Alabama Administrative Code
Title 290 - ALABAMA STATE BOARD OF EDUCATION
Chapter 290-3-3 - TEACHER EDUCATION - PROFESSIONAL SERVICES
Section 290-3-3-.49 - School Counseling (Grades P-12)
Universal Citation: AL Admin Code R 290-3-3-.49
Current through Register Vol. 42, No. 11, August 30, 2024
(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).
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.
Disclaimer: These regulations may not be the most recent version. Alabama may have more current or accurate information. We make no warranties or guarantees about the accuracy, completeness, or adequacy of the information contained on this site or the information linked to on the state site. Please check official sources.
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