I have been hearing many questions and concerns about the roles and responsibilities of school counselors as the school system moves to a model of remote learning and support during this public health crisis.

The UFT has put together the following guidance for counselors in an effort to answer some of your most pressing questions. We realize that many questions remain, and we thank you for your patience as we try to find out answers.

Our students need you more than ever in this time of great uncertainty and adversity. Thank you for your dedication and commitment to them.

Please don’t hesitate to reach out  to us for assistance and support. Together we will get through this.

Sincerely,

Rosemarie Thompson
UFT School Counselors Chapter Leader
RThompson [at] uft [dot] org (RThompson[at]uft[dot]org)

UFT Guidance for School Counselors

For those of you providing mandated counseling as a related service, tele-therapy has been part of your conversations with your administrations and other staff.  Tele-therapy is simply a form of distance counseling that can help our students feel supported and nurtured across the miles. Please be advised that tele-therapy as defined for our other related service colleagues may or may not be appropriate for your students and/or the counseling services you provide.  Additionally, there may be some confusion about when parental consent is required for the provision of tele-therapy as defined for the services that our other colleagues provide. Keep in mind that New York State Medicaid guidelines (for speech teachers and occupational and physical therapists) require that said providers get parental consent before delivering their related services via tele-therapy.  In said cases, tele-therapy must include a video component. Counseling services are not covered by state Medicaid guidelines.

In summary and based on the agreed upon UFT/DOE language, counselors are responsible for the following while schools are closed:

• Working with students and families by providing support around developing self-confidence in their ability to succeed, helping them demonstrate effective coping skills when faced with a problem, helping them with the ability to manage transition and adaptation to changing situations and responsibilities, and, by helping them demonstrate social maturity and behaviors appropriate to the situation and environment.  
• Working with administrators and staff to develop a plan for how staff, students and families can reach them through phone, email or online platforms.
• Contacting families and students as needed.
• Working with administrators and staff to develop appropriate protocols for students and families to follow in emergency situations.
• Supporting students and families by providing the necessary academic, college and career counseling and advisement where appropriate.
• Collaborating with administration and staff to determine the remote learning options available to provide consultation, as well as counseling support services based on grade level bands.
• School counselors will also determine supports for families, teachers, administrators and other school staff.  As always, they will continue to monitor the social/personal development of their students and their students’ active participation in remote learning.

Related Service Counselors will follow the Related Service Provider Responsibilities outlined below:

• Tele-therapy counseling services where and if appropriate based on student need and in conjunction with schools’ remote instructional plan.
• You should have participated in the scheduled school-based professional development regarding the online learning tool utilized by the school.  
• School counselors will continue to review all mandates in their caseload to determine how best to deliver appropriate services to students starting on March 23 and for the duration of the school building closure period.
• Keep in mind, that In some cases, the opportunity for appropriate tele-therapy will be limited. At minimum, related service providers will provide a weekly consultation with the student and their caregiver (where available) to provide support and advice regarding appropriate therapeutic activities.
• Regardless of whether a student has been prescribed tele-therapy sessions, ensure that there is at least one touch point per week for each student in their caseload.
• Share the schedule with the student’s family, school leadership, and their supervisor and initiate service in accordance with the schedule.
• Supervisors will check in with counselors periodically.
• Document all sessions in SESIS.

Please consult the ASCA: Planning for Virtual/Distance School Counseling During an Emergency Shutdown guidance document.

Review the ASCA Ethical Standards for School Counselors, in particular section A.15.

Keep in mind that although parent consent is not required for virtual/distance school counseling, we do encourage ongoing communication with students and families.  You want to work with families to develop the service plan.  You will share your plan for providing the IEP driven counseling services and work in collaboration with families to ensure that they understand how you will be supporting their children.  Along the way, please document said interactions on SESIS and keep track of how you are meeting your students’ needs.

IEP-Related Questions and Concerns:

Q. What part does the Remote Learning Service Plan play in the IEP meeting process?

A: The Remote Learning Service Plan will address how students will be served remotely during the school closure. Special education teachers or other knowledgeable staff will develop these plans in consultation with the student's related services provider(s). Schools are expected to develop these plans, upload them to SESIS, send them to parents, and discuss them with parents. See below language for additional guidance on Remote Learning Service Plan development.

Remote Learning Service Plan Update Regarding IEPs (Deadline extended to April 3, 2020)

• While building our teachers’ capacity to deliver instruction and services remotely, please ensure that the parents or families of students with IEPs are contacted via phone early in the week of Monday, March 23, 2020.
• During this call, staff will:
• Review the services in the child’s IEP and share the current expectations for service delivery, and
• Gather information from the parent or family member regarding the child’s remote learning environment and any considerations that impact service delivery.
• After contact is made and the call is completed, staff will document the date on which contact was made with each family in the SESIS event log.
• Service providers will begin services next week (the week of Monday, March 23, 2020), get accustomed to the remote environment, and share best practices.  

If staff have already completed the forms, they should hold on to them and use them as a reference. Further updated guidance on the completion and submission of Remote Learning Plans will be provided next week (the week of Monday, March 23, 2020).

Q: Is the expectation that the IEP annual meeting happen as a phone conference?

A: Yes it is the expectation that IEP meeting deadlines are met and teleconferencing is the process for ensuring this. Parents and other team members should participate by teleconference using the Microsoft Teams application. All IEP team members should be given access to all documents that will be reviewed in advance of the meeting.

Q: How can parent signatures be recorded during virtual IEP conferences?

A: During this period of school closures, IEP meetings should be conducted using the Microsoft Teams application. To record parent's participation in the IEP meeting, the team will record a "T" next to the parent's name on the attendance sheet.

Q: How do we proceed with incomplete triennials and re-evaluations?

A: If the evaluations have been completed, the expectation is that you collaborate with the SBST to work to meet the compliance deadlines.

A: If evaluations have not been completed, students cannot meet in person with school psychologists and/or teachers. The Office of Supervisors of School Psychologists is looking into possibilities of remote administration of assessments. Procedures will be forthcoming.  In the meantime, please continue to collaborate with the school based support team at your school.

Q: How do we proceed with upcoming triennials and re-evaluations?

A: The expectation is that you collaborate with the school based support team at your school.