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Study proposed on school counselor staffing and training after teacher testimony (HJR 58)
Summary
Representative Jamie Isaly introduced a study resolution to examine counselor staffing, training and recruitment amid reports of heavy counselor caseloads and a cited accreditation practice of one counselor per 400 students in some schools. The committee advanced HJR 58 by voice vote.
Representative Jamie Isaly introduced House Joint Resolution 58, saying the measure would examine accreditation standards, counselor training and recruitment as district workloads increase. Isaly described a counselor letter from her district that said summer enrollment dipped to 398 students then rose to 440 and the school did not hire another counselor because of that enrollment pattern.
Isaly read from the email: "At PHS, we went down to 398 students in summer enrollment just for a 1 month stint as we were back to 440 once school started... I was the sole counselor here for 2 years with a population of 440 plus population. It has been ridiculously hard and I have been overwhelmed."
She said the counselor's workload included crisis response, IEP participation, FAFSA help and other tasks, and that Montana struggles to retain candidates due to wages and cost-of-living differences. Committee members asked whether the cited 1:400 ratio applied only to class A high schools and whether the concerns were isolated; Isaly said she had received multiple proponents previously in the House from districts and the university listing similar needs.
The committee moved HJR 58 and advanced it by voice vote; the record shows Senators Beard and Mandeville recorded as voting 'no.' Isaly urged the study as a way to identify effective staffing and compensation strategies and noted it was aimed at helping students with early-intervention mental-health needs.
