Below you will find information on the Ohio Professional Counselor Licensure and the Ohio School Counselor Licensure.
The Ohio Professional Counselor Licensure
Below is the handbook from the National Board for Certified Counselors.
The Ohio School Counselor Licensure
Beginning January of 1999, the state of Ohio has a revised law on licensure as a school counselor. In the past this was a certification - now it is called a license. The general criteria for becoming licensed as a school counselor in Ohio follow two tracks – teaching and non-teaching:
Teaching Track:
- being a certified or licensed teacher with at least two years of successful teaching experience
- having a master's degree and endorsement from a college of education and Public Afairs.
The endorsement is obtained by completing either the master's in school counseling or (if you have a prior master's degree in counseling) taking coursework in the school counseling program for "licensure only." The coursework to be taken for licensure only is decided with each student on a case by case basis depending on the student's background. Even students seeking licensure only must apply to and be accepting into the counseling program. As of 2005 all students seeking school counseling licensure must have a master's degree in counsleing.
Non-Teaching Track:
On Tuesday November 13th, 2001, the Joint Committee on Agency Rule Review (JCARR) of the Ohio Legislature approved a proposal for alternative licensure for school counselors in Ohio. This allows licensure as a school counselor without a teaching license or teaching experience. At this point, successful candidates for alternative licensure must accomplish the following:
- Earn a Master’s degree in School Counseling as approved by the Ohio Department of Education or the course equivalents to the approved Master’s in School Counseling. For example if a person has completed a master’s in agency counseling, they would need additional coursework necessary for the school counseling endorsement including another internship.
- Pass the Praxis Specialty examination for school counselors
- Serve an induction year under the supervision of a licensed school counselor and then you apply for a regular license through the school in which you are working.
- There are also provisions for temporary licensure of school counselors which will allow holders of a current counseling license by the Ohio Counselor and Social Worker Board (PC or PCC). There are also to be rules for students with two years teaching experience to be hired prior to earning their master’s. These rules still need to be worked out though. The new law will go into effect January of 2003. We will have more information when they are published.