Eleven percent of teenage girls and 14 percent of teenage boys in a recent survey acknowledged having had a same sex sexual encounter. It may be assumed that the number of adolescents with concerns related to sexual orientation exceeds the number with actual same sex experiences. If, as self-identified homosexual adults have reported, their sexual orientation had developed before puberty, exploring issues related to sexual orientation in counseling high school students will not likely be determinant of their adult sexual orientation. Most high school counselors would recognize that there are, in their case loads, students for whom issues of homosexuality or sexual orientation may be central concerns. Failure to provide counseling or referrals for the special needs of these students is an act of negligence. Counselors may experience role conflict, however, of counselor as representative of the normative macroculture versus counselor as advocate of a minority group with special needs relevant to their minority status. Although it may not be within the scope of the high school counseling program to work extensively with issues of sexual identity, the issues can be addressed directly and openly, and the special needs of this student population can be understood, interventions can be provided, and referrals can be made. (NB)