The School Counselor and Credentialing and Licensure

(Adopted 1990; revised 1993, 1999, 2003, 2009, 2015, 2021, 2026)

ASCA Position

Effective school counselor credentialing or licensing laws include a definition of the profession, minimum qualifications for entry into the profession and requirements for continuing professional development. All state education certification or licensure agencies are encouraged to adopt the ASCA School Counselor Professional Standards & Competencies when developing policy and legislation regarding school counselor credentialing or licensing.

The Rationale

Credentialing and licensure ensure school counselors are equipped with the knowledge, attitudes and skills to effectively support each and every student. These requirements ultimately protect students by ensuring access to highly qualified and trained professionals who can deliver comprehensive, ethical and data-informed services. Credentialing or licensure legislation should include:

A description of the role of the school counselor as defined in the ASCA National Model^®(ASCA, 2025a) and the ASCA School Counselor Professional Standards & Competencies (ASCA, 2025b)
Standards for entry into the profession that require, at minimum, a master’s degree in school counseling or the substantial equivalent
Standards for school counselor preparation programs aligned with the ASCA Standards for School Counselor Preparation Programs (ASCA, 2019)
Reasonable and relevant requirements for continuing education to further develop skills as a school counselor

The School Counselor's Role

School counselors must be professionally credentialed or licensed in the state in which they practice. School counselors work with state school counselor associations, school counselor preparation program and legislative bodies to advocate for alignment of credentialing or licensing requirements (Carey, et al., 2019) with the ASCA Professional Standards & Competencies for School Counselors. All school counselors are expected to:

Be culturally competent (Verdon, 2020; Uher, Fisher & Josol, 2024)
Have skills in evidence-based educational and school counseling practices (Zyromski, et al., 2018)
Focus on the ASCA Student Standards: Mindsets & Behaviors for Student Success, including K–12 college- and career- readiness standards for each and every student, with specific attention to academic, career and social/emotional needs (Yulis Mardotilla, et al., 2024; ASCA, 2025a)
Possess leadership and advocacy skills (Gilfillan, et al., 2026)
Engage in professional development to maintain credentials and licensure to stay current with best practices in school counseling
Have consultation skills and the ability to work collaboratively with educational professionals and partners in the school and community (Brigman, et al., 2021)
Be able to develop, implement and assess school counseling programs using data-informed processes (Warren & Mauck, 2019)
Be able to identify systemic factors affecting the school counseling program and advocate for improvement (Kratsa et al., 2023)

School counselors collaborate with district and state education personnel and local or state school counselor associations to provide ongoing professional development specifically for school counselors, aligned with the ASCA School Counselor Professional Standards & Competencies (ASCA, 2025b).

Summary

Effective state school counselor credentialing/licensing laws and regulations align with the ASCA School Counselor Professional Standards & Competencies to ensure highly qualified and trained school counselors.

References

American School Counselor Association. (2019). ASCA Standards for School Counselor Preparation Programs

American School Counselor Association. (2022). ASCA Ethical Standards for School Counselors

American School Counselor Association. (2025a). ASCA National Model: A framework for school counseling programs (5^th ed.)

American School Counselor Association. (2025b). ASCA Professional Standards & Competencies. Alexandria, VA: Author.

Brigman, G., Villares, E., Mullis, F., Webb, L. D., & White, J. F. (2021). School counselor consultation: Skills for working effectively with parents, teachers, and other school personnel(2nd ed.). Wiley.

Carey, J. C., Martin, I., Harrington, K., & Trevisan, M. S. (2019). Competence in program evaluation and research assessed by state school counselor licensure examinations. Professional School Counseling, 22(1). https://doi.org/10.1177/2156759X18793839

Gilfillan, B., Dahir, C., Hilts, D., Guzman, Y., Barrow, S., Scott, S., Berger, C., Blalock, S., & Campbell, L. (2026). Transforming school counselor education: A Delphi study. Professional School Counseling. https://doi.org/10.1177/2156759X251412819

Kratsa, K. D., Hilts, D., Kolbert, J. B., Joseph, M., Nice, M. L., & Crothers, L. M. (2023). Ecological barriers to comprehensive school counseling program implementation. Journal of School-Based Counseling Policy and Evaluation, 5(2), 33–44. https://doi.org/10.25774/rktf-dx61

Mardotilla, Y., et al. (2024). The impact of social-emotional learning on academic achievement in elementary schools. International Journal of Educational Research, 1(1), 20–25. https://doi.org/10.62951/ijer.v1i1.14

Uher, A., Fisher, M. H., & Josol, C. K. (2024). Cultural competency training for the social service professions: A systematic literature review. Multicultural Learning and Teaching. https://doi.org/10.1515/mlt-2022-0024

Verdon, S. (2020). Awakening a critical consciousness among multidisciplinary professionals supporting culturally and linguistically diverse families: A pilot study on the impact of professional development. Child Care in Practice, 26(1), 4–21. https://doi.org/10.1080/13575279.2018.1516626

Warren, J. M., & Mauk, G. W. (2019). Implementation science: A path toward strengthening school counselor practice. Professional School Counseling, 23(1).

Zyromski, B., Dimmitt, C., Mariani, M., & Griffith, C. (2018). Evidence-based school counseling: Models for integrated practice and school counselor education. Professional School Counseling. https://doi.org/10.1177/2156759X1800184