The Obstacles and Opportunities in Advocating for NCSP Parity in Indiana Indiana Association of School Psychologists October 16, 2006, 1:30-3:00pm Indianapolis, IN

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The Obstacles and Opportunities in Advocating for
NCSP Parity in IndianaIndiana Association of
School PsychologistsOctober 16, 2006,
130-300pmIndianapolis, IN

• Presenter
• Stacy Kalamaros Skalski, PhD
• Director of Public Policy
• National Association of School Psychologists
• sskalski_at_naspweb.org

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Agenda for this Session

• Overview of NCSP Parity
• Developing an advocacy strategy for NCSP Parity
• Understanding the obstacles and opportunities for
  Indiana
• Crafting Indianas advocacy message using
  existing data
• Planning for the future

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What is NCSP Parity?

• Most states and many local school districts award
  stipends to teachers holding national board
  certification.
• NCSP parity refers to the need for school
  psychologists holding national certification to
  be treated equally to other educational
  professionals holding national certification.

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Indianas School Academic Plan

• Public Law 221 established a grant system through
  the Indiana Department of Education to fund
  school improvement plans with the goal of
  improving student learning. The school
  improvement plan must include a professional
  development component and monies may be used for
  National Board Certification for teachers.
• See Indiana Code 20-20-31-12

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Comparing the NBPTS and the NCSP
A comprehensive table comparing national
certification across school professionals is
available at http//nasponline.org/advocacy/certco
mparison.pdf
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General Goals of the NCSP

• To ensure a consistent level of training and
  field experience among school psychologists who
  hold the designation
• To promote uniform credentialing standards across
  state education agencies and other bodies who
  credential school psychologists

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General Goals of the NCSP continued

• To link national accreditation of training
  programs (NCATE-NASP Approval) to a national
  credential (NCSP
• To promote Nationally Certified School
  Psychologists as those who have met national
  levels of training and who are committed to
  ongoing professional development and to following
  NASP ethics.

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National Board for Professional Teaching Standards

• Proposition 1 Teachers are Committed to Students
  and Learning.
• Proposition 2 Teachers Know the Subjects They
  Teach and How to Teach Those Subjects to
  Students.
• Proposition 3 Teachers are Responsible for
  Managing and Monitoring Student Learning.
• Proposition 4 Teachers Think Systematically
  about Their Practice and Learn from Experience.
• Proposition 5 Teachers are Members of Learning
  Communities.

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Pre-Requisites
NBPTS
NCSP

• To qualify for national certification candidates
  must have a bachelors degree, a state teacher
  certification, and 3 years teaching experience.

• To qualify for national certification NCSP
  candidates must have completed a minimum of 60
  semester hours of graduate study in School
  Psychology, culminating in a MA, Ed.S., Ph.D. or
  other recognized post-baccalaureate degree.
• Supervised internship and a culminating 1,200
  clock-hour supervised internship.
• All other applicants must provide documents of
  having met these pre-requisite standards.

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Certification Requirements
NBPTS
NCSP

• Complete a portfolio which may include videotapes
  of classroom interactions or discussions, and
  collections of certain kinds of student work.
• An analysis of the teaching reflected in the
  videotape or student work is also required.
• The portfolio also documents teachers work
  outside the classroom with families, colleagues,
  and the community.
• The second component involves a written
  assessment which is comprised of four, 90-minute
  sessions.

• NASP Standards require that school psychology
  candidates demonstrate competency in 11 domains
  of professional practice as part of their formal
  training.
• Candidates must complete a NCSP Case Study.
• Complete a 1,200 clock-hour supervised internship
  of which 600 hours must be in a school setting.
• Achieve a passing score (660) on the National
  School Psychology Examination, administered by
  the Educational Testing Service (Praxis II NTE
  Test 10400)

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Renewal Requirements
NBPTS
NCSP

• The National Board for Professional Teaching
  Standards certification is good for 10 years.
• Renewal includes identifying areas for
  professional growth and demonstrating how growth
  has occurred. Demonstration of Professional
  Growth Experiences (PGE) may be accomplished with
  written responses to specific prompts, videotape
  demonstration, and/or submission of student work
  samples as evidence of direct impact on learning.

