There are a number of important developments that have occurred in New Jersey recently surrounding brain injury that may serve as an inspiration for school psychologists in other states. In this article, the authors discuss what is happening in New Jersey to increase awareness among school psychologists, other educators, the public, and public…

Response to intervention (RTI) is a major current issue at the intersection of general and special education, with the school psychologists in their usual central position. The literature is replete with scholarly and practical sources on RTI, but the legal sources are limited. A few articles provide systematic coverage of the relevant provisions…

Over the last several years, educational policy has advocated for a preventive approach to keep problem behaviors from escalating and interfering with student achievement. Proactive methodologies such as school-wide positive behavior support (SWPBS) and response to intervention (RTI) have become common practice in school districts across the…

Montgomery County Public Schools (MCPS), Maryland, is the 17th largest school district in the country, with more than 146,000 students and 200 schools (34 of which are National Blue Ribbon and 27 of which are Title 1). Wielding a budget of more than $2 billion, MCPS is also one of the top performing school districts in the country, with a 90%…

In November 2011, the National Association of School Psychologists (NASP) created the Personnel Assessment Task Force comprising national and state leaders with knowledge of effective personnel evaluation systems. Task force participants included school psychologist supervisors, university professors, NASP leadership, and staff. The primary…

School psychologists are expected by parents, students, and their profession to maintain their competency to ensure the appropriate delivery of psychological services. Supervision by a school psychologist is a prime method for maintaining skill levels and updating professional services. Unfortunately, many school districts do not understand the…

There is increasing evidence that a significant number of children in America are not learning important basic reading skills. Response to intervention (RTI) for support in reading is appropriate, but what does a school district do about students who are in Tier 3 and not making progress? Teachers and psychologists at the Special School District…

District implementation of the response to intervention (RTI) model has occurred at a surprising rate. It appears that implementation of RTI has occurred rapidly and is being implemented with all students. Rapid implementation of RTI is occurring alongside continued controversy over the model and its intended uses. Although significant research…

In this article, the impact of two major disasters (Hurricane Katrina and the Deepwater Horizon oil rig fire and subsequent oil spill) on residents of New Orleans and the Gulf Coast are discussed. An overriding concern as expressed by the recently released report issued by the National Commission on Children and Disasters, 2010 "Report to the…

This article presents an account of how the Charleston County School District responded to an event by utilizing the PREPaRE model (Brock, et al., 2009). The acronym, PREPaRE, refers to a range of crisis response activities: P (prevent and prepare for psychological trauma), R (reaffirm physical health and perceptions of security and safety), E…

Despite being well-settled as a matter of law, the issue of whether test protocols must be disclosed to parents continues to be a source of dispute between schools, school psychologists, and parents. To be sure, one of the reasons for this vampire-like existence is the imprecision of the questioners and questions. Moreover, professional guidance…

School districts nationwide are struggling with a variety of issues such as reduced financial resources, staffing challenges, and increased workloads. Partly as a result of these challenges, professional development opportunities, conferences, and trainings for school district employees have been reduced or eliminated. Despite this reality,…

There has been much recent discussion among educators on the topic of implementing a response to intervention (RTI) framework to identify special education needs for students with specific learning disabilities. There is good reason for such discussion, as all students benefit from RTI when implemented with integrity and fidelity. The result of…

Implementing an effective crisis management program in a school district has associated costs. The most precious resource in a school system is time. Time is necessary for acquiring and practicing new skills, and for developing and implementing strategies to introduce and expand the change throughout a school or district. Implementing an effective…

Effective discipline is essential to creating safe, supportive learning environments for all students, which is critical to academic achievement. Since the passage of zero tolerance policies in the early 1990s, many school districts have relied on punitive discipline focused on harsh strategies such as using suspension and expulsion as primary…