Senate Education to hear bills including counselor qualification proposal

The Senate Education Committee is scheduled to meet Wednesday to hear several bills, including some on health and safety issues, and one to remove the requirement that counselors have teaching experience.

TCTA will oppose SB 798 by Sen. Mayes Middleton, which provides that the eligibility requirements for school counselors cannot require that a counselor have teaching experience. Other bills on the agenda are:

• SB 68 by Zaffirini, allowing districts to excuse students for a "career investigation day."
• SB 133 by West, requiring that the commissioner's rules regarding restraint for special education students must prohibit a peace officer performing law enforcement duties at a school or school security personnel from restraining or using a chemical irritant spray on a student 10 years or younger unless the student poses a serious risk to themselves or another person.
• SB 294 by Johnson, expanding the law regarding epipen use at school to include other medications for respiratory distress such as asthma medication.
• SB 357 by Hall, adding honorably retired peace officers to the list of persons that a district can employ for security purposes.
• SB 629 by Menendez, which includes opioid antagonists (such as Narcan) to the epipen law.
• SB 891 by Zaffirini, which provides for up to five days of excused absences for a student to receive mental or behavioral health treatment.