Professional School Counselors Pilot Program; establish in certain school districts with high incidences of teen pregnancy.

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To: Education;
Appropriations A
MISSISSIPPI LEGISLATURE REGULAR SESSION 2026

By: Representative Scott

HOUSE BILL NO. 190

AN ACT TO REQUIRE THE STATE BOARD OF EDUCATION, ACTING 1
JOINTLY WITH THE STATE BOARD OF HEALTH AND THE MISSISSIPPI 2
DEPARTMENT OF HUMAN SERVICES, TO ESTABLISH A PROFESSIONAL SCHOOL 3
COUNSELORS PILOT PROGRAM; TO REQUIRE THE STATE DEPARTMENT OF 4
EDUCATION, THE STATE DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND THE MISSISSIPPI 5
DEPARTMENT OF HUMAN SERVICES TO DETERMINE THE SCHOOL DISTRICTS IN 6
WHICH THE PILOT PROGRAM WILL BE IMPLEMENTED; TO REQUIRE THE STATE 7
DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION, THE STATE DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND THE 8
MISSISSIPPI DEPARTMENT OF HUMAN SERVICES TO EVALUATE THE 9
EFFECTIVENESS OF THE PILOT PROGRAM; TO PROHIBIT ANY EFFORT TO 10
COUNSEL THAT ABORTION CAN BE USED TO PREVENT THE BIRTH OF A BABY; 11
TO REQUIRE THE STATE DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION, WITH THE INPUT OF 12
THE STATE DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND THE MISSISSIPPI DEPARTMENT OF 13
HUMAN SERVICES, TO SUBMIT A REPORT ON THE PILOT PROGRAM TO THE 14
CHAIRMEN OF CERTAIN LEGISLATIVE COMMITTEES BEFORE JANUARY 1, 2031; 15
TO AMEND SECTION 37-9-79, MISSISSIPPI CODE OF 1972, IN CONFORMITY 16
TO THE PROVISIONS OF THIS ACT; AND FOR RELATED PURPOSES. 17
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MISSISSIPPI: 18
SECTION 1. (1) (a) The State Board of Education shall 19
establish and implement a Professional School Counselors Pilot 20
Program to provide comprehensive counseling services as required 21
under Section 37-9-79, in certain school districts with high 22
incidences of teenage pregnancy and school violence in the State 23
of Mississippi. 24
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(b) The purpose of the pilot program shall be to 25
evidence the effectiveness of the services provided by 26
professional school counselors in personal and social counseling, 27
crisis intervention and prevention, conflict resolution and 28
educational and career counseling in schools and school districts 29
with counselors on staff, as opposed to those schools and school 30
districts without professional school counselors on staff. 31
(2) (a) The State Department of Education, acting jointly 32
with the State Department of Health and the Mississippi Department 33
of Human Services shall analyze all data available to each 34
department to select three (3) school districts throughout the 35
state with high incidences of teenage pregnancy or high incidences 36
of school violence to determine which districts would be impacted 37
most positively by the Professional School Counselors Pilot 38
Program. 39
(b) In making the selection, the departments shall 40
identify those school districts having the highest incidences of 41
teen pregnancies and school violence among students and shall 42
consider other appropriate factors including, but not necessarily 43
limited to, each school district's: dropout rate; the number of 44
the students placed in the alternative school setting; urban or 45
rural nature; geographical location; demographic profile; and 46
state accreditation level. 47
(3) The Professional School Counselors Pilot Program shall 48
be a four-year program and will be implemented in those school 49
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districts selected for participation in the program in the 50
2026-2027 school year. The program will be continued in the same 51
school districts during the 2027-2028, 2028-2029 and 2029-2030 52
school years. For the duration of the pilot program, the school 53
district shall place a minimum of one (1) professional school 54
counselor in each school in the district. 55
(4) At the end of each school year, the State Department of 56
Education, the State Department of Health and the Mississippi 57
Department of Human Services evaluate the effectiveness of the 58
presence and availability of profession school counselors in each 59
school in reducing the rates of teen pregnancy or school violence. 60
(5) It shall be the responsibility of professional school 61
counselors employed by local school districts implementing the 62
pilot program to carry out the functions of those strategies to 63
promote consistency in the administration of the program and the 64
provisions of Section 37-9-79. 65
(6) The State Board of Education, in overseeing the 66
administration of the Professional School Counselors Pilot Program 67
in those select school districts implementing the program and 68
strategies developed by the State Department of Education, State 69
Department of Health and the Mississippi Department of Human 70
Services under this section, shall prohibit any effort of a 71
professional school counselor to counsel students that abortion 72
can be used to prevent the birth of a baby. 73
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(7) Before January 1, 2031, the State Department of 74
