SECTIONS 49600-49604 - California Statutes

EDUCATION CODE

SECTION 49600-49604

49600. (a) The governing board of any school district may provide a
comprehensive educational counseling program for all pupils enrolled
in the schools of the district.
For purposes of this section, "educational counseling" means
specialized services provided by a school counselor possessing a
valid credential with a specialization in pupil personnel services
who is assigned specific times to directly counsel pupils.
(b) Educational counseling shall include, but not be limited to,
all of the following:
(1) Academic counseling, in which pupils receive counseling in the
following areas:
(A) Establishment and implementation with parental involvement of
the pupil's immediate and long-range educational plans.
(B) Optimizing progress towards achievement of proficiency
standards.
(C) Completion of the required curriculum in accordance with the
pupil's needs, abilities, interests, and aptitudes.
(D) Academic planning for access and success in higher education
programs including advisement on courses needed for admission to
public colleges and universities, standarized admissions tests, and
financial aid.
(2) Career and vocational counseling, in which pupils are assisted
in doing all of the following:
(A) Planning for the future.
(B) Becoming aware of their career potential.
(C) Developing realistic perceptions of work.
(D) Relating to the work world.
(3) Personal and social counseling, in which pupils receive
counseling pertaining to interpersonal relationships for the purpose
of promoting the development of their academic abilities, careers and
vocations, personalities, and social skills.
(c) Nothing in this section shall be construed as prohibiting
persons participating in an organized advisory program approved by
the governing board of a school district, and supervised by a school
district counselor, from advising pupils pursuant to the organized
advisory program.
(d) Notwithstanding any provisions of this section to the
contrary, any person who is performing these counseling services
pursuant to law authorizing the performance thereof in effect before
January 1, 1987, shall be authorized to continue to perform those
services on and after that date without compliance with the
additional requirements imposed by this section.

49601. (a) The State Department of Education shall, no later than
December 31, 1986, develop a career guidance model for science and
technology for use in school district counseling programs, and shall
make the model available to the governing boards of all school
districts in this state.
(b) The model shall be designed to provide information for use in
career guidance offered to pupils in grades 7 through 12, regarding
the potential for employment, educational requirements, and other
matters pertaining to careers in the fields of science and
technology. The purposes of the model shall be to objectively
acquaint pupils with the option of pursuing careers in those fields,
and to advise them in a timely manner of the preparation necessary to
undertaking those careers.
(c) In developing the model, the State Department of Education
shall employ materials and other resources that are available from
public and private organizations, to the extent appropriate for the
purposes of this section.

49602. Any information of a personal nature disclosed by a pupil 12
years of age or older in the process of receiving counseling from a
school counselor as specified in Section 49600 is confidential. Any
information of a personal nature disclosed to a school counselor by a
parent or guardian of a pupil who is 12 years of age or older and
who is in the process of receiving counseling from a school counselor
as specified in Section 49600 is confidential. The information shall
not become part of the pupil record, as defined in subdivision (b)
of Section 49061, without the written consent of the person who
disclosed the confidential information. The information shall not be
revealed, released, discussed, or referred to, except as follows:
(a) Discussion with psychotherapists as defined by Section 1010 of
the Evidence Code, other health care providers, or the school nurse,
for the sole purpose of referring the pupil for treatment.
(b) Reporting of child abuse or neglect as required by Article 2.5
(commencing with Section 11165) of Chapter 2 of Title 1 of Part 4 of
the Penal Code.
(c) Reporting information to the principal or parents of the pupil
when the school counselor has reasonable cause to believe that
disclosure is necessary to avert a clear and present danger to the
health, safety, or welfare of the pupil or the following other
persons living in the school community: administrators, teachers,
school staff, parents, pupils, and other school community members.
(d) Reporting information to the principal, other persons inside
the school, as necessary, the parents of the pupil, and other persons
outside the school when the pupil indicates that a crime, involving
the likelihood of personal injury or significant or substantial
property losses, will be or has been committed.
(e) Reporting information to one or more persons specified in a
written waiver after this written waiver of confidence is read and
signed by the pupil and preserved in the pupil's file.
Notwithstanding the provisions of this section, a school counselor
shall not disclose information deemed to be confidential pursuant to
this section to the parents of the pupil when the school counselor
has reasonable cause to believe that the disclosure would result in a
clear and present danger to the health, safety, or welfare of the
pupil.
Notwithstanding the provisions of this section, a school counselor
shall disclose information deemed to be confidential pursuant to
this section to law enforcement agencies when ordered to do so by
order of a court of law, to aid in the investigation of a crime, or
when ordered to testify in any administrative or judicial proceeding.
Nothing in this section shall be deemed to limit access to pupil
records as provided in Section 49076.
Nothing in this section shall be deemed to limit the counselor
from conferring with other school staff, as appropriate, regarding
modification of the pupil's academic program.
It is the intent of the Legislature that counselors use the
privilege of confidentiality under this section to assist the pupil
whenever possible to communicate more effectively with parents,
school staff, and others.
No person required by this section to keep information discussed
during counseling confidential shall incur any civil or criminal
liability as a result of keeping that information confidential.
As used in this section, "information of a personal nature" does
not include routine objective information related to academic and
career counseling.

49603. (a) Each school district offering instruction in any of
grades 9 to 12, inclusive, that provides on-campus access to
employers, shall not prohibit access to the military services.
(b) "Military services," for purposes of this section, includes
the United States Army, the United States Navy, the United States Air
Force, the United States Marine Corps, the United States Coast
Guard, or any reserve component of those federal forces, the National
Guard, the State Military Reserve, and the active militia.

49604. The Superintendent of Public Instruction shall send a notice
to each middle school, junior high school, and high school that
encourages each school to provide suicide prevention training to each
school counselor at least one time while employed as a counselor,
provides information on the availability of the suicide prevention
training curriculum developed by the State Department of Education,
and informs schools about the suicide prevention training provided by
the department and describes how a school might retain those
services.