Vermont School Counselor Association News & Updates

Get Involved! VTSCA Micro-Burst Volunteer Opportunity: Help Shape Our 2026–2027 Webinar Series

Wed, 01 Apr 2026 23:48:22 GMT

We’re looking for a small group of VTSCA members to participate in a short-term “micro-burst” volunteer opportunity to help plan our 2026–2027 VTSCA webinar series.

This is a low-commitment, high-impact way to support our profession and help guide professional learning for counselors across Vermont.

What the work looks like:

Meeting #1 (1 hour – May 20th at 1pm-2pm): We will review a list of topics suggested by our school counseling members and select the top five topics for next year’s webinar series.
Between meetings (about 1 hour on your own): Help identify and reach out to three potential presenters for the selected topics. Good news: Through our partnership with the American School Counselor Association, VTSCA already has two presenters we can invite at no cost, so the group will only need to help secure three additional presenters.
Meeting #2 (1 hour - Date/Time TBD - Determined at Meeting #1): Reconnect as a group to finalize presenters and outline the webinar schedule.

A VTSCA Board member will facilitate this short volunteer experience.

Why participate?

Bring fresh ideas and perspectives
Help shape professional learning for Vermont school counselor
Support a webinar series that has been so successful it is now being replicated by other state school counselor associations across the country

If you’re interested in participating, we’d love to hear from you! Please contact Justin Pinard by April 15th: jpinard@vermontschoolcounselor.org

Take Action Now: Join VTSCA in Montpelier to Protect School Counseling

Mon, 02 Feb 2026 16:12:47 GMT

Hi Vermont School Counselors!

As you heard at the VTSCA conference in November, there has been steady progress in the mission to pass a state law protecting the way school counselors are utilized in their school buildings. As we enter the new legislative session, our bill has a chance to be taken up and approved – but it cannot happen without your action and support. With so many different competing interests, there is no guarantee that the House and Senate will choose to prioritize our bill. That’s where you come in!

Our presence is needed in Montpelier to make sure our representatives understand the importance of prioritizing this bill during this legislative session. They need to hear directly from school counselors about our experiences on the ground. We need to put counselors from all grade levels in front of them to make it clear as day: the time is NOW to enshrine proper school counselor utilization into state law.

We are mobilizing our membership to make this happen. We are asking you, as a Vermont school counselor and VTSCA member, to look for one day on this spreadsheet that you can visit Montpelier and partner with VTSCA’s lobbyist, Gail Zatz, in meeting with legislators who want to know more about the vital role of a school counselor. These meetings will make it impossible for them to ignore the importance of this bill. Please refer to these talking points to help guide your discussions.

If you are passionate about doing real school counseling work and protecting this profession for current and future school counselors – please consider the power of this opportunity, and sign up to be part of this critical movement.

Sincerely,

Your VTSCA Board of Directors

Act Now: Help Pass the 80/20 Bill at the State House

Mon, 02 Feb 2026 16:05:46 GMT

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