UPDATE: The hearing expected on Wednesday, Feb. 18, will not happen. We should know more soon, but there's a good chance the hearing will take place on Monday, Feb. 23.

Please fill out your witness form now, so we will be prepared. We need hundreds of witness forms to show you still demand action!

Witness Form - We will hand deliver your witness form and also make your testimony available online for the committee to read. Generic Witness Form: Witness form link for HB 382

 

HB382 (Swan) Requires school districts to establish comprehensive guidance and counseling programs for students attending school in the district

Accreditation Based on Guidance Program
The very first section of this bill makes everything in the bill part of the Missouri School Improvement Program (MSIP) which is the DESE framework on how district accreditation is determined. Since the bill allows DESE to "assess penalties for failing to comply" with this law, we know that districts will place the same kind of importance on guidance counseling that they currently do on other aspects of MSIP such as school attendance. School districts will enact every portion of this bill as required by DESE in order to maximize their points on their accreditation. Parental displeasure with anything put in place by the district will no longer matter.

Manditory Participation for grades 3 thru 12
The second section of the bill requires that every student from grades 3-12 participate in the program. Just like the draconian attendance policies, districts will place pressure on families to participate in all aspects in this bill. Some of those aspects are about setting college and career goals. Imagine requiring 8 and 9 years old children to set such long range goals. Some of this involves setting goals for "social and personal development" that the student and parents will be required to adhere to and support. It will no longer be the parents' duty to monitor and shape their child's social development. A plan, developed through assessment and self reporting, will be on file with the school (and w/ DESE and third parties?). This provision makes every provision after it all the more dire.

1990s Style Values Clarification
The bill further elevates the role of the guidance counselor from what it already is under MSIP into that of a teacher in the classroom who will be teaching a "guidance curriculum." If you want to know what that looks like, just check out the 1000 page document on the guidance curriculum on DESE's website here  Notice that there is an entire section on Personal and Social Development which is Values Clarification from the 1990's. Think of the now classic limited life boat space exercise that asks children to come up with rational for kicking people out of a lifeboat. And remember that these guidance counselors will not be in the parent teacher conferences to tell you about what values they are teaching your child.

Empowers Schools to Override Parents Directives for Their Children
In numerous instances it gives the school counselors and staff the authority to intervene "on your child's behalf" for anything they perceive to put your child's "educational, career, personal, or social development at risk." This would, potentially include anything the parents have decided to prohibit their child from doing that the school wants them to do. 

Unfunded Mandates
The bill also requires districts to "establish a counseling center in each school building of the district" that is large enough to house all the comprehensive guidance programs, personnel and equipment. This is an unfunded mandate for more spending in each district for programs not initiated at the local level. 

In short this bill gives DESE enormous power to dictate to districts exactly what type of counseling they want our children to receive. That counseling will shape their view of school only as a place to learn job skills, or prepare them for college which will then give them job skills. The last section of the bill authorizes the State Board of Education (which will work through DESE) to promulgate all the rules and regulations that go with this program. Does anyone trust DESE to do this? A Republican dominated legislature should not be granting DESE this much power and authority.

We believe that it is not possible to support any section of this bill. Should it make it out of committee we need to contact all our Representatives and tell them not to vote for HB382 if it comes to the House floor.

Anne Gassel
Missouri Coalition Against Common Core
nomocommoncore@gmail.com

What is Constitutional education policy?

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