Coalition of Illinois Counselor Organizations

Advocacy Day – Wednesday, Feb 26, 2014 – Register at

Counselor Educator Summit, Friday, Feb 28, 2014 –
Register at

Legislative Update School Counselor Laws

  • HB 490Public Act 098-0361- Signed into law Effective 1/1/2014
    TAP/ACT/SAT is required prior to student teaching or last semester of internship. This is, as always, a minimum requirement. Institutions are free to require this sooner if they choose.
  • SB 2199- Signed into law effective 8/27/13
    Content tests are requiredprior to student teaching or becoming teacher of record.This removes content test from being required prior to internship.

and

School service personnel prepared by out-of-state programs shall meet the same requirements concerningcourses in the methods of instruction of the exceptionalchild as in-State candidates in school service personnelareas, as defined by rules

HB 2322 Public Act 98-0338 Effective 8/13/13
Adds to definition of school social worker services

Adds: implementing social and emotional education programs and services, and establishing and implementing bullying prevention and intervention programs;

And Evaluating program effectiveness

HB 1002 to add a School Service Personnel person to the ISBE Licensure board passed in the House but failed in the Senate.

Public Act 97-1147
Sexual Abuse Prevention training mandated in K-12

HB2420 Public Act 94-0413 Effective 08/16/13
MFT Bill allowing MFT’s in schools/school districts.

Concealed Carry Law in effect July 2013.

Section 100. Short title. Sections 100 through 110 may be
cited as the School Administrator Reporting of Mental Health
Clear and Present Danger Determinations Law.
Section 105. Duty of school administrator. It is the duty
of the principal of a public elementary or secondary school, or
his or her designee, and the chief administrative officer of a
private elementary or secondary school or a public or private
community college, college, or university, or his or her
designee, to report to the Department of State Police when a
student is determined to pose a clear and present danger to
himself, herself, or to others, within 24 hours of the
determination as provided in Section 6-103.3 of the Mental
Health and Developmental Disabilities Code. "Clear and present
danger" has the meaning as provided in paragraph (2) of the
definition of "clear and present danger" in Section 1.1 of the
Firearm Owners Identification Card Act.
Section 110. Immunity. A principal or chief administrative
officer, or the designee of a principal or chief administrative
officer, making the determination and reporting under Section
105 of this Law shall not be held criminally, civilly, or
professionally liable, except for willful or wanton
misconduct.

"Clear and present danger" has the meaning ascribed to it in Section 1.1 of the Firearm Owners Identification Card

Act.

Section 1.1 of the Firearm Owners Identification Card

"Clear and present danger" means a person who:
(1) communicates a serious threat of physical
violence against a reasonably identifiable victim or poses a clear and imminent risk of serious physical injury to himself, herself, or another person as determined by a physician, clinical psychologist, or qualified examiner; or
(2) demonstrates threatening physical or verbal
behavior, such as violent, suicidal, or assaultive threats, actions, or other behavior, as determined by a physician, clinical psychologist, qualified examiner, school administrator, or law enforcement official.

Definitions

Sec. 6-103.2. Developmental disability; notice.

For purposes of this Section, if a person is determined to

be developmentally disabled as defined in Section 1.1 of the

Firearm Owners Identification Card Act by a physician, clinical

psychologist, or qualified examiner, whether practicing at a

public or by a private mental health facility or developmental

disability facility, the physician, clinical psychologist, or

qualified examiner shall notify the Department of Human

Services within 24 hours of making the determination that the

person has a developmental disability. The Department of Human

Services shall immediately update its records and information

relating to mental health and developmental disabilities, and

if appropriate, shall notify the Department of State Police in

a form and manner prescribed by the Department of State Police.

Sec. 6-103.3. Clear and present danger; notice.

If a person is determined to pose a clear and present

danger to himself, herself, or to others by a physician,

clinical psychologist, or qualified examiner, whether employed

by the State, by any public or private mental health facility

or part thereof, or by a law enforcement official or a school

administrator, then the physician, clinical psychologist,

qualified examiner shall notify the Department of Human

Services and a law enforcement official or school administrator

shall notify the Department of State Police, within 24 hours of

"Clear and present danger" has the meaning ascribed to it in Section 1.1 of the Firearm Owners Identification Card

Act.

