Committee advances bill defining school counselor role and creating DOE liaison

The Assembly Appropriations Committee amended and reported Assembly Bill 3,424 on May 15, 2025. The bill defines the role and duties of school counselors, requires continuing professional development, and authorizes the creation of a school counselor liaison position within the New Jersey Department of Education.

Witnesses from the New Jersey School Counselor Association and advocacy groups told the committee the measure would strengthen student mental‑health supports and standardize training. "This legislation is pivotal in recognizing and enhancing the role of the school counselor in our education system," said Jennifer Curenti, president of the New Jersey School Counselor Association, who testified in favor. She said the bill emphasizes academic, career and social‑emotional supports, and called the liaison position a vital resource for best practices and statewide coordination.

Witnesses said the liaison would be similar to a state school nurse consultant position created in 2020 and that the principal fiscal impact of the bill would be the liaison position. Committee members heard testimony emphasizing counselors’ roles in suicide prevention, trauma‑informed practices and classroom‑based Tier 1 supports.

After testimony and brief questions the committee voted to amend and report the bill. The committee record includes multiple statements from practicing counselors who described recent on‑the‑job interventions, including one witness who said she had used the school's ideation protocol that day to support a student and arrange follow‑up care.

The transcript does not include a detailed appropriation for the liaison position; testifying witnesses described the cost as the primary fiscal implication and compared the proposed role to existing DOE consultant positions. The bill now advances in the legislative process with the committee’s recommendation.