SB 1036 and HB 753 have now passed ALL committee stops in both the Florida House and Senate and are officially headed to the floor for final votes. This is a major milestone for Florida school counselors — and it did not happen by accident.

During this legislative season alone, FSCA’s Advocacy & Government Relations Committee has:

• Engaged in ongoing advocacy with the House and Senate bill sponsors to shape and refine language on school counselor preparation, certification, and evaluation from the start
• Worked closely with Representative McFarland (Sarasota) and her staff, who filed our amendment aligning school counselor evaluations with the Florida School Counseling Standards
• Maintained ongoing communication with House leadership, including the Policy Chief of the House Careers & Workforce Committee, to eliminate certification exam barriers not related to school counseling practice
• Collaborated with Legislative Analysts for the Florida Senate Committee on Education Pre K–12 to ensure statutory language accurately reflects school counselor preparation and practice — and to align the House and Senate bills
• Provided public testimony in Tallahassee 

This is what organized, relationship-driven advocacy looks like. Both bills have now advanced through their respective committee stops and are moving toward final floor consideration. These bills:

• Align certification with graduate-level preparation
• Remove unnecessary exam barriers
• Align evaluations with the Florida School Counseling Standards

Florida’s students deserve well-prepared, standards-aligned school counselors who are evaluated on the work they are trained to do.

FSCA Leads. FSCA Delivers. 

Since 1964 — THE home for Florida school counselors.