School Board to Vote Tonight on Counseling

Orange Unified School District trustees are set to vote tonight on whether to allow psychological counseling interns to continue working with students in their schools.

The issue came up last fall when district administrators decided not to renew contracts with three nonprofit agencies that supply the interns, all of whom are graduate students in the last phases of their field work.

Trustees made clear last year that they would support only those school activities directly linked to academics. But they backed down later after students, parents and psychologists in the community insisted that the program helped students concentrate on their schoolwork.

The interns, who work in 30 of the district’s 37 schools, were temporarily reinstated. The program is funded with state money set aside for drug and alcohol abuse education.

Tonight, the trustees will consider a new set of regulations for counselors in the district and then vote on whether to sign long-term contracts with the nonprofit agencies Mariposa Women’s Center, Straight Talk and Turning Point.

In keeping with the school board’s policy, the regulations would allow referral to a counselor for “social and behavioral issues which affect functioning in the school setting.”

Serious issues such as suicidal tendencies or other complicated problems would have to be referred to a regular psychologist under the proposed rules.

The meeting will be at 7:30 p.m. at district headquarters, 1401 N. Handy St. Information: (714) 997-6100.