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Doreen Waldbieser, a school counselor in Vigo County, stepped to the microphone Nov. 8 at a Department of Education hearing on diplomas and began alphabetically listing her counseling duties:
Attend active shooter training. Analyze transcripts. Answer emails and phone calls.
Change schedules. Conduct screenings. Connect students to assistance.
She didn’t get past the M’s before her speaking time ran out.
Her point to policymakers was that even before the state’s new graduation requirements take effect, Indiana’s school counselors are already stretched too thin.
A new report on the profession in Indiana found that many counselors agree.
Student mental health needs are consistently higher since the pandemic and school counselors say they have less time to spend with students, according to the 2024-25 Indiana School Counselor Survey . To blame, they said, are growing lists of tasks like test and attendance monitoring and higher-than-average caseloads — Indiana has one counselor for every 351 students, higher than the recommended ratio of 1-to-250.