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Despite steady progress over the past few years, Connecticut’s school counselors remain stretched thin.

According to the Connecticut Department of Education, a single school counselor in Connecticut served an average of 322 students this year, a slight increase from the previous two years but still far below the 457 students per counselor ratio Connecticut had in 2018-19.

Still, the American School Counselor Association recommends that a counselor should serve no more than 250 students.

A number of factors may have contributed to Connecticut’s improving counselor-to-student ratio. In July 2019, the state enacted Public Act 19-63, which required schools to create guidelines for providing access to a comprehensive counseling program for all students. Enrollment numbers have also fallen steadily since 2006, particularly after the coronavirus pandemic.

Michelle Boss, executive director of the Connecticut School Counselor Association, attributed the improving ratio to state lawmakers’ focus on mental health for students.

“I think Connecticut started to see that school counselors weren’t just helping kids get into college,” she said.

Last year, Connecticut had the 16th smallest counselor-to-student ratio in the nation. Only three states — Vermont, Idaho and Colorado — met ASCA’s recommended ratio. 

In the 2025-26 school year, almost a third of Connecticut’s school districts met the recommended ratio. But counselors in other districts are disproportionately burdened. In almost a fifth of the state’s school districts, a single counselor serves more than 400 students each.

Boss said that counselor-to-student ratios were much higher in elementary and middle schools than high schools. Some counselors must travel between multiple elementary schools, she said, so they may support more than 900 students each.

Studies cited by the American School Counselor Association have found that smaller counselor–student ratios correspond to increased standardized test performances and GPA. They also support decreases in chronic absence and disciplinary incidents.

Calista is a data reporting intern at CT Mirror. She is a rising senior at Yale University majoring in History and English. Last year, Calista reported for the Sacramento Bee’s metro desk, covering topics such as protests, environmental regulations, and water politics. She previously served as co-editor-in-chief of The New Journal, a long-form journalism magazine about Yale and New Haven.