Students have needs for counseling assistance in the areas of understanding themselves, relating to others, getting through school, and planning for college or work. Guidance programs often react to student problems rather than prevent them. California Senate Bill 813 provided $20 per tenth grade student to assure that each student would receive a review of academic progress and counseling related to educational options in the hope that students would be better prepared for the next step after high school. Typically, each student and his or her parent had 30 minutes of counseling. Counseling priority was given to students at risk of dropping out. Students with college potential but who were not college bound were often identified and were in need of concerted guidance efforts. Although tenth grade is a valid check point to find out who will graduate and who will not, dropout-prone youth could be identified as early as sixth grade. Counseling measures need to be reinforced to maximize student potential. Schools did an admirable job of seeing the majority of students and available parents. Follow-up interviews of students may yield data supporting the effectiveness of the program. (Appendices include a statistical report on a survey of the results of the counseling services provided by SB 813 and the text of the bill itself.) (ABL)