Public School Counselor Work Time Policy

• To protect public school counselors work time, the school board must adopt a policy which requires that school counselors spend at least 80% of their time on counseling program-related duties, as listed in TEC 33.005. Each district must implement a policy beginning with the 2021-2022 school year. A copy of the district’s policy is to be maintained in the office of each school in the district, and must be made available, upon request and during school hours, to district employees, parents, and the public.
• If a school board determines that a school counselor must spend less than 80% of their time on counseling program-related duties, the policy must include the reasons why, list the counselor duties that are not components of the counseling program, and the percentage of time the counselor is required to spend on counseling program duties.
• A school district is prohibited from including provisions in an employment contract or which authorizes a principal or superintendent to require duties which conflicts with this requirement.
• School districts are required to annually assess district compliance with this policy. If requested by the commissioner, the school district is required to provide a written copy of their assessment to the TEA.