Bill to double supplement for some nationally certified school health specialists draws broad support

Senator Pinckney presented House Substitute 1 for HB 4-25 to increase the state salary supplement for nationally certified school counselors and nurses from 6% to 12% and to add nationally certified school social workers to the 12% supplement category.

The sponsor said the substitute recognizes comparable national certifications available to school social workers and clarifies that employees must be actively employed in the profession associated with their certification to receive the supplement. The bill also authorizes the Department of Education to identify additional qualifying positions and certifications through regulation to provide a transparent and consistent process for future consideration.

Committee members and witnesses discussed fiscal impact and parity concerns. Senator Pinckney and other senators noted previous restorations of national-certification supplements and that the Joint Finance Committee (JFC) was considering epilogue language and funding studies to examine parity for other nationally certified school‑based behavioral‑health professionals.

Multiple in‑person and virtual witnesses testified in support. Jerome Foster, a licensed clinical social worker and vice president of the School Social Worker Association of Delaware, described the training and licensure requirements for school social work and urged the committee to support the bill. Gloria Ho, NEA director for Delaware State Education Association and a school social worker, and Carol Asante, a licensed clinical social worker, also told the committee that increasing the supplement would help retain qualified professionals. Stacy Robinson, a nationally certified school nurse, described the certification’s competencies and urged support.

Rosa de Piazza, an appointed member of the Behavioral Health Consortium and executive board member of the Delaware Association of School Psychologists, urged the committee to include nationally certified school psychologists in the 12% category, calling the omission an equity issue that risks losing psychologists to higher‑paying private and out‑of‑state positions.

The bill was discussed at length; no committee vote was recorded in the transcript.