Through their training, school psychologists utilize their expertise in cognitive development, academic achievement, mental health, and behavior to help children succeed. Services provided by school psychologists include conducting evaluations, counseling, instructional support, behavior support, data collection and analysis, consultation and collaboration, crisis intervention, and communication with outside agencies.
Despite school psychologists receiving extensive training in both psychology and education, school psychologists continue to lack licensure in New York state. Lack of school psychologist licensure has resulted in significantly reducing available mental health services for children, losing millions of dollars in school Medicaid reimbursement, and most recently placed over 40,000 disabled preschool children at-risk for not receiving timely comprehensive psycho-educational evaluations.
According the National Alliance on Mental Illness, one out of every five children is diagnosed with mental health disorders and approximately 80 percent of children do not receive appropriate treatment for their condition. If they do receive treatment, it is in the school setting.
Although many children do not receive appropriate mental health support, a lack of school psychologist licensure has resulted in a restricting the settings in which school psychologists practice and reduced their scope of practice. At present, school psychologists are primarily restricted to practicing in a school setting and are often constrained to conducting psych-educational evaluations.
Nonetheless, many school psychologists believe the "school" in school psychology represents the type of psychology practiced, not the specific location and would like to expand their practices into their other areas of expertise, such as offering mental health support to children. Licensure of school psychologists would allow these professionals to expand their practices beyond the school setting, utilize their training in mental health, and offer much needed psycho-educational services through private practice.
To date, unlike their Masters-level counterparts in education (speech therapists, social workers, occupational therapists), school psychologists are the only professionals to be prohibited from using their earned title privately. However, under the Affordable Care Act, School Psychology is defined as a "mental health service profession" (Section 5002, Definitions, (22) and school psychologists are considered "qualified health providers" for the provision of child and adolescent mental and behavioral health services (Section 5203, Subpart 3, Sec. 775 (B)).
An additional rationale for licensure for certified school psychologists involves the changes to regulations for Medicaid reimbursement to schools for services performed by school psychologists. As part of the Medicaid provisions, Congress allowed local education agencies to claim reimbursement for covered related services, which included the assessment and mental health intervention services performed by school psychologists.
Individual states have discretion in determining which groups their Medicaid programs will cover and the financial criteria for Medicaid eligibility. Since February 2007, all non-doctoral and non-licensed state school psychologists are no longer eligible for reimbursement of their services to Medicaid eligible students. This represents over 75 percent of the state's current school psychology workforce which has been declared ineligible to provide Medicaid services. An analysis of Medicaid reimbursement in the state estimates that school psychological services represent $100 million in unreimbursed services. If certified school psychologists are able to gain licensure, these funds would once again become available to districts.
Finally, in August, a memo was released by the state Education Department stating that only licensed psychologists can conduct evaluations for preschool students despite school psychologists being highly qualified and trained in preschool assessment. This sudden change in legislation has major implications for psychologists, schools and other educational agencies, and most importantly, for children.
When a preschool-age child is suspected of having a disability, regulations indicate that an evaluation be completed within a specific deadline in order for that child to receive services in a timely manner. Part of the comprehensive evaluation process for preschool children includes a psycho-educational evaluation, typically conducted by a school psychologist. Special education services such as speech therapy, physical therapy, occupational therapy, and teaching services are available to children at a crucial developmental period, when it can have the most impact on improving outcomes. More than 40,000 children ages 3 to 5 years receive services through these programs due to educational disabilities.
By only allowing the few licensed psychologist in the area to conduct preschool evaluations, the state Education Department is placing preschool students at significant risk for receiving timely evaluations and therapies at a critical point in their growth and development. Should school psychologists be limited in their ability to conduct preschool evaluations, thousands of children may miss out on thousands of hours of much needed therapy. In October, the state acknowledged the lack of "licensed psychologists" to complete preschool evaluations issuing a temporary reprieve by stating, "the Department has determined that this issue requires further review, and a legislative solution is needed to address field concerns."
The New York Association of School Psychologists are working in partnership with over a dozen organizations, including the New York State United Teachers, the state Council of School Superintendents, and state School Boards Association, to gain licensure for school psychologists.
Community members are urged to contact state and local legislatures, educating them on the vital work which school psychologists do and enlisting their support for licensure status. For more information on school psychologists and ways in which you can support them, please visit nyasp.org or email local NYASP Chapter Representative, Gary Schaffer.
Laura Burnside is a school psychologist in the Dunkirk City School District.