Texas Bill Passes Allowing Chaplains To Work As School Counselors

A Texas bill allowing unlicensed and uncertified chaplains to serve as school counselors has passed legislation and is heading to the desk of Governor Greg Abbott for a signature.

According to the bill, which passed in the TX House 84-60, school districts will be allowed to choose whether chaplains can work in the capacity of school counselors.

The bill stipulates that the paid, or volunteer, chaplains would “provide support, services, and programs for students as assigned by the board of trustees of the district or the governing body of the school.”

“The same Texas politicians trying to control what students think — by banning books and censoring curricula — now want to dictate what students worship,” the Texas ACLU insisted via Twitter.

If paid for their services, the chaplain’s salary would come out of school safety/security budgets.

Typically, to become a school counselor, one must have a Master’s degree from a Council for Accreditation of Counseling & Related Educational Program approved program and, in many states, 100 practicum hours or 600 internship hours in a school.

What do you think?

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