NASP Position Statement - Employing School Psychologists for Comprehensive Service Delivery

Position Statement on Employing School Psychologists for Comprehensive Service Delivery

The National Association of School Psychologists supports policies and practices that enhance the education and development of all students through the organized delivery of comprehensive school-based psychological services. NASP further recognizes that such services can be delivered in a variety of ways without compromising the rights and needs of students. However, in most situations, the most cost-effective, professionally accountable services will be those delivered by school psychologists employed by the school district.

In its 2000 Guidelines for the Provision of School Psychological Services¹, NASP promotes school psychological services that "are provided in a coordinated, organized fashion and are delivered in a manner that ensures the provision of a comprehensive and seamless continuum of services..." (Unit Guideline 1). In addition to these professional guidelines, the federal mandates of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) require that the evaluation and placement of students with disabilities is comprehensive, multi-faceted and determined by a multi-disciplinary team. This process stresses the need for educational specialists from multi-disciplinary perspectives to work with each other in the educational environment and to gather input from numerous sources, including observation of the student within the learning environment, consultation with school personnel regarding educational performance, consultation with parents and individualized assessment of the student's skills.

During times of economic crisis and personnel shortages, school districts may consider alternatives to employing their own school psychologists, such as contracting out for specific services or general staff reductions. The increased availability of third-party reimbursement may make arrangements with private providers more attractive. NASP is concerned about staffing policies that are detrimental to the best interests of the child, family and school system as a whole. Therefore, it is essential that administrators and policymakers understand the nature and potential limitations of these options and the importance of maintaining professional standards in order to make cost-effective decisions that do not sacrifice the quality or availability of services to students.

Independent contracting for school psychological services includes a variety of arrangements, such as privatization and subcontracting through other public agencies. Some school districts have implemented contracts with agencies or individuals which shift the delivery of services from the public to the private sector, or may contract services through public cooperative (intermediate) units, or may supplement or supplant school-based services with "co-located" services of community agencies.

NASP does not oppose the provision of comprehensive school psychological services through intermediate educational agencies or community providers, as long as such services do not supplant the services of district-employed school psychologists. In fact, NASP recognizes that such alternatives often represent the most viable means of insuring appropriate, comprehensive services. Further, NASP recognizes that the provision of limited contractual services (such as for a specific service) may augment available district resources and contribute toward the delivery of comprehensive services overall. However, NASP opposes independent contracting if it compromises the delivery of comprehensive services as required by professional standards and federal law and if contracting supplants or decreases the availability of comprehensive services delivered by district-employed school psychologists (Unit Guideline 7).

Both NASP and the American Psychological Association recognize the specialized training in school psychology as different from the training in other specialty areas, such as clinical and industrial psychology. As stated in NASP's Guidelines (7.7), "persons providing contractual psychological services are fully credentialed school psychologists..." The independent contractor who is not a trained school psychologist may be a skillful clinician but may lack essential knowledge, expertise and experience to gather appropriate data in the school context and to facilitate a collaborative, comprehensive approach with the other members of the educational team.

School psychologists employed by school districts:

Offer cost-effective services including early prevention, intervention and wellness activities which can eliminate the need for many costly evaluations and placements;
Are readily available to school personnel, students and the community for crisis prevention and intervention services;
Understand school issues from a systems perspective;
Are sufficiently familiar with the students, staff, legal requirements and policies of the school system to facilitate communication and defuse potentially dangerous or adversarial situations;
Provide accessible mental health services to children and families, including evaluation, group and individual counseling, and consultation with the family and school staff regarding mental health and educational issues;
Provide a wide range of services not easily or cheaply purchased via private contracts, such as reviews of records; consultation with parents and school personnel; ongoing, systematic classroom observations; inservice training; program planning and evaluation; and participation on multidisciplinary teams.

Contractual services may be appropriate in limited circumstances in which an outside contractor supplements the regular services of the district's school psychologists or provides comprehensive services which are otherwise unavailable or impractical. Such circumstances include:

Specific situations where specialized training and experience beyond what is typically available in the school district are required in order to provide appropriate service to the student or district, such as with low incidence disabilities or the provision of clinical home-based services through shared funding;
Situations where a very small district is unable to support the funding of a full-time psychologist and must seek an alternative arrangement such as contracting through an independent provider or intermediate agency;
Situations where a personnel shortage creates a temporary need to obtain services from available sources such as private providers;
Situations where a second opinion or outside service is warranted due to conflict between family and school regarding a school-based service.

Psychologists hired under independent contract to provide services in the schools should have at least the same preparation and credentials and should be expected to practice within the same professional and ethical standards as school-employed psychologists. Any contractual agreement should meet the standards established by NASP (Guidelines for the Provision of School Psychological Services, 2000, Unit Guideline 7, "Contracted and Independent Provider Services") and insure that:

The welfare and best interests of the student are the primary concern of the service provider;
The amount, range and quality of psychological services are increased, not decreased;
Due process rights of students are upheld; and
The agreement does not result in any loss of legitimate employee rights, benefits or wages.

NASP urges school administrators and school board members to consider the legal, educational and long-term financial ramifications of any shift of services away from the school district, and to seek more cost-effective models of service delivery that do not decrease the availability of school-based psychologists. NASP further urges school psychologists to work with administrators, collective bargaining units and professional associations to help develop strategies for the delivery of cost-effective services that enhance educational outcomes for all students while maintaining their rights as employees

Finally, NASP urges school psychologists and other educators to empirically evaluate the cost-effectiveness of current and proposed models of service delivery and to establish ongoing program evaluation of all providers of school-based psychological and mental health services.

______

¹ Guidelines for the Provision of School Psychological Services. National Association of School Psychologists, 2000.

