How to Become a School Counselor in Tennessee [2023 Guide]

School Counseling in Tennessee

Being a school counselor in Tennessee is a rewarding career because you can positively impact so many different aspects of students’ lives.

Though school counselors are often thought of as assisting with academic issues like registering for classes, helping students fill out scholarship applications, and so forth, the scope of this job is much broader.

In Tennessee, you will implement programs at your school that address issues from bullying to career preparation to emotional development. At the same time, you will also provide critical counseling and mental health services to the student body.

Of course, you will need the proper education and training to do so. This guide takes you step by step through the process of fulfilling the requirements of becoming a Tennessee school counselor.

Becoming a School Counselor in Tennessee

What are the Requirements to Become a School Counselor in Tennessee?

Education Requirements

The essential educational requirement for becoming a school counselor in Tennessee is that you have a graduate degree. The state gives you two options for fulfilling this requirement.

First, you can complete a master’s program in school guidance or school counseling. This is a common pathway for prospective counselors that are entering this career from another field, such as teaching.

School counseling graduate programs are typically two to three-year degrees that require the completion of 60 or so semester credit hours. In addition to advanced coursework in school counseling, these programs also include practicum and internship experiences that enable you to gain real-world experience while being supervised by an experienced school counselor.

Second, Tennessee allows current counselors working in an agency or community setting to transition to school counseling. To do so, you must have a master’s degree or higher in counseling and enroll in an approved school counseling program.

Furthermore, this option requires that you complete at least 30 hours toward the school counseling degree and be supervised by a licensed school counselor. Supervision must occur each week for at least one hour.

Work Experience Requirements

The experience requirements for becoming a school counselor in Tennessee come in two forms.

First, if you are currently enrolled in a school counseling graduate degree program, you are required to complete a full-time internship that is one or more semesters in length. Additionally, your internship experiences must occur in both primary (pre-K to sixth grade) and secondary (grades 7-12) settings.

Second, if you do not already have teaching experience, you must complete a one-semester preparation program in a school setting. This program is mostly observational in nature, though you will also assist teachers in classroom instruction. You are also required to gain experience in analyzing the effectiveness of classroom instructional activities.

Examination Requirements

Tennessee requires all prospective school counselors to pass the Praxis II School Guidance and Counseling Exam. You must earn a score of 580 or higher. A comprehensive study companion for the exam can be found here.

Background Check Requirements

All school counselors in Tennessee must pass a criminal background check. In some states, background checks are handled at the state level. In Tennessee, though, background checks are administered by individual school districts.

What are the School Counselor License Renewal Requirements in Tennessee?

The initial school counseling license in Tennessee (called a practitioner license) is good for three years. This license can be renewed once if desired or necessary.

To move from a practitioner license to a professional license, you must work for three years in a school setting appropriate for your certification. For example, if your certification is in pre-K through sixth grade, your work experience must be in that area.

Tennessee requires the following to meet the three-year threshold:

There must be at least 25 months of full-time work. At least one academic year (10 months) within those 25 months must be in a Tennessee school.
You must have a valid license throughout the three years.
You must provide documentation of completing these requirements; the burden of proof rests in your hands.
If you complete a full-year internship and have a practitioner license, you will receive credit for one year of experience.

You might be granted a six-year professional license if you satisfy these requirements.

What are the Reciprocity Requirements for School Counselors in Tennessee?

If you have experience as a school counselor outside of Tennessee, you might be granted reciprocity in the form of an interim license. You must complete the necessary Tennessee Pre-K-12 licensure requirements to be granted a provisional or professional license while you practice on an interim basis.

The Tennessee Department of Education outlines the following stipulations governing what qualifies as “experience”:

Experience must be gained in a public or private school setting operated by a local education agency in the United States or its territories. Experience in government-run schools in the U.S. or abroad is also acceptable.
Experience in international school settings is acceptable if the school is authorized by a ministry of education or its equivalent.
Experience must be completed in a school or schools approved by a recognized accreditation agency (e.g., regional accrediting bodies, State Department of Education).

How Long Does It Take to Become a School Counselor in Tennessee?

A good rule of thumb is that it takes at least six or seven years to meet the licensure requirements to be a school counselor in Tennessee.

In most cases, you will need about four years to complete a bachelor’s degree program. After that, two to three years are needed to complete a master’s degree program in school counseling. The length of time it takes to complete these degrees depends on many factors, though.

For example, six years is a good estimate for completing the degree and licensure requirements if you study full-time during your undergraduate and graduate programs. However, if you only study part-time for one or both degrees, you might need eight or more years to finish the requirements for graduation and licensure.

Additionally, if you move to Tennessee, you might need additional time to fulfill licensure requirements. As outlined above, you might be issued an interim license at first, and then after completing any unmet requirements for school counseling licensure, you will be granted a provisional or professional license. Depending on how many requirements you need to meet, this process might take a few months or more than a year.

What is the New School Counseling Model of Practice and Standards in Tennessee?

Tennessee’s School Counseling Model of Practice and Standards was enacted for the 2018-2019 school year. In broad strokes, this model specifies what school counseling programs across the state should include. What’s more, it serves as a guide for school counselors to identify the most crucial areas of need in their schools and implement effective strategies to meet those crucial needs.

More specifically, this model:

Aligns to Tennessee’s strategic educational goals.
Aligns to national standards for school counseling.
Focuses on academic achievement, social development, emotional development, college readiness, and career readiness.
Uses a team-based approach to addressing the needs of students.
Is delivered by a licensed school counselor.
Must be consistently evaluated, updated, and refined to address the changing needs of schools and their students.

Furthermore, the Model of Practice and Standards outlines the specific standards that school counselors must help students achieve. For example, one of the social and emotional development standards is to help children “Develop positive attitudes toward self as a unique and worthy person.” How school counselors achieve this depends on the specific child.

A second-grader with good self-awareness and a healthy sense of self might only need broad-based, periodic interventions to maintain their development course. However, a ninth-grader with low self-esteem and a very poor self-concept might require targeted interventions like individual or group counseling to break free from negative self-talk and recognize their inherent worth.

But as discussed earlier, school counselors in Tennessee help students with other areas of growth and development. For example, the Model of Practice and Standards outlines 20 areas of academic growth and 20 standards in the college and career readiness realm. These are in addition to 21 standards in the social-emotional realm.

As with any educational standards, this model serves as a guide for school counselors across the state to deliver comparable services no matter where the school is located and no matter the background of the students.

By gathering input from practicing school counselors around Tennessee, the Department of Education devised a comprehensive, data-driven set of principles to ensure all students have access to quality school counseling programs.

Becoming a School Counselor in Tennessee [2023 Certification Guide]