🚨I'm Petitioning the AZ Board of Board of Behavioral Health to Repeal a 2003 "No-Touch" Policy Exempting School Counselors
Much has changed since 2003. Time to Expose the Regulatory Blind-Eye to the Unauthorized Practice of Behavioral Health Workers in Schools.
In this Stack:
Friday’s announcement that I have filed an administrative petition against the Board of Behavioral Health (the BBHE) to repeal their 2003 policy statement that acts to exempt school-based behavioral health workers
The 102-page Petition consists of two parts: Part I lays out the legal arguments for why the BBHE never had solid legal ground for the policy - and it was made redundant in 2006 with amendments to the statutes anyway, so why keep it?
Part II is more accessible for a general audience and addresses the evolution of school counseling, demonstrating with their own research literature how school-based counselors are in fact practicing behavioral health - without a license.
The BBHE has 60 days to either repeal, defend, or make the policy into a formal rule which would require a public rulemaking process. Stay tuned.
A copy of the full petition is available by clicking here.
From Friday’s Twitter(X), January 12, 2024:
Today, as a concerned parent and proponent of transparency, I filed an ARS 41-1033 administrative petition with the Board of Behavioral Health Examiners to repeal their 21-year old "no-touch" policy that purports to exempt school counselors from BBHE's regulatory oversight. This Policy violates the Administrative Procedures Act, is redundant, and no longer reflects the reality of mental health services in schools.
For too long the BBHE has turned a blind eye to the practice of behavioral health by unlicensed school counselors and social workers.
Much has changed in school counseling since 2003 when the Policy was adopted. They aren't just "guidance counselors" for career and college advising anymore. They provide behavioral health services and the Department of Education, however well-intentioned, is ill-equipped to manage and supervise them.
In the interest of public health, welfare and safety, the BBHE needs to reassert their statutory authority over the practice of behavioral health.
Parents need to know that if their rights are violated, or if their child is injured, by an unlicensed school counselor or social worker practicing behavioral health, they have recourse to the regulators at the BBHE who have statutory powers to investigate complaints and tackle the unauthorized practice of behavioral health - a Class VI felony in this state.
Parents whose rights are violated, or whose children are injured by unlicensed behavioral health workers in schools should not have to rely on a school district's complaint policies and procedures set in place by district administrators, governing boards, or the Department of Education.
Parents, lawmakers, and regulators need to understand:
➡️There is no statutory basis to exclude school counselors and social workers practicing behavioral health from licensure
➡️The BBHE adopted this Policy in 2003 without any statutory basis to create an exemption from licensure
➡️The Policy is used as a blanket exclusionary rule - but never went through formal rulemaking proceedings - no public notice, no public comment, no public scrutiny
➡️Whatever assumptions the BBHE had about school counselors not practicing behavioral health in 2003, those assumptions are no longer warranted
➡️Being "certified" by the Department of Education does not make school counselors or school social workers any different from any other "certified" employee in schools:
*They follow district policies, not professional practice standards
*They report to administrators, not licensed supervisors with experience in behavioral health, and
* They are not bound by the same professional ethics of a licensed practitioner.
A copy of the full 102-page Petition is available here:
drive.proton.me/urls/4WH7S41Z5…
Part II of the Petition on the evolving role of school counselors and behavioral health in schools:
➡️Did you know ADE changed the title of "guidance counselors" to "school counselors" only in 2018?
➡️Or that an ASU counseling master's degree requires you study the same courses - whether you're "certified" or "licensed"? It really doesn't matter - the courses qualify you for both
Did you know ADE added "school social worker" as a certificated employee category in 2017? Or that 96% of all schools provide mental health services now, including over 80% that provide individual one-on-one therapy counseling?
Does your school district talk about providing "responsive services" to minors as part of a mental health program? Mesa does. Higley does.
Yeah, that probably means therapy and individual counseling. But you may not know your child is in treatment.
Ever heard of the American School Counselors Association Model? The ASCA is a voluntary association with no enforcement authority. They want members to advocate for less teaching time and more counseling time. With your children.
ASCA advocates its members focus on providing long-term therapy for students with psychological disorders, not sit around writing excuses for tardy students.
Team-based "supports" at schools may involve a whole group of mental health workers, teachers and administrators collaborating to "support" your child, implicating professional ethics regarding confidentiality and independent judgment of licensed professionals.
Interestingly, wherever the ASCA Model is introduced, they find 1 and 4 kids have a diagnosable mental order...naturally requiring....more counselors in schools!
There are over 1550 school counselors in AZ. Certain lawmakers want more. A LOT more.
About those new bills proposing to call school counselors and school social workers "mental health professionals" - they tried last year, too.
Its confusing, they are literally just certified employees, like any other certified employee a schools.
The BBHE needs to reassert their regulatory authority over ANY behavioral health service provider.
End.