SECTIONS 72620-72621 - California Statutes

EDUCATION CODE

SECTION 72620-72621

72620. The governing board of a community college district may
provide in each college within the district an organized and
functioning counseling program. Counseling shall include, but not be
limited to, all of the following:
(a) Educational counseling in which the student is assisted in
planning and implementing his or her immediate and long-range
educational program.
(b) Career counseling in which the student is assisted in
assessing his or her aptitudes, abilities, and interests in order to
make realistic career decisions. The career counseling shall include
encouraging students, including women and minorities, to seek
apprenticeship training.
(c) Personal counseling in which the student is helped to develop
his or her ability to function with social and personal
responsibility.
(d) Evaluating and interpreting test data.
(e) Counseling and consultation with parents and staff members on
learning problems and guidance programs for students.
For purposes of this section, a person performing counseling
services to students shall be qualified as a counselor pursuant to
Section 87355 or 87356.
A governing board of a community college district, which offers
these counseling services, may contract with the governing boards of
any other districts, or private schools, or other public and private
agencies or organizations, to render the counseling services. In so
contracting, the governing board of a community college district
shall not contract at less than cost to a private school, or private
agency or organization.
Nothing in this section shall be construed as prohibiting persons
participating in an organized advisory program approved by the
governing board of a community college district, and supervised by a
district counselor, from advising students pursuant to the organized
advisory program.
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 March 4,
1972, shall be authorized to continue to perform such services on and
after March 4, 1972, without compliance with the additional
requirements imposed by this section.

72620.5. Commencing with the 1997-98 fiscal year, community college
districts, to the extent that funding is provided in the annual
Budget Act, may provide counseling and matriculation services for
students enrolled in credit courses and students enrolled in
noncredit courses, according to a welfare-to-work plan as provided in
Section 11325.21 of the Welfare and Institutions Code.

72621. Any information of a personal nature disclosed by a student
12 years of age or older in the process of receiving counseling from
a school counselor as specified in Section 72620 is confidential. Any
information of a personal nature disclosed to a school counselor by
a parent or guardian of a student 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 72620 is confidential. The
information shall not become part of the student record, as defined
in Section 76210, 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 college
nurse, for the sole purpose of referring the student 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 chief administrative officer or
parents of the student 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 student or the
following other persons living in the school community:
administrators, teachers, school staff, parents, students, and other
school community members.
(d) Reporting information to the chief administrative officer,
other persons inside the college, as necessary, the parents of the
student, and other persons outside the school when the student
indicates that a crime, involving the likelihood of personal injury
or significant or substantial property losses, will 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 student and preserved in the student'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 student 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
student.
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 76243.
Nothing in this section shall be deemed to limit the counselor
from conferring with other staff members, as appropriate, regarding
modification of the student'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, staff
members, 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.