Testimony in Support of Senate Bill 58
Study Commission to Explore the Expanded Application of State Stipends for National Certification of Teachers
Senate Education, Health and Environmental Affairs Committee
January 31, 2007
2:00 P.M.
Mara Egorin
Maryland School Psychologists' Association
Good afternoon Senator and members of the committee:
My name is Mara Egorin and I represent the Maryland School Psychologists' Association (MSPA). MSPA supports Senate Bill 58 (SB 58), “Study Commission to Explore the Expanded Application of State Stipends for National Certification of Teachers” with two amendments suggested by our organization. The first amendment simply changes the term “psychologist” to read “school psychologist” in two areas of the bill, since school psychologists are certified by the Maryland State Department of Education (as are teachers), whereas “psychologist” is a term referring to a license given by the Department of Health and Mental Hygiene.
The second amendment suggestion adds to the members of the Study Commission to include one representative of the National Board of Standards for the Professions considered in this study. MSPA suggests adding representatives from the various professional associations to assist the Study Commission in comparing each profession's national certification standards with the National Board for Professional Teaching Standards. The knowledge of these individuals and/or practitioners from the various fields (school psychology, speech-language pathology, audiology, occupational therapy, physical therapy, and school counselors) will represent the requirements for national certification and “best practices” in these fields and the different roles each profession contributes to supporting academic achievement for all students.
School psychologists work in the schools to serve children from ages 0-21 to support the education achievement and mental health of all children, which enables each child to maximize his or her academic and social/emotional potential. School psychologists work with students individually, in groups, and with whole classrooms by assisting teachers in classroom management and learning theory. School Psychologists assist teachers in methods for effective instruction and student learning strategies. School psychologists work with students within the standard class, students with disabilities, and students with special talents, by informing teachers, parents and administrators about the unique development of all students. School psychologists are involved in prevention and management of crisis. School psychologists collaborate with teachers, administrators, and parents to find effective solutions to learning and behavior deficits, assess academic skills and aptitude for learning, evaluate learning environments, and determine social-emotional development and mental health status of students. School psychologists also work directly with children, teachers and families to help resolve problems in emotional or behavioral adjustment and in learning. The role of the school psychologist also includes designing programs for children at risk of failing school, developing programs to make schools safer and more effective learning environments, and evaluating the effectiveness of academic and behavior management programs.
While the need for school psychological services is increasing, there is a national shortage of school psychologists serving student and system needs. As this need increases, schools try to maximize coverage by increasing the school psychologist to student ratio beyond the point recommended by The National Association of School Psychologist ( 1:1000). This strategy creates high case loads for practitioners, making it difficult for school psychologists to offer the necessary comprehensive academic, school mental health and behavioral services, interventions, and prevention services that ultimately reduce the need for individual services and specialized educational programming. The current crisis is complicated by the prediction that 4 out of 10 current school psychologists will retire by 2010.
Many counties in Maryland (e.g., Charles County, Prince George's County, and Anne Arundel County) already provide recognition of school psychologists' national certification (NCSP) through an annual stipend. Many states recognize the advanced training and requirements to obtain and maintain the school psychologists' national certification and provide annual stipends to those school psychologists who work to acquire and maintain the national certification (e.g., Louisiana, Georgia, and Oregon).
Students need the important services provided by school psychologists, including positive behavior interventions, instructional support and consultation, counseling, assessment, and crisis intervention, to name a few. Since the national and statewide demand increasingly exceeds the supply of school psychologists trained by Maryland's graduate programs, and incentives are offered in other counties and states for “highly qualified” school psychologists, it is important to encourage school psychologists who have training and experience to fill these positions in Maryland. Inclusion of a stipend for national certification will make Maryland a more attractive location for employment of the highly qualified NCSP school psychologist, as it has done for teachers.
The Maryland School Psychologists' Association, therefore, supports Senate Bill 58, but urges the inclusion of the amendments as noted herein.
Thank you for your time and consideration.
