Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: THURSDAY, October 27, 1994 TAG: 9410270097
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: C1 EDITION: STATE
SOURCE: MARGARET EDDS STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: RICHMOND LENGTH: Long
In addition, while counselors could talk once with an individual student about a problem without parental consent, any follow-up would require written approval. So would any classroom guidance activities.
The "opt-in" plan, which will be presented today to the state Board of Education, would dramatically revamp the way Virginia's school counselors work. It is a major test of Gov. George Allen's commitment to leaving a conservative, parent-centered imprint on Virginia's public schools.
Parents can now "opt out" of programs such as sex education if they disapprove. But the revision would reverse the onus, preventing most counseling for anything other than academic or career guidance without express parental approval.
Several counselors familiar with the plan said Wednesday that it could wreak havoc on Virginia schoolchildren, leaving them at times without adult guidance in a crisis. Such strict oversight is sought only by a relatively small group of parents, many of whom are affiliated with the religious right, they said.
"There's a lot of outrage and worry," said Bryan Carr, president-elect of the Richmond Area Counselors Association and a guidance counselor in a suburban Chesterfield County high school. "My worst fear is that those students who need the most help either would choose not to get it or would not have the opportunity."
But some parent activists argued that the plan, drafted by state Superintendent William Bosher after a parent-counselor-administrator team failed to come up with a proposal last month, does not go far enough. They said there is widespread opposition to a free hand for counselors, and pointed to legislation approved by the House of Delegates last winter as proof.
The House called for mandated guidelines for school guidance counselors. Department of Education officials, including Bosher, persuaded the Senate to allow those standards to be regulations developed by the Board of Education.
"I think that this is a step in the right direction, but ... it doesn't go as far as we would like to go," said Joe Guarino, a free-lance writer from Newport News who became active in the movement to contain guidance counselors after attending a church seminar last year.
Oversight is needed, he said, because "some guidance counselors have stepped beyond their bounds and started using guided imagery, deep-relaxation techniques" and other forms of psychotherapy. "It has altered some children's personalities to the point that parents have noticed it."
An example of the remaining loopholes, Guarino said, is the requirement in Bosher's plan that counselors describe "group counseling opportunities," including materials and techniques, for parents.
He called that "insufficient," and argued that actual lesson plans should be available to parents who request them.
The common denominator in response to the proposal "seems to be that most people are unhappy," said Bosher, who was superintendent of schools in Henrico County before being named by Allen to the state's top public-school post. "I've heard the range from `this will kill counseling' to `this does not acknowledge the complete role of the parent.'''
Bosher said he adopted the job of writing guidelines after a 12-person committee named this spring failed to agree on an approach. His goal, he said, was to devise a practical way to "preserve the strength of a program - counseling - and yet do what the General Assembly has asked us to do."
"The last thing I want to do is inhibit conversation that goes on between counselors and students, and teachers and students," he said. But "we, as stewards of the public school system, must do all that we can to ensure trust."
Education Department officials said it will be at least a few months before final action on the plan. If the state board OKs moving forward today, there must be a 60-day public comment period.
Cheri Jones, vice president of the Virginia Education Association and a member of the group originally assembled to draft regulations, said her greatest concern is that "many parents don't repond when notices are sent home." Those least likely to respond are often parents whose children most need help, she said.
While many parents want more involvement in the counseling their children receive, Bosher's plan "is so far beyond what's needed," said Leslie Kaplan, a York County counselor and past president of the Virginia Counselors Association.
Particularly troubling is the fear that abused children "won't feel free to talk about it with anyone," she said.
But Bosher said most suspected abuse is reported by teachers and administrators rather than counselors. Those contacts would not be limited by the recommendations, he said.
Bosher acknowledged that some revisions might be needed. For instance, he said, the board may need to clarify that in a crisis situation - such as an in-school shooting - a team of counselors and psychologists could be brought in for one day without parental approval.
But Guarino said he thought that even then, parents should have a say. Teachers could call all parents the night before the planned counseling, he suggested. "If a teacher doesn't reach a parent, the kid doesn't participate. ... Hopefully there'd be no more than one such situation in a school year."
"It's a very good first start," said Barbara Chauncey, a Loudoun County mother of five, also a member of the disbanded committee. "It helps to bring parents back into the educational process. Anything less than this shuts parents out."
Memo: shorter version ran in the Metro edition.