Flexible education pathway for school counselors

To better enable students enrolled in postsecondary school counseling programs to enter the workforce as certified school counselors, the Department of Education shall: (1) Reduce the 600-hour internship requirement to a 300-hour internship requirement if a candidate: (a) Is a current full-time teacher who has been employed as a teacher for at least 5 years; and(b) Has earned an effective or highly effective rating on his or her performance evaluation for the past 3 years under s. 1012.34. (2) Establish, and the State Board of Education shall adopt rules and the Board of Governors shall adopt regulations, guidelines and programs to provide flexibility in meeting the internship requirements for students enrolled in a postsecondary school counseling program. (a) The guidelines may include any of the following:1. Establishing acceptable internship settings and supervision requirements.2. Establishing criteria for adjustments to internship requirements based on the student’s personal circumstances.3. Establishing credit equivalencies that count toward internship hours for such students.4. Flexibility in meeting the internship hours for such students. (b) The programs may include, subject to legislative funding, any of the following:1. Scholarship programs.2. Tuition reimbursement programs.3. Other incentive programs.