Duluth, GA — On Monday, July 17, Rep. Lucy McBath (GA-07) convened a school counselor roundtable with U.S. Secretary of Education Dr. Miguel Cardona. Taking place during the 2023 American School Counselor Association Annual Conference in Atlanta, the morning’s conversation was focused on the challenges and triumphs that local school counselors experienced in their day-to-day work.
“Students in America today face hurdles that are new and unknown to the generations that preceded them—the constant threat of gun violence, learning loss from a global pandemic, and an alarming mental health crisis among young people,” McBath said. “There is much work to be done to help our students, and Georgia’s Seventh Congressional District is truly blessed to be served by so many wonderful school counselors who recognize how essential it is that our students have every tool they need to be successful academically. I was so pleased to welcome Secretary Cardona to Georgia to show yet another member of the Biden-Harris Administration why Georgia is at the forefront of growth and progress in America.”
“After listening to a group of amazing school counselors who are really lifting the profession and working to ensure students are getting the support they need, it is clear federal, state, and local leaders need to Raise the Bar,” said U.S. Secretary of Education Miguel Cardona. “If we are serious about supporting our students’ mental health, if we are serious about giving them opportunities after the pandemic, we need to make sure we are using every dollar available to us to provide better students-to-counselor ratios and step up support for our school counselors and for our students.”
One of McBath’s key legislative accomplishments, the Bipartisan Safer Communities Act, invests nearly $200 million in increased access to school-based mental health services and strengthens the pipeline of mental health professionals in school districts across the country. Over the next five years, this legislation will invest $1 billion in these programs in support of President Biden’s goal to double the number of school counselors, social workers, and other mental health professionals.