrated in a supervised elementary and secondary school-based internship of at least 600 clock hours, begun subsequent to the completion of the practicum, including a minimum of 240 clock hours in direct service work with early childhood/elementary and secondary school students. Internships in P-12 schools must be supervised by individuals who hold a valid master's level professional educator certificate in school counseling and who are employed as a counselor.

(g) Two full years of full-time, acceptable professional educational work experience if admitted prior to July 1, 2017.

(6)Testing for Certification in School Counseling. Applicants for initial certification in school counseling through the completion of a Class A Program must meet the Praxis requirements of the Alabama Educator Certification Assessment Program (AECAP).

Ala. Admin. Code r. 290-3-3-.49

New Rule: December 19, 1978. Amended: December 13, 1990; effective February 1, 1991. Repealed and Replaced: January 9, 1997; effective February 13, 1997; operative July 1, 1997. Amended: Filed June 14, 1999; effective July 19, 1999. Amended: Filed March 14, 2002; effective April 18, 2 002. Repealed and New Rule: Filed September 11, 2003; effective October 16, 2003. Repealed and New Rule: Filed July 13, 2004; effective August 17, 2004. Repealed and New Rule: April 14, 2005; effective May 19, 2005. Repealed and New Rule: Filed August 6, 2007; effective September 10, 2007. Repealed and New Rule: Filed August 3, 2009; effective September 7, 2009; operative October 1, 2009. Amended: Filed June 15, 2012; effective July 20, 2012.

Amended by Alabama Administrative Monthly Volume XXXIII, Issue No. 11, August 31, 2015, eff. 9/17/2015.

Amended by Alabama Administrative Monthly Volume XXXVI, Issue No. 12, September 28, 2018, eff. 10/28/2018; operative 6/1/2019.

Amended by Alabama Administrative Monthly Volume XXXIX, Issue No. 11, August 31, 2021, eff. 10/15/2021.

Previous Rule.50 was renumbered.49 per certification published August 31, 2021; effective October 15, 2021.

Author: Dr. Eric G. Mackey

Statutory Authority:Code of Ala. 1975, §§ 16-3-16, 16-23-14.