ESC 17 School Counselor Connection

TEA released guidance on Senate Bill 12 (Required Parental Rights Form and Right to Health-Related Services Information) on Thursday, August 28th. Both the original bill and TEA guidance are linked below.

Region 17 has a scheduled Zoom meeting on September 4th with Stephanie Lerner from TEA to address legislative updates. Many of you are already registered to attend. If you have specific questions in relation to Senate Bill 12 implementation, please submit them no later than September 2nd using the Google form linked below so that we can share them with Stephanie.

TEA has a rural school counseling (RSC) group to collaborate about rural school counseling challenges and successes. Group members implement group strategies to positively impact rural school counseling in their region. If you are interested in being a part of this RSC group, please fill in the questionnaire below.

High school principals are asked to identify outstanding high school students who will be graduating between January and August of 2026 to apply for consideration for the United States Presidential Scholars Program (USPSP). One general program student applicant and one Career and Technical Education (CTE) student applicant will be accepted from each school.

For the general program, the commissioner of education will nominate ten male and ten female candidates to apply for the opportunity to be U.S. Presidential Scholars. Additionally, the commissioner of education will nominate five CTE students to apply for the honor.

Established in 1964, the U.S. Presidential Scholars Program honors graduating seniors for their outstanding scholarship, achievement and promise of future success. In 2015, the program was extended to recognize students who demonstrate ability and accomplishment in CTE fields. Seniors chosen as U.S. Presidential Scholars are selected by the Commission on Presidential Scholars and will be presented with a medallion at a ceremony in their honor, where they will engage in conversations and events related to issues that concern America and the world.

Application due date: October 3, 2025

Get ready to apply for college for free! The second full week of October is officially Free College Application Week in Texas. From October 13-19, 2025, Texas residents can apply to any Texas public college or university for undergraduate admission without paying an application fee.

Be sure to submit your applications through ApplyTexas to take advantage of this opportunity!

Spend some time looking at resources available to use with students on My Texas Future. Students can get a snapshot of degree and certification programs around the state of Texas and filter by personalized priorities to find the best fit for them.

The Course Code table for 2025-2026 is provided below in an Excel file. Please check the table for course codes to use in the 2025-2026 school year. It is extremely important to use the correct course code for courses being offered. Inaccurate codes can impact CTE funding and potentially CCMR when looking at IBCs and CTE Completers.

Also, linked below are the TWEDS Course Codes. The Course Code, Course Title, and Course Abbreviations of state-approved courses used on the Academic Achievement Record are listed here. Use of these prescribed numbers, titles, and abbreviations is required for participation in the Texas Records Exchange (TREx) system.

This Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) document provides guidance related to graduation requirements for students receiving special education services in Texas, as outlined in the 19 Texas Administrative Code (TAC) §89.1070. These questions and answers clarify expectations and are intended to support staff at local educational agencies (LEAs) in navigating the graduation process for students with disabilities.
This document clarifies common questions related to the following topics:

1. Rule Overview
2. Curriculum and Assessment
3. Dismissal or Revocation of Consent for Special Education Services
4. Considerations for the Conditions Included in 19 TAC §89.1070(b)(3)
5. Commencement Ceremonies and Returning to Request Additional Services Beyond Graduation
6. Summary of Performance and Evaluation
7. TSDS PEIMS Coding Considerations

The FAQ can be accessed at this link. A PDF is also included below.

Join Stephanie Lerner, Counselor Support Program Manager at TEA, as she covers important topics for school counselors and provides an overview of key updates from the 89th Texas Legislature. Topics covered will include: Counseling, Student Advancement, Graduation, CTE, CCMR, Health & Safety, and Libraries. THIS WILL BE A ZOOM MEETING and the link will be provided to registered participants on Wednesday, September 3rd, 2025.

This session will provide school counselors, administrators, and CTE teachers with background information on graduation plans established under HB5, personal graduation plans, and course pathways needed for guiding students when choosing an endorsement.

Graduation requirements will be reviewed for Foundation Plan, Foundation Plan with Endorsement, and Foundation Plan Distinguished Level of Achievement.

Participants are encouraged to bring their own electronic devices.

We are offering four CTE sessions geared specifically to counselors this year!

Register now for session one using the link below.

In the world of mental health, ethical standards and legal responsibilities must guide school counselors. Join us as Dr. Charles Crews examines school counselor ethics in considering confidentiality, informed consent and mandatory reporting. Participants will learn how to cultivate skills for ethical decision-making and problem-solving. This training fulfills the requirement for counselors to receive training in ethics and in implementing a comprehensive school counseling program.

Are you new (or relatively new) to school counseling? You are not alone! New Counselor Network will meet 4 times this school year (twice in the fall and twice in the spring) to provide relevant and timely updates, resources, and training to enhance counselors' skills in academic advising, mental health support, career readiness, crisis intervention, and data-driven program development. Come join us in a safe space to ask questions and learn from each other.

In order to respect your time constraints, these workshops will be split into a morning session where you will hear from several resources and a SEPARATE (optional) afternoon Counselor Roundtable where we will work interactively to network and problem solve. Join us for just the morning or register and stay for the whole day- do what works best for you!

Register now for October 6th! I can't wait to meet you.

Please make sure that your campus or district homeless and foster care liaisons are aware of this opportunity! Our Homeless Educator Roundtable will bring updates from Texas Education for Homeless Children and Youth program, connections with local community resources, and hopefully have some supplies to send with districts. Our Foster Care Summit will focus of preparing students that have been placed in Foster Care for post secondary readiness and college. This promises to be a valuable day.

Education Specialist: Counselor Solutions & Homeless Services

Email: klewis@esc17.net

Phone: 806-281-5762

Location: 1111 West Loop 289 Access Road, Lubbock, TX, 79416

I am so thankful for the opportunity to partner with you and support the valuable work that you are doing on campuses. Please let me know how I can help!