Emotional labor is the effort and emotions needed "when personal emotion runs counter to those expected and required. It is emotional labor because there is emotional dissonance, (i.e., a mismatch between expected and felt emotions)" (Tunguz, 2020). Emotional labor also refers to the actions taken by employees to meet company standards…

Prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, the National Association of School Psychologists (NASP) Social Justice Committee (SJC) chose the theme of health disparities as the focus of the committee's work for the 2020-2021 school year. The pandemic underscored the importance of this theme and school psychologists' understanding of health disparities through…

This fifth article of the Social Justice Committee's series on health disparities expands on previous articles (i.e., Tan et al., 2020; Ormiston et al., 2021) to discuss applications of advocacy by school psychologists to improve health parity for youth. As previously outlined in Proctor et al. (2020), health disparities are restricted…

Navigating the transition to motherhood has unique challenges for any new mom. The difficulties are often intermixed with immense joy and the excitement of new life, which can create quite the roller coaster of emotions. When also working full-time as a school psychologist, this constant pull between children's needs and work demands often results…

The purposes of this article are (a) to canvass the current legislation, regulations, and illustrative agency policy interpretations specific to "transition services" under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA, 2018), and (b) to provide an update of the court decisions since the coverage of an earlier overview of the…

School psychologists have a responsibility to promote positive outcomes for children that includes removing systemic barriers for our most marginalized students. The current political climate surrounding the movement for racial justice should inform our service provision to schools, students, and their families. Racism and implicit bias are at the…

School psychologists encounter ethical dilemmas repeatedly within the complex educational settings in which they work. The most common dilemmas identified through a survey of member practitioners from the National Association of School Psychologists (NASP) related to issues of child abuse (28%), risky child and adolescent behavior (25%), tensions…

Until recently, the word "unprecedented" has been relatively dormant in the collective vocabulary of most school psychologists. However, this school year has been like no other, resulting in a unique training experience for many interns and practicum students. While some trainees have been able to practice a diverse set of skills, others…

Statewide technical assistance providers support many school teams through training, consultation, and coaching to improve systems and outcomes for mathematics for every student. They have the opportunity to work with many school psychologists, who often indicate they are more comfortable engaging in systems-level work for literacy, behavior, and…

This article is the second of a series of articles appearing in "Communiqué" about how school psychologists can adopt and promote the evidence-based practices in math assessment and instruction. The focus of this article is on measuring math skills for screening, diagnostic decisions, and progress monitoring. [For the first article in…

Given the high number of immigrant youth in the United States that are from Latinx backgrounds and given that these youth are at risk for experiencing traumatic events during their migration, it is critical for school mental health providers to understand how to best serve this population. To do so, they must first understand how the unique…

Historically, despite more formal efforts to spread awareness about the profession, many school psychologists discover the field "by accident" or happenstance. This, in conjunction with attrition, training constraints, an expanding role in schools, and an ever-evolving need for increased school psychologist-to-student ratios to address…

Just as school psychologists have had to adapt to the evolving requirements to stay safe and protect students, so have the National Association of School Psychologists (NASP) and state associations. In February 2021, NASP held a virtual convention with over 9,000 in attendance. State associations have also made adjustments in response to this…

The May 2021 "Communiqué" article, "Professional Practice: Disruptive Innovation Defines Leadership Opportunities: Membership Engagement," explored how the National Association of School Psychologists (NASP) and state associations transitioned with disruptive innovation practices to support members during the COVID-19 pandemic.…

Indigenous in this article, refers to and be inclusive of Native Americans, Alaska Natives, and Native Hawaiians in the United States of America. School psychologists possess the skills to advocate for Indigenous youth and help improve their educational outcomes in schools. To do this work, it becomes necessary to confront the history of…