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Lake Travis ISD rolls out counselor time tracker, expands Naviance and adds crisis resources
Summary
Director Jennifer Gerrigan discussed a new counselor time-tracking tool required by Senate Bill 179, expanded Naviance course planning for grades 6–12, new guidance curricula and crisis-response resources, and said about 78 parents have opted out of counseling services districtwide.
Jennifer Gerrigan, director of Counseling and Health Services for Lake Travis ISD, briefed the school board on an expanded counseling program and new tools the district will use to document and support counseling work.
Gerrigan said the district will implement a counselor time tracker required by Senate Bill 179 that captures minutes across guidance curriculum, individual planning, responsive services and system support to ensure counselors spend 80% of their time on counseling duties. "We're hoping that this tracker is relatively user friendly," she said, adding that counselors will likely enter data weekly and staff estimate reviewing entries will take about 15–20 minutes monthly.
Gerrigan described plans to expand Naviance — the district’s college-and-career readiness platform — to grades 6–12 for course planning and 3– and 4‑year academic plans. She said the district will follow a December–March course-planning timeline that ends with course plans recorded in Skyward for parent verification.
On curriculum and interventions, Gerrigan said Lake Travis ISD is using the Navigate360 Compass suite (mental health and behavior intervention modules) and is rolling out age-appropriate lessons on positive coping, suicide prevention, child abuse and trafficking awareness, and fentanyl education. The Forever 15 project will deliver grade-level fentanyl presentations at high schools and alternative campuses, she said, and parent information nights will be available (virtual options included).
Gerrigan also described new crisis-response binders and activity bins at every campus for coordinated trauma response, a newly expanded 38-page community resource directory, and a virtual parent workshop series featuring partners including the FBI and the Texas School Safety Center.
On parental opt-outs, Gerrigan said about 78 parents have opted out of counseling services districtwide; when students are opted out, counselors provide alternate supervision (for example, monitored library time) while guidance lessons occur. Gerrigan also updated the board on the district’s selection to participate in the Effective Advising Framework grant with Region 13 (planning year 2025–26; implementation 2026–27), with an anticipated award range discussed as about $50,000 to $120,000.
Trustees asked how much time the tracker will require and what counts as non-counseling duties; Gerrigan gave examples (testing proctoring, lunch duty, sole ownership of master scheduling) and emphasized the district will refine processes if the tracker imposes undue burden.
Gerrigan closed by praising the counseling team: "These folks are saving kids' lives on a daily basis," she said.
The board thanked Gerrigan and requested budget and grant-amount updates as they become available.
