ASCA Providing ESSCA Testimony

ASCA was invited to testify today, March 13, 2008, before Congress about the need for funding for the Elementary and Secondary School Counseling Act. Caroline Williams, the curriculum specialist from Milwaukee Public School District, Wis., and Janet Mays an elementary school counselor at Oliver Wendell Holmes K-8 School in Milwaukee, Wis., will serve as expert witnesses during a hearing of the House Subcommittee on Labor, Health and Human Services, Education and Related Agencies. Funding for ESSCA has been eliminated from the president's budget every year and each year has been restored through support from members of Congress and the efforts of ASCA, ASCA members and other organizations.

Last year after ASCA president Eric Sparks and ASCA member Lesli Myers testified to restore funding to ESSCP, Congress restored funding at $48.6 million. This was the largest increase in the entire education budget and an all-time high for this particular program. Because the amount was over the $40 million trigger, secondary schools were able to apply for funding for the first time since the program's inception. In 2005, ASCA president Judy Bowers, whose district received ESSCA grants, testified before the subcommittee. So this marks the third time in four years that ASCA has been invited to testify.