• NCSPs must engage in activities designed to
  maintain, expand, and extend their professional
  training and skills
• Specifically, each NCSP must be renewed every
  three years with 75 contact hours of continuing
  professional development (CPD) activities
• The hours must be fulfilled through a variety of
  NASP, state affiliate, or equivalent programs.

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What is commonly heard about how NBPTS and NCSP
compare?
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NCSP Challenges to Parity

• 3-year pre-requisite practice requirement
• Entry level Licensure
• Grandfathering

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Arguments for NCSP Parity with NBPTS

• Graduate level training requirement.
• Specific coursework training components
• Supervised practice requirements are more
  extensive.
• Highest level of certification currently
  available.
• Ongoing professional development maintains high
  standards of practice
• Significant benefits to states with NCSP parity

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Focus on the Benefits to States

• Salary stipends for NCSPs attract more highly
  qualified school psychologist applicants
• Salary stipends demonstrate that the state or
  school district recognizes and acknowledges the
  importance of hiring school psychologists who
  meet nationally recognized standards for training
  and supervision.
• Salary stipends promote higher levels of
  knowledge and competency as NCSP school
  psychologists must engage in ongoing and
  meaningful continuing professional development.
  (NOTE NCSPs share burden with district for
  professional development by active pursuit of the
  75 CPDs required for renewal.)

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Where are you more likely to get board policies?

• Districts with a current or future shortage of
  school psychologists
• Districts where teachers and administrators are
  awarded a stipend for NBPTS
• Districts where employment competition between
  school districts exists
• Districts with a good relationship between school
  district bargaining entities (i.e. union) and
  school mental health professionals.

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Where are you more likely to get board policies?
continued

• Districts where school psychologists are serving
  on district-level committees
• Districts where the benefits of school
  psychologists are well known
• Districts with a School Psychologist Coordinator/
  Supervisor in Central Administration

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Where are you more likely to get board policies?
continued

• Districts where school psychologists have
  specific data supporting the cost-benefit of
  their services within the mission of schools.
• Districts interested in broadening the role of
  school psychologists from diagnostician to
  intervention/prevention specialist (Example RTI)
• Districts where employee contract language refers
  to all certified employees as teachers.

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Top 10 Advocacy Tips for Achieving NCSP Parity
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• Tip 1
• Convene a group of school psychologists
  interested in pursuing this issue.
• Key Question
• Are you willing to commit to this process long
  term?

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• Tip 2
• Begin your committee discussions by evaluating
  what your assets and obstacles are in getting
  NCSP parity passed.
• Key Question
• What do we need?
• (State Laws? School Board Policies? Both?)

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• Tip 3
• Collect and Evaluate Data
• Key Question
• What do you have and what do you need?

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• Tip 4
• Know who your allies are and be willing to build
  and nurture other essential relationships.
• Key Question
• Who will be the champions of your cause?

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• Tip 5
• Determine where there is fertile ground for
  NCSP Parity.
• Key Question
• Are there existing school districts that support
  this cause or should support this cause due to a
  shortage or narrowly defined professional
  practices?

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• Tip 6
• Prepare materials that clearly and simply explain
  why NCSP parity is essential and important for
  schools.
• Key Question
• What existing data, resources, and materials
  supports our cause?

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• Tip 7
• Talk to leaders who have tackled NCSP parity
  successfully and unsuccessfully in their state or
  local communities.
• Key Question
• What are the major lessons learned about how to
  manage achieving NCSP parity?

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• Tip 8
• Build a grassroots movement of practitioners
  committed to getting the message out and talking
  to key decision makers on the local and
• state level.
• Key Question
• What infrastructure support (who, what, where,
  when) do you need to actively campaign for NCSP
  parity?

