Update-February 25, 2022

Hello all,

Wow! Thank you for taking the time to sign, share and support this petition. It’s encouraging to know we stand together and can work together, as school counselors and supporters, to have our voices heard in support of all students.

I am writing with an update. I know this is long, but I encourage you to read the response so far from ASCA leadership and my proposed next steps.

Shortly after creating this petition, I shared it and detailed concerns directly to Kelly Frey, ASCA Director of Meetings and Conferences, and Jill Cook, ASCA Executive Director. I received a prompt reply from Jill Cook with the following message. Please note, I have copied this exactly from the email I received.

Thank you for reaching out and sharing your concerns.  ASCA’s mission to support school counselors as they prepare students for life and career transcends politics. ASCA has no plans to relocate the 2022 ASCA Annual Conference, which will be held in-person in July in Austin, Texas. As a national organization with a membership in all 50 states, ASCA intentionally moves the Annual Conference from region to region to ensure the largest number of school counselors can access high-quality professional development.

The choice of ASCA Annual Conference destinations has never been an endorsement of the laws of the particular city or state. Removing the 2022 conference from Austin would eliminate a professional development opportunity for many school counselors in Texas, as well as Oklahoma and Louisiana, who may be unable to participate elsewhere. Additionally, removing meaningful professional development from Texas may have an indirect impact on the 5.4 million students who are educated in Texas and the 1.4 million who are educated nearby.

Since state legislatures began meeting this year, we have seen more than 90 bills introduced seeking to deny transgender youth access to gender-affirming medical treatment, preventing them from participating in sports teams consistent with their gender identity and denying access to sex-segregated spaces that include restrooms and locker rooms. ASCA opposes all proposals that harm LGBTQ+ youth and calls on legislators to reject these harmful measures. ASCA urges all school counselors to become active in their state school counselor associations and join local voices in opposition to these measures impacting their communities.

ASCA will not further isolate school counselors and transgender students in Texas from their allies based on political posturing and Governor Abbott’s recent directive. In Austin this summer, ASCA will affirm the more than 13,000 school counselors who serve 5.4 million students in Texas public schools.

Jill Cook

While I appreciate this response, just because holding a conference has never explicitly “been an endorsement of a particular city or state”, that doesn’t mean that there isn’t an implicit message being communicated by moving forward in a state that we know has discriminatory policies.

I also understand (to an extent), “transcend[ing] politics”, yet, I strongly believe there is a way to continue to provide this professional development opportunity without directly supporting an economy that enacts dangerous policies. We have learned over the past two years that, while it is not ideal nor preferred, this conference can be provided effectively in a virtual setting and ASCA has the ability to pivot to this setting quickly (see ASCA 2020 Conference). Why can this not be done now?

I also think it is important for ASCA to take meaningful action to stand behind their words. Yesterday afternoon, you may have seen posts on social media from ASCA affirming the organization’s support of transgender and LGBTQIA+ youth. They also asserted their “alarm” at the “torrent of bills introduced…that would directly harm LGBTQ+ youth…”. I appreciate ASCA’s statement and assertion, but where is the action? What are they doing to put these words into meaningful action?

What are our next steps?

1. Continue to share this petition widely. The more voices involved, the louder we become and the harder our questions and concerns are to ignore.
2. I will be sharing all of this with ASCA’s Board of Directors and encouraging Jill Cook and Kelly Frey to review the petition again.

I welcome additional ideas or actions you all think would be powerful. Please feel free to reach out.

I think I am in good company when I say that I am a strong supporter and member of ASCA and a proud School Counselor. I just want to see this organization stand up and take meaningful action against these discriminatory policies, for all school counselors and, most especially, for the youth we serve.