JANUARY 2020
Attend the 15th Annual Professional School Counselor Conference
Have you registered yet? Deadlines are approaching.

Co-hosted with the Texas School Counselor Association, this conference is designed specifically for professional counselors providing services in elementary and secondary school settings.

Bring your administrator for FREE - show them everything you do!

Convince your boss using our letter template .
REGISTRATION RATES INCREASE 1/24!
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Happy New Year!
Happy New Year from the Texas Counseling Association. What did you accomplish in 2019? Did you win an award, have a breakthrough advocacy moment, or get featured in an article?

We love promoting the hard work and accomplishments of our #TxCAmembers.

January 24
Pre-Registration closes for the 15th Annual Professional School Counselor Conference.

February 3

February 9-11

February 22
TCA Virtual Board Meeting

February 27-28

April 1

July 1
TCA EEF Awards
The EEF Committee is pleased to announce the grantees from the EEF December cycle. 

  • Gretchen McLain
  • Chelsea Conaway
  • Jennifer Price
  • Sarah Agarwal
  • Ryan Holliman
  • KeriTe Hughes
  • Kerrie Taylor
  • Melissa Alvarado
  • Daniel Dosal Terminel

April 1st is the deadline to apply for the next round of EEF grants. Don’t wait. Apply now! TCA is pleased to support its members by providing additional funding to help you fund graduate education, attend conferences, complete research and more! 
Know Your TCA Benefits: HPSO Liability Insurance
TCA members have the opportunity to purchase liability insurance through Healthcare Providers Service Organization (HPSO). TCA is proud to endorse HPSO and has selected it as the association's professional liability insurance administrator because of HPSO's benefits, features, affordable rates, and commitment to superior service.

TCA master-level student members can purchase HPSO liability insurance for just $18 a year. 

PAID ADVERTISEMENT
Join a TCA Division
TCA's 12 affiliated Divisions are segmented by distinct professional interests to address specific mental health populations and counseling issues. Joining one of TCA's division will help you to get information and opportunities on how to effect change for topics that directly impact your field of interest.

Division membership ranges from $5 - $25 a year with TCA membership. 
Looking for a local connection? Check our local chapters.
Licensing Updates
BHEC holds Second Meeting

The Texas Behavioral Health Executive Council (BHEC) met this Tuesday (1/14/20) in Austin. Created by the 86th Legislature as an umbrella agency for all behavioral health licensing boards, BHEC is on a tight timeline to become fully operational by September 2020. The Psychology Board’s Executive Director Darrel Spinks is the Interim BHEC Executive Director. The Council expects to select the new Executive Director in March and adopt for publication in the Texas Register the first set of agency rules. TCA’s Executive Director emphasized the need for transparency and easy access to meeting notices, board listings and actions by the Council. Until the BHEC website is available, information for BHEC can be found at on the Texas Board of Examiners of Psychologists website. 
What does this mean for TSBEPC and TSBEMFT?

The Texas State Board of Examiners of Professional Counselors (TSBEPC) will meet in Austin on February 7th. The Texas State Board of Examiners of Marriage and Family Therapists (TSBEMFT) will meet in Austin on January 24-25. While these Boards are unable to modify or adopt new rules until the Texas Behavioral Health Executive Council (BHEC) becomes fully operational in September, each board is currently fully operational and active. License applications, renewals, complaint management are all taking place, with improvements in timelines seen every month.
Texas Behavioral Health Workforce Work Group

A fairly new initiative of the Health and Human Services Commission, this workgroup is focused on identifying and prioritizing strategies that have been enacted to expand and increase access to behavioral health professionals across Texas. TCA is an active member of this workgroup, ensuring that your profession is well represented. 
Hogg Foundation: Central Texas African American Healthy Minds Project

As part of the Hogg Foundation for Mental Health’s 80th anniversary and the Central Texas African American Family Support Conference’s 20th anniversary, the Hogg Foundation will invest $20,000 in one-time grant awards to support mental health and wellness among African Americans in the Central Texas area. The deadline has been extended to Monday, January 20, 2020 at midnight.

District Resources
Texas Jaycee Scholarship Application
The deadline to apply is February 15, 2020. The Texas Jaycee Foundation Scholarship Program grants $1,000 scholarships to graduating high school seniors who plan to continue their education at an accredited post-secondary Texas college, university or vocational/technical school. Find more information on the Texas Jaycee Foundation website.
The Texas Model for Comprehensive School Counseling Programs, 5th Edition
Make sure your school counseling and counselor educator programs align with Texas law!

The Texas Model is now the standard in Texas (HB 18). Make sure your school counseling program aligns with best practices, SBEC standards, and Texas law! Ordering is quick and easy. Discounts available for bulk purchases. 
The Texas Education Agency (TEA)
CCMR Outcomes Bonuses

School districts can earn College, Career, and Military Readiness bonuses when high risk students graduate prepared for college, a career, and the military and take the next steps by enrolling in post-secondary institutions, completing a credential, and/or enlisting in the military. School counselors are key in this initiative! Visit the HB 3 FAQs web page or view the August 8th CCMR HB 3 in 30 video for more details.

State Compensatory Education - Expansion of At-Risk Student Definition

Students who have been incarcerated or have parents who have been incarcerated are now eligible for services that other at-risk students receive, such as counseling and academic enhancement services. Read more. 


Amendment to the State’s Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA) State Plan

The Texas Education Agency (TEA) will be submitting an amendment to adjust the Closing the Gaps domain graduation rate methodology used in the academic accountability system, as well as the methodology used to identify schools for support and improvement. 

DISCLAIMER ABOUT PAID ADVERTISEMENTS: Any reference to a product, service, activity, or program in this electronic communication does not imply endorsement by the Texas Counseling Association.
Texas Counseling Association | www.txca.org