A new American School Counselor Association report finds that many counselors believe their roles are misunderstood by key stakeholders—despite rising student behavioral, social-emotional and mental health needs. The State of the Profession 2025 report, based on a nationally representative survey of more than 6,000 school counselors, shows that smaller shares of families, district staff and state policymakers say they understand counselor responsibilities. Counselors report being pulled into tasks that conflict with their training, with 59% citing inappropriate assignments, 54% citing high caseloads and 49% citing difficulty closing opportunity and achievement gaps. The report’s findings point to budget and policy leverage: counselors warn that confusion about their value can drive efforts to cut counseling resources or add mandates without accounting for capacity.