07/19/2013

Action Item: Contact your Senators to support "Counseling for Career Choice"

Counseling for Career Choice (S. 282) has been introduced in the U. S. Senate. It is very important for you to contact the Senators from your state and ask them to co-sponsor and to support the inclusion of this Act as an amendment to the Strengthening America’s Schools Act (S. 1094). S. 282 has the support of ACA, ACTE and the State Directors of Career and Technical Education, but your Senators need to hear from you directly.

An e-mail message is the most effective method of communication. To contact your senators, go to: www.senate.gov and you will find an alphabetical listing of senators. Click on your senators' names, and their website will give you contact information.

In your message, after you ask them to co-sponsor the Act and support its inclusion as an amendment to S. 1094, you may want to include some of the following points (using your own language):

 

  1. The Counseling for Career Choice Act will provide state grants to strengthen comprehensive guidance and counseling programs, and to hire additional school counselors to serve more students in postsecondary and career planning activities.

 

  1. A comprehensive guidance and counseling program develops an individual's competencies in self-knowledge, educational and occupational exploration, and career planning. These competencies help individuals acquire the knowledge, skills, and experience necessary to identify options, explore alternatives, and succeed in a 21st century society.

 

  1. The American School Counselor Association recommends a student-to-counselor ratio of 250 to 1. Forty-seven States do not meet this recommendation.

 

  1. Professional school counselors design and implement comprehensive school counseling programs that include educational and career planning activities for all students that are designed to assist students in reaching academic, career, and personal goals.

 

Please inform our Government Relations (GR) Committee of your contact and the response you get by sending me a copy of your e-mail and any response: enielcarey@aol.com. Our GR Committee will use this information in our contacts with congressional committees and federal agencies to strengthen the legislation and policies needed by NCDA members to provide needed programs and services.