House panel rejects bills changing school counselor rules, psych-evaluation proposal

The North Dakota House Education Committee voted to recommend do not pass on House Bill 1449, which concerns counselor staffing, and House Bill 1490, which would have required periodic psychological evaluations of counselors.

Committee chairman Heiner called the roll and opened discussion on HB1449, which supporters said was intended to help districts meet a 1:300 counselor-to-student ratio. Representative Justin Jonas explained the bill’s origin: it was brought by the North Dakota Council for Educational Leaders to help school districts reach the 1:300 target and avoid notice from the Department of Public Instruction that a district is not meeting the requirement. Jonas said some districts and West Fargo are losing counselors to private-sector jobs and that the bill’s premise was to help districts recruit and retain counselors.

The proposal drew concerns about vague language that would require districts to “make a reasonable effort” to recruit counselors and whether that change would weaken enforcement. Representative Hauck moved the do-not-pass recommendation on HB1449 “on the information that the DPI and the schools are, as long as they’re actively working on it,” and Representative Hager seconded. Hauck said he favored leaving the law as written because there are currently no statutory consequences for missing the ratio and DPI’s current notifications suffice. Representative Hager added that the bill’s changes risked creating ambiguity about what constitutes a reasonable effort and that the current approach generally works.

The committee called the roll on the do-not-pass motion for HB1449. Chairman Heiner, Vice Chair Schreiberbeck, Representatives Hager, Huddleston, Hauck, Jonas, Longmire, Mackie, Martin and Osowski voted yes; the committee announced the motion prevailed (tally reported as 10 yes, 0 no, 4 absent).

The committee then took up HB1490, the companion measure addressing the psych-evaluation requirement. Representative Schreiberbeck moved a do-not-pass on HB1490; the motion was seconded by Representative Haddleston. Committee members questioned whether the bill unfairly singled out counselors rather than addressing misconduct by any school employee. One member who formerly worked as a speech and language pathologist said she believed the central problem was that school boards sometimes failed to act when informed of concerns, not the profession of counseling itself. Representative Hager noted that licensure renewal includes disclosures and background checks, and she and others raised questions about the cost, content and preventive value of required psychological exams.

The committee voted to recommend do not pass on HB1490; the motion carried with the committee reporting the roll as 10 yes, 0 no, 4 absent.

Both bills will not advance from the committee on the committee’s recommendation.