(1) communicates a serious threat of physical violence

against a reasonably identifiable victim or poses a clear

and imminent risk of serious physical injury to himself,

herself, or another person as determined by a physician,

clinical psychologist, or qualified examiner; or

(2) demonstrates threatening physical or verbal

behavior, such as violent, suicidal, or assaultive

threats, actions, or other behavior, as determined by a

physician, clinical psychologist, qualified examiner,

school administrator, or law enforcement official.

"Mental health facility" means any licensed private

hospital or hospital affiliate, institution, or facility, or

part thereof, and any facility, or part thereof, operated by

the State or a political subdivision thereof which provide

treatment of persons with mental illness and includes all

hospitals, institutions, clinics, evaluation facilities,

mental health centers, colleges, universities, long-term care

facilities, and nursing homes, or parts thereof, which provide

treatment of persons with mental illness whether or not the

primary purpose is to provide treatment of persons with mental

illness.

Qualified Examiner:

(405 ILCS 5/1-122) (from Ch. 91 1/2, par. 1-122)
Sec. 1-122. Qualified examiner. "Qualified examiner" means a person who is:
(a) a Clinical social worker as defined in this Act,
(b) a registered nurse with a master's degree in

psychiatric nursing who has 3 years of clinical training and experience in the evaluation and treatment of mental illness which has been acquired subsequent to any training and experience which constituted a part of the degree program,
(c) a licensed clinical professional counselor with a
master's or doctoral degree in counseling or psychology or a similar master's or doctorate program from a regionally accredited institution who has at least 3 years of supervised post-master's clinical professional counseling experience that includes the provision of mental health services for the evaluation, treatment, and prevention of mental and emotional disorders, or
(d) a licensed marriage and family therapist with a
master's or doctoral degree in marriage and family therapy from a regionally accredited educational institution or a similar master's program or from a program accredited by either the Commission on Accreditation for Marriage and Family Therapy or the Commission on Accreditation for Counseling Related Educational Programs, who has at least 3 years of supervised post-master's experience as a marriage and family therapist that includes the provision of mental health services for the evaluation, treatment, and prevention of mental and emotional disorders.
A social worker who is a qualified examiner shall be a licensed clinical social worker under the Clinical Social Work and Social Work Practice Act.
(Source: P.A. 96-1357, eff. 1-1-11; 97-333, eff. 8-12-11.)

Notification

(d) If a person is determined to pose a clear and present

danger to himself, herself, or to others by a physician,

clinical psychologist, qualified examiner, law enforcement

official, or school administrator, or is determined to be

developmentally disabled by a physician, clinical

psychologist, or qualified examiner, whether employed by the

State or by a private mental health facility, then the

physician, clinical psychologist, or qualified examiner shall,

within 24 hours of making the determination, notify the

Department of Human Services that the person poses a clear and

present danger. The Department of Human Services shall

immediately update its records and information relating to

mental health and developmental disabilities, and if

appropriate, shall notify the Department of State Police in a

form and manner prescribed by the Department of State Police.

Federal Legislation

Medicare Coverage of Licensed Professional Counselors – Bill Introduced in 113th Congress

Mar 19, 2013

Senators Ron Wyden (D-OR) and John Barrasso (R-WY) have introduced legislation to establish Medicare coverage of licensed professional counselors and marriage and family therapists. The bill--S. 562, the “Seniors Mental Health Access Improvement Act of 2013”--would cover only medically-necessary outpatient mental health services, and would reimburse licensed professional counselors and marriage and family therapists at the same reimbursement rates, and under the same terms and conditions, as clinical social workers. Counselors should contact their state's U.S. Senators to ask them to cosponsor S. 562.

- See more at:

VA Mental Health Summits

Dr Fran Giordano organized several volunteers to attend various meeting the VA held to express our concerns of the VA not hiring professional counselors.

Sen. Jon Tester (D-MT) introduced legislation in June 2013 focused on improving access to mental health counselors for the growing population of veterans. The legislation will encourage the VA to recruit more Licensed Professional Mental Health Counselors and Marriage and Family Therapists and strengthen existing law to allow the VA to provide mental health services to veterans' immediate family members. The Senate Veterans’ Affairs Committee will be holding a legislative hearing on Wednesday October 30th to consider pending bills.

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