School psychologists are well served to stay up to date on trends in special education law, particularly with respect to determinations when school teams' decisions are challenged. This allows them to focus on proactive best practices that foster accurate specific learning disability (SLD) identification and active collaboration with parents. This…

As sports are the most popular extracurricular activity for children and adolescents, student-athletes are an ever-present population on campus and have unique risk and resilience factors as well as needs related to their well-being on and off the field. Mind-body health practices are a broad group of interventions that target physical and…

Devastating school shootings have spawned a cottage industry of untested responses to school violence. Some involve target hardening, or making schools less vulnerable to violent attacks. School administrators and community members can be quick to gravitate towards target hardening measures for preventing school violence. However, crime prevention…

African American school psychologists are very much underrepresented in school psychology; over 85% of school psychologists who completed the 2020 National Association of School Psychologists (NASP) membership survey were White, while just 3.9% of members identified as Black or African American (Goforth et al., 2021). This represented a slight…

Intervention fidelity is the extent to which an individual- or systems-level student intervention is delivered comprehensively in a manner aligned with the initial plan. This first installment in a three-part series on intervention fidelity highlights the importance of ensuring classroom supports are implemented as intended and introduces…

Behavior threat assessment and management (BTAM) is a process for identifying students who pose a threat of violence. When BTAM results in a removal from school (e.g., suspension, expulsion, hospitalization), teams need to plan for the student's potential return. This article describes best practices for reintegrating a student into school…

All interventions -- whether academic, behavioral, or social-emotional -- should be consistently delivered as planned to realize desired student outcomes. In other words, they should be delivered with fidelity. School psychologists can address this concern by monitoring fidelity and providing support for intervention implementation. In this final…

The legal landscape has significantly impeded LGBTQ+ youth's rights at home and in schools. Learn about introduced and passed laws, the impact experienced by LGBTQ+ students, and how school psychologists can preserve LGBTQ+ mental health in these challenging times.

The term "child find" refers to a district's ongoing obligation to evaluate upon reason to suspect a child may meet IDEA eligibility standards. This obligation consists of two components: a reasonable suspicion of eligibility and initiating the evaluation within a reasonable period of time. Because child find is a procedural matter, it…

Considerable research documents that LGBTQ youth are more likely to experience mental health challenges than their heterosexual peers, including higher rates of depression and suicidal thoughts and behaviors. This first Science-to-Practice Brief summarizes a study on protective factors related to depression and suicidality among U.S. sexual and…

Students cannot experience the full potential benefits of an intervention unless they are receiving the intervention. This is the second installment in a three-part series on intervention fidelity designed to highlight the importance of ensuring classroom supports are implemented as intended. This article provides guidance related to measuring and…

Suicide remains a leading cause of death among adolescents and exists in detectable rates for younger children as well. Underserved ethnic and racial groups face barriers to effective mental health care, making it critical that school psychologists be prepared to incorporate cultural considerations for suicide prevention and intervention. School…

There is evidence that cyberbullying is a problem that is increasing among children and adolescents. Although often occurring outside of school, its effects often find their way into the offices of principals and school mental health providers. This article reviews the issues involved in cyberbullying and its effects and points the way toward…

Due to the increased risks of neurocognitive impairment when a child is diagnosed with Type 1 diabetes (T1D) at an early age, early identification and assessment are critical. A study by Nadebaum et al. (2012) found that cognition is impaired in a significant number of children at the time of diagnosis, and those who are initially impaired show a…

It is important to understand the contexts which lead to alternative education programming. The ways in which problem behavior is defined detrimentally impacts ethnically and racially minoritized populations and students with disabilities. Additionally, the pipeline to alternative education, with opportunities for increased supports and services,…