88S40161 AMF-F
	By: Lopez of Cameron	H.B. No. 103

	A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
	AN ACT
	relating to the duties of a public school counselor.
	BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
	SECTION 1.  Sections 33.006(a) and (b), Education Code, are
	amended to read as follows:
	(a)  The primary responsibility of a school counselor is to
	counsel students to fully develop each student's academic, career,
	and personal[, and social] abilities.
	(b)  In addition to a school counselor's responsibility
	under Subsection (a), the school counselor shall:
	(1)  participate in planning, implementing, and
	evaluating a comprehensive developmental school counseling
	[guidance] program to serve all students and to address the special
	needs of students:
	(A)  who are at risk of dropping out of school,
	becoming substance abusers, participating in gang activity, or
	committing suicide;
	(B)  who are at risk of:
	(i)  choosing an unhealthy or inappropriate
	solution to a problem; or
	(ii)  engaging in harmful behavior toward
	the student's self or others;
	(C)  who are in need of modified instructional
	strategies; or
	(D) [(C)]  who are gifted and talented, with
	emphasis on identifying and serving gifted and talented students
	who are educationally disadvantaged;
	(2)  consult with a student's parent or guardian and
	make referrals as appropriate in consultation with the student's
	parent or guardian;
	(3)  consult with school staff, parents, and other
	community members to help them increase the effectiveness of
	student education and promote student success;
	(4)  coordinate people and resources in the school,
	home, and community;
	(5)  with the assistance of school staff, interpret
	standardized test results and other assessment data that help a
	student make educational and career plans;
	(6)  deliver classroom guidance activities or serve as
	a consultant to teachers conducting lessons based on the school's
	guidance curriculum; and
	(7)  serve as an impartial, nonreporting resource for
	interpersonal conflicts and discord involving two or more students,
	including accusations of bullying under Section 37.0832.
	SECTION 2.  This Act applies beginning with the 2024-2025
	school year.
	SECTION 3.  This Act takes effect immediately if it receives
	a vote of two-thirds of all the members elected to each house, as
	provided by Section 39, Article III, Texas Constitution.  If this
	Act does not receive the vote necessary for immediate effect, this
	Act takes effect on the 91st day after the last day of the
	legislative session.

Statutes affected:
Introduced: Education Code 33.006 (Education Code 33)