- Original statement adopted by the NASP Delegate Assembly, April 18, 1993.

- Revision adopted by the NASP Delegate Assembly (April 10, 1999)

- Revision adopted by the NASP Delegate Assembly (July 18, 2004)


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However, in most situations, the most cost-effective, professionally accountable services will be those delivered by school psychologists employed by the school district. In its 2000 Guidelines for the Provision of School Psychological Services¹, NASP promotes school psychological services that "are provided in a coordinated, organized fashion and are delivered in a manner that ensures the provision of a comprehensive and seamless continuum of services..." (Unit Guideline 1). In addition to these professional guidelines, the federal mandates of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) require that the evaluation and placement of students with disabilities is comprehensive, multi-faceted and determined by a multi-disciplinary team. This process stresses the need for educational specialists from multi-disciplinary perspectives to work with each other in the educational environment and to gather input from numerous sources, including observation of the student within the learning environment, consultation with school personnel regarding educational performance, consultation with parents and individualized assessment of the student's skills. During times of economic crisis and personnel shortages, school districts may consider alternatives to employing their own school psychologists, such as contracting out for specific services or general staff reductions. The increased availability of third-party reimbursement may make arrangements with private providers more attractive. NASP is concerned about staffing policies that are detrimental to the best interests of the child, family and school system as a whole. Therefore, it is essential that administrators and policymakers understand the nature and potential limitations of these options and the importance of maintaining professional standards in order to make cost-effective decisions that do not sacrifice the quality or availability of services to students. Independent contracting for school psychological services includes a variety of arrangements, such as privatization and subcontracting through other public agencies. Some school districts have implemented contracts with agencies or individuals which shift the delivery of services from the public to the private sector, or may contract services through public cooperative (intermediate) units, or may supplement or supplant school-based services with "co-located" services of community agencies. NASP does not oppose the provision of comprehensive school psychological services through intermediate educational agencies or community providers, as long as such services do not supplant the services of district-employed school psychologists. In fact, NASP recognizes that such alternatives often represent the most viable means of insuring appropriate, comprehensive services. Further, NASP recognizes that the provision of limited contractual services (such as for a specific service) may augment available district resources and contribute toward the delivery of comprehensive services overall. However, NASP opposes independent contracting if it compromises the delivery of comprehensive services as required by professional standards and federal law and if contracting supplants or decreases the availability of comprehensive services delivered by district-employed school psychologists (Unit Guideline 7). Both NASP and the American Psychological Association recognize the specialized training in school psychology as different from the training in other specialty areas, such as clinical and industrial psychology. As stated in NASP's Guidelines (7.7), "persons providing contractual psychological services are fully credentialed school psychologists..." The independent contractor who is not a trained school psychologist may be a skillful clinician but may lack essential knowledge, expertise and experience to gather appropriate data in the school context and to facilitate a collaborative, comprehensive approach with the other members of the educational team. School psychologists employed by school districts: Offer *cost-effective* services including early prevention, intervention and wellness activities which can eliminate the need for many costly evaluations and placements; Are *readily available* to school personnel, students and the community for crisis prevention and intervention services; Understand school issues from a *systems* perspective; Are sufficiently familiar with the students, staff, legal requirements and policies of the *school system* to facilitate communication and defuse potentially dangerous or adversarial situations; Provide accessible *mental health services* to children and families, including evaluation, group and individual counseling, and consultation with the family and school staff regarding mental health and educational issues; Provide a *wide range of services* not easily or cheaply purchased via private contracts, such as reviews of records; consultation with parents and school personnel; ongoing, systematic classroom observations; inservice training; program planning and evaluation; and participation on multidisciplinary teams. Contractual services may be appropriate in limited circumstances in which an outside contractor supplements the regular services of the district's school psychologists or provides comprehensive services which are otherwise unavailable or impractical. Such circumstances include: Specific situations where *specialized* training and experience beyond what is typically available in the school district are required in order to provide appropriate service to the student or district, such as with low incidence disabilities or the provision of clinical home-based services through shared funding; Situations where a *very small district* is unable to support the funding of a full-time psychologist and must seek an alternative arrangement such as contracting through an independent provider or intermediate agency; Situations where a *personnel shortage* creates a *temporary* need to obtain services from available sources such as private providers; Situations where a *second opinion or outside service* is warranted due to conflict between family and school regarding a school-based service. Psychologists hired under independent contract to provide services in the schools should have at least the same preparation and credentials and should be expected to practice within the same professional and ethical standards as school-employed psychologists. Any contractual agreement should meet the standards established by NASP (Guidelines for the Provision of School Psychological Services, 2000, Unit Guideline 7, "Contracted and Independent Provider Services") and insure that: The welfare and best interests of the student are the primary concern of the service provider; The amount, range and quality of psychological services are increased, not decreased; Due process rights of students are upheld; and The agreement does not result in any loss of legitimate employee rights, benefits or wages. NASP urges school administrators and school board members to consider the legal, educational and long-term financial ramifications of any shift of services away from the school district, and to seek more cost-effective models of service delivery that do not decrease the availability of school-based psychologists. NASP further urges school psychologists to work with administrators, collective bargaining units and professional associations to help develop strategies for the delivery of cost-effective services that enhance educational outcomes for all students while maintaining their rights as employees Finally, NASP urges school psychologists and other educators to empirically evaluate the cost-effectiveness of current and proposed models of service delivery and to establish ongoing program evaluation of all providers of school-based psychological and mental health services. ______ ¹ Guidelines for the Provision of School Psychological Services. National Association of School Psychologists, 2000. - Original statement adopted by the NASP Delegate Assembly, April 18, 1993. - Revision adopted by the NASP Delegate Assembly (April 10, 1999) - Revision adopted by the NASP Delegate Assembly (July 18, 2004)