Senate Education

Monday, April 6, 2026·32m·▶ Watch / Listen

Senate Education advanced SB26-153, setting a 48-credit-hour minimum for school counselor licensure, sending it to the consent calendar after the State Board of Education erased the old 60-credit floor in February and left no minimum in its place.

Key Actions

·Licensed School Counselor Credit Hour RequirementsPassed

Notable Quotes

“They eliminated the 60 credit minimum requirement for a master's degree and also the requirement that had aligned with Council for Accreditation of Counseling and Related Educational Programs called cacrep, which are national standards.”
Chris Kolker — Kolker's explanation of the regulatory gap the bill is meant to close — the State Board's February rule change stripped both the credit minimum and the national accreditation alignment.

+ 4 more quotes

Votes

Referred to Committee of the Whole and with a recommendation that it be placed on the consent calendarAction

Yes (6)Scott Bright, Lisa Frizell, Cathy Kipp, Janice Rich, Janice Marchman, Chris Kolker

Excused (1)Marc Snyder

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TranscriptPreview

Senate Education Committee will come to order. Ms. Christopher, please call the roll. Senators Bright. Here. Brazil. Present. Kip. Here. Rich. Here. Snyder. Excused. Merchman. Here. Mr. Chair, here. Thank you very much. And today we will be going presenting Senate Bill 26153 with myself and the minority leader. So I will hand the gavel over to my vice chair and we'll begin presenting here in just a moment. All right, we've got our bill sponsors for Senate Bill 153. Who would like to go first? Oh, we already did. Senator Kolker. Thank you, Madam Chair. Glad to be here today to present Senate Bill 153. It is a late bill that was just brought up, so that's why we're hearing it today. The purpose of this bill is establishing a minimum 48 hour credit requirement for school counselor licensure in Colorado. And the reason is due to recent changes in February by the State Board of Ed to change the licensure rule for school counselors. They eliminated the 60 credit minimum requirement for a master's degree and also the requirement that had aligned with Council for Accreditation of Counseling and Related Educational Programs called cacrep, which are national standards.…

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