Hi VTSCA Members,
It is time for you all to help VTSCA get the 80/20 bill passed at the State House! Please copy and paste the language below and send it to your local House and Senate Representatives. Also, please ask your families to do the same. We need Vermonters to reach out to ensure that the legislature knows how important this bill is in supporting ALL Vermont students and families.
Thank you in advance for supporting “our” profession. If you live in the towns of the members of the House Education Committee and/or the Senate Education Committee, please copy/paste the email below or create your own using the talking points below.
TALKING POINTS
Choose a couple of points and put in them your own words.
- School counselors play a critical role in supporting students’ academic success, career readiness, and social-emotional well-being.
- Many counselors across Vermont are currently performing administrative duties and non-counseling responsibilities that reduce time spent working directly with students.
- The proposed 80/20 legislation ensures that counselors focus on their work to improve access to counseling services
-
- prioritizes student needs by dedicating more time to direct student interaction
- allows counselors to more effectively address individual concerns, provide personalized support, and deliver timely interventions.
- allows more students to access services in areas such as academic planning, college and career readiness, social-emotional learning, and crisis response.
- ensures that counselor expertise is used fully and appropriately to benefit students and schools.
- reduces counselor burnout
- ensures consistent access to counseling services across schools to help address disparities and supports students from diverse backgrounds in reaching their full potential.
SAMPLE EMAIL
Subject: S.265 in the Senate and H.618 in the House
Dear [Name]
I am writing to ask for your support of an important piece of legislation introduced in both the Vermont House and Senate on behalf of the Vermont School Counselor Association (VTSCA). This bill would require 80% of a school counselor’s time be dedicated to the direct/indirect student services for which they are specifically trained.
School counselors play a critical role in supporting students’ academic success, career readiness, and social-emotional well-being. However, many counselors across Vermont are currently performing administrative duties and non-counseling responsibilities that reduce time spent working directly with students. The proposed 80/20 legislation ensures that counselors focus on the work that has the greatest impact.
With the passage of this bill, school counselors will spend 80% of their time:
- Prioritizing Student Needs. By dedicating more time to direct student interaction, counselors more effectively address individual concerns, provide personalized support, and deliver timely interventions.
- Improving Access to Counseling Services. Increased availability means counselors serve more students and expand services in areas such as academic planning, college and career readiness, social-emotional learning, and crisis response.
- Maximizing Professional Expertise. School counselors are highly trained professionals with specialized skills. This bill ensures their expertise is used fully and appropriately to benefit students and schools.
- Reducing Burnout and Increasing Effectiveness. Clearly defining the counselor’s primary role alleviates the burden of excessive administrative tasks, allowing counselors to be more effective and sustainable in their work.
- Promoting Equity and Access. Ensuring consistent access to counseling services across schools helps address disparities and supports students from diverse backgrounds in reaching their full potential.
Vermont’s students deserve access to comprehensive school counseling services that support their academic achievement, career development and social well-being. This legislation is a practical and student-centered step toward strengthening our schools and communities.
I encourage you to support this important bill and help ensure that Vermont’s school counselors can do the work they are trained to do — serving students.
Thank you for your time and consideration.
Sincerely,
[Your Name]
CONTACTS
Senate Education Committee
Sen. Seth Bongartz
Bennington County
sbongartz@leg.state.vt.us
(802) 362-1488
Sen. David Weeks
Rutland County
dweeks@leg.state.vt.us
(802) 417-9013
Sen. Kesha Ram Hinsdale
Chittenden Southeast County
kramhinsdale@leg.state.vt.us
Sen. Nader Hashim
Windham County
nhashim@leg.state.vt.us
Sen. Terry Williams
Rutland County
tkwilliams@leg.state.vt.us
Sen. Steven Heffernan
Addison County
sheffernan@leg.state.vt.us
(802) 349-6874
House Education Committee
Rep. Peter Conlon
Addison-2 (Cornwall, Salisbury, Leicester, Goshen, Ripton) PConlon@leg.state.vt.us
Rep. Chris Taylor
Chittenden-Franklin (Georgia, Milton)
cataylor@leg.state.vt.us
Rep. Erin Brady
Chittenden-2 (Williston, VT)
ebrady@leg.state.vt.us
Rep. Jana Brown
Chittenden-1 (Richmond)
jbrown@leg.state.vt.us
Rep. Joshua Dobrovich
Orange-3 (Chelsea, Williamstown)
jdobrovich@leg.state.vt.us
Rep. Leanne Harple
Orleans-4 (Craftsbury, Albany, Greensboro, Glover) lharple@leg.state.vt.us
Rep. Robert Hunter
Bennnington-4 (Sandgate, Manchester, Arlingon, Sunderland) rhunter@leg.state.vt.us
Rep. Emily Long
Windham-5 (Townshend, Newfane, Marlboro) elong@leg.state.vt.us
Rep. Kate McCann
Washington-4 (Montpelier)
kmccann@leg.state.vt.us
Rep. Leland Morgan
Grand Isle-Chttenden (Alburgh, Isle La Motte, North Hero, South Hero, Grand Isle, Milton)
lmorgan@leg.state.vt.us
Rep. Beth Quimby
Calendonia-3 (Newark, Sutton, Sheffield, Wheelock, Lyndon bquimby@leg.state.vt.us
