Bill > S2706

This bill expands licensure opportunities for school counselors by modifying the requirements for becoming a licensed mental health counselor. Specifically, the bill allows school counselors to apply their graduate coursework and clinical experience towards mental health counselor licensure, with some key conditions. These include having a master's degree from a state-licensed educational institution in a relevant field, completing at least 200 hours of supervised clinical experience (with 100 hours of individual supervision from a qualified clinician), and demonstrating completion of evidence-based suicide prevention or intervention training. The bill also explicitly states that school counselors can now sit for the written or oral examination for mental health counselor licensure. This change aims to provide more professional pathways for school counselors and potentially address mental health professional shortages by making it easier for those already working in educational settings to obtain broader mental health counseling credentials.

Budget and Finance

Joint Committee on Consumer Protection and Professional Licensure (Joint)

https://malegislature.gov/Bills/194/S2706