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• Tip 9
• Teachers, students, and families need schools to
  recruit the best professionals and maintaining
  the highest standards for school psychological
  practice.
• Key Question
• Can you show how NCSP parity promotes high
  quality services, the mission and purpose of
  schools, and the goals of NCLB?

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• Tip 10
• Be resilient and patient in your quest. Alter
  your course as necessary with the expectation
  that you will
• achieve your goal.
• Key Quote
• Success is the ability to go from failure to
  failure without losing your enthusiasm.
• Winston Churchill

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NCSP Parity in State Law

• Louisiana
• Nevada
• Oklahoma
• Delaware

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NCSP Parity in INDIANA DataReferencesCharvat,
J. (2005, March) NASP Study How many school
psychologists are there? Communiqué, 33,
12-14.Curtis, M., Lopez, A., Batsche, G.,
Smith, J. (2006, March) School Psychology 2005 A
National Perspective. Paper presented at the
annual meeting of the National Association of
School Psychologists, Anaheim, CACurtis, M.,
Lopez, A., Batsche, G., Smith, J. Unpublished
and unofficial results of the 2004-2005 NASP
Membership Survey. Final results are expected
soon! Stay tuned.
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Skill Utilization of School Psychologists in
Indiana
What were doing most of the time now
What were trained to do

• Assessment
• Prevention activities
• Crisis intervention
• Behavioral interventions
• Academic interventions
• Consultation with teachers and parents
• Counseling / Direct Services
• In-services and Workshops for school staff
  parents
• Research and Data Analysis

• Special Education Assessment

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Recruitment Competition with Neighboring States

• Indiana has narrowly defined school psychology
  practice to the assessment of special education
  students.
• Broader role practiced in OH, IL, and KY
• Ratios of School Psychologist to Student are
  better in OH and IL. All states are sill above
  the national average and the maximum recommended
  NASP ratios.
• Graduates tend to stay in state to practice. More
  graduate training programs to meet the demand in
  OH and IL.
• Salaries in OH and IL are more on par with
  national average.

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What Would NCSP Parity Cost in Indiana?

• Total number of NCSPs in Indiana 197
• Percentage of School Psychologists working in
  public schools with NCSP 50
• Typical Annual Stipend of 2000
• ESTIMATED PROGRAM COST
• 394,000
• First Year if only for Public School Employees
• 197,000

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Other Data Needed?

• Vacancies (School District and State)
• Number of unfilled positions
• Number of positions filled by qualified and
  unqualified (temporary certification,
  contractual) personnel
• Current attrition rates due to job or role
  dissatisfaction
• Current attrition rates due to retirement
• Future Shortage of School Psychologist
• Average age of school psychologists
• Capacity of IN training programs to meet the
  future demand for school practitioners

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Lessons Learned from Other Sates

• States need to build the capacity of school
  psychologists to become advocates (i.e. PPI)
• An advocacy agenda (legislative or policy) for
  the state organization is essential
• Strategies for accomplishing the advocacy agenda
  must be developed
• Coalition building is fundamental
• Information must be disseminated in a very timely
  fashion
• Targeting key legislators/policy makers to enlist
  their support of legislation is critical

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NCSP Questions and Resources

• Joan Bohmann
• NASP Director of Professional Standards and
  Continuing Professional Development
• jbohmann_at_naspweb.org
• Sawyer Hunley
• National School Psychology Certification Board,
  Chair
• sawyer.hunley_at_notes.udayton.edu
• NASP Website
• http//www.nasponline.org/certification/index.html
  

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NCSP Parity Advocacy Questions Resources

• Stacy Kalamaros Skalski
• NASP Director of Public Policy
• Email sskalski_at_naspweb.org
• Candis Hogan
• Oklahoma Delegate and
• GPR Committee, Central Region Leader
• hcandis_at_juno.com
• NASP website
• http//www.nasponline.org/advocacy/NCSPstateinitia
  tives.html

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Final Thoughts, Questions, Discussion