Thank You NHFFE and CPR

Thanks to the hard work of NH Families for Education, and Cornerstone, and everyone who helped by calling and emailing the Board of Education, Parental Consent was included in the rules!

The Board voted this morning to accept the Minimum Standards, Ed 306 with amendments to Ed 306.25 (Comprehensive School Psychologist Services) which is now OPTIONAL with the following amendment language:

(g) Employing school districts shall insure that PARENTAL CONSENT AND student information is protected as required under applicable state and federal law.

The rules now go to the Joint Legislative Committee on Oversight and Assessment and then the Joint Legislative Committee on Administrative Rules.

Ed 306.25 – Comprehensive School Psychological Services

(a) If a district employs a school psychologist, the standards in (b) – (g) below shall apply. Nothing in this section shall prevent a school district from contracting services with qualified school psychologist.

(b) Employing school districts shall require that school psychological services are provided by certified school psychologists in a coordinated, organized fashion, and are deployed in a manner that results in the provision of a comprehensive continuum of services. Comprehensive school psychological services shall be based on this section and The National Association of School Psychologists (NASP) Model for Comprehensive and Integrated School Psychological Services, published by NASP in 2010.

(c) [(b)] The school psychologist shall provide comprehensive psychological services throughout various learning environments to help children and youth develop academic, social, behavioral, and emotional competence through:

(1) Data-based decision making and accountability methods that use [psychological and] psycho-educational assessment results, data collection strategies, and technology resources to design and implement services and programs and to evaluate outcomes; [School psychologists utilize assessment findings to diagnose educational and behavioral disorders and to facilitate treatment planning. ] This language is moved below as a separate requirement.

(2) Consultation, collaboration, and communication with educators, families, health care professionals including mental health, social services and other systems to promote effective and coordinated implementation of services;

(3) Interventions and instructional supports to develop academic skills, incorporating available research and assessment data to develop and implement evidence based instructional strategies designed to support students’ cognitive and academic skills;

(4) Interventions and mental health services to develop social and life skills in collaboration with others, using assessment and data collection methods to implement and evaluate developmentally appropriate services that support socialization, [leaning], learning, and mental health; Working Document 10/18/13 28

(5) School-wide practices to promote learning, developing and implementing evidence-based practices and strategies to create and maintain effective and supportive learning environments for children and others, including multi-tiered systems, to support students’ academic, social, emotional, and behavioral goals;

(6) Preventative and responsive services employing theories and research related to resilience, risk factors, and multi-tiered prevention, to support evidence based strategies for effective counseling, crisis response, and behavioral intervention;

(7) Family-school collaboration services to facilitate and provide effective collaborative partnerships between families and schools that support children’s learning and mental health utilizing a strength-based, culturally sensitive approach;

(8) Diversity in development and learning to provide professional services that promote effective functioning for individuals, families and schools with diverse characteristics, cultures and backgrounds, across multiple contexts. The diversity in development is a part of the foundation of all service delivery;

(9) Research and program evaluation to support educational decision-making and evaluate programs; and

(10) Legal, ethical, and professional practice consistent with legal requirements and ethical and professional standards including the NASP Principals of Professional Ethics (2010).

(d) School psychologists shall utilize assessment findings to diagnose educational and behavioral disorders and to facilitate educational treatment planning.

(e)[(c)] Employing school districts shall insure that an effective program of supervision and evaluation of school psychological services exists. [Supervision shall be available to all school psychologists to the extent sufficient to ensure the provision of effective and accountable services. ] School psychologists in cooperation with their employing districts or agencies, shall be responsible for the overall development, implementation and professional supervision of school psychological service programs.

The new language in (e) and (f) was recommended by the school psychologists organization.

(f) [(d)] Professional supervision shall be available to all school psychologists to an extent sufficient to ensure the provision of effective and accountable services. Beginning school psychologists in their first year of employment as a school psychologist shall receive a minimum of one hour of face-to-face supervision contact per week. Supervisors shall meet Ed 500 requirements for certification as a school psychologist and [shall] have at least 3 years of professional experience as a school psychologist in a school system.

(g) Employing school districts shall insure that PARENTAL CONSENT, AND student information is protected as required under applicable state and federal law.