Education, after consultation with the State Department of Health 75
and the Mississippi Department of Human Services, shall submit a 76
report to the Chairmen of the House and Senate Education 77
Committees, the House Public Health and Human Services Committee 78
and the Senate Public Health and Welfare Committee on the results 79
of the Professional School Counselors Pilot Program. The report 80
must include comparative data on the numbers of pregnancies and 81
incidences of school violence among students in the participating 82
school districts before and during each year of the pilot program. 83
The report also must include a recommendation on whether or not 84
the Professional School Counselors Pilot Program should be 85
implemented on a permanent basis in all or certain school 86
districts of the state. 87
SECTION 2. Section 37-9-79, Mississippi Code of 1972, is 88
amended as follows: 89
37-9-79. (1) Beginning with the 2014-2015 school year, the 90
assignment of K-12 Professional School Counselors to the 91
particular schools within the district shall be at the discretion 92
of the local school board with the following restrictions: 93
(a) No individual shall be employed as a professional 94
school counselor without a minimum of a Master's Degree in 95
Guidance and Counseling, or in an emergency situation, an 96
appropriate certification as determined by the Commission on 97
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Teacher and Administrator Education, Certification and Licensure 98
and Development; and 99
(b) Professional school counselors shall provide the 100
following comprehensive counseling services: 101
(i) Academic and personal/social counseling; 102
(ii) Use multiple student data sources to help 103
students make informed academic and career choices; 104
(iii) Career and educational counseling; 105
(iv) Individual and group counseling 106
(large/small); 107
(v) Crisis intervention and preventive counseling; 108
(vi) Referrals to community agencies; 109
(vii) Educational consultations and collaboration 110
with teachers, administrators, parents and community leaders; 111
(viii) Educational and career placement services; 112
(ix) Follow-up counseling services; 113
(x) Conflict resolution; and 114
(xi) Professional school counselors must spend a 115
minimum of eighty percent (80%) of their contractual time to the 116
delivery of services to students as outlined by the American 117
School Counselor Association. Delivery of services is the direct 118
service provided to students, parents, school staff and the 119
community which are interaction between professional school 120
counselors and students. These direct services may include the 121
delivery of the following: 122
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1. School counseling core curriculum: This 123
curriculum is designed to help students attain the desired 124
competencies and to provide all students with the knowledge, 125
attitudes and skills appropriate for their developmental level. 126
The school counseling core curriculum is delivered throughout the 127
school's overall curriculum and may be presented by professional 128
school counselors in collaboration with other professional 129
educators and other resources. Collaborative efforts may be 130
implemented to enhance the services provided. 131
2. Individual student planning: Professional 132
school counselors coordinate ongoing systemic activities or 133
individual/group sessions designed to assist students in 134
establishing personal/social goals and developing future career 135
plans. 136
3. Responsive services: Responsive services 137
are designed to meet students' immediate needs and concerns in 138
regard to social/personal issues. Responsive services may include 139
counseling in individual, small-group settings, or crisis 140
responses. 141
4. Indirect Student Services: Indirect 142
services are provided on behalf of students as a result of the 143
school counselors' interactions with others including referrals 144
for additional assistance, consultation and collaboration with 145
parents, teachers, other educators and community organizations. 146
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ST: Professional School Counselors Pilot
Program; establish in certain school districts
with high incidences of teen pregnancy.
(2) Professional school counselors shall abide by the 147
American School Counselor Association Code of Ethics. 148
(3) The State Department of Education may adopt regulations 149
regarding the activities of the professional school counselor as 150
are not inconsistent with this section. 151
(4) Professional school counselors employed by school 152
districts implementing the pilot program authorized under Section 153
1 of this act shall adhere to minimum qualification requirements 154
of this section, and shall carry out those functions implemented 155
under the pilot program developed by the State Department of 156
Education, the State Department of Health and the Mississippi 157
Department of Human Services. 158
SECTION 3. This act shall take effect and be in force from 159
and after July 1, 2026. 160