This is a sample of what could be used by a group of parents, CASP affiliate, PTA or any other organization or individual to send to a school board regarding proposed layoffs. Please read carefully and use portions that reflect the writer’s circumstances.
SAMPLE Memorandum
To: (school board members)
From: (Your name)
Date:
Subject: School Psychological Services in XXXXX
It has come to our attention that the Place School District Name Here is considering an immediate and marked reduction in school psychological services. As Who this letter is from , I urge you to reconsider this decision.
Who this letter is from fully appreciates the difficult financial circumstances confronting public school districts in California and across the country as a result of our nation’s current economic crisis. School leaders face daunting choices in trying to maintain educational services for students, while also being fiscally responsible. However, Place the number of school psychologists or percentage being considered for layoff here will pose potentially disastrous and long-term consequences for students, families, and staff in the Place your school district name here.
School Psychologists Are Essential to Positive School Outcomes
School psychologists are critical to the ability of schools to meet the educational and developmental needs of students, particularly given mandates established by No Child Left Behind (NCLB) and the Individuals With Disabilities Education Improvement Act (IDEA 2004). We are uniquely qualified to perform federally mandated, comprehensive evaluations to determine special education needs and eligibility, the absence or delay of which would deny children suspected of having a disability their right to a free, appropriate public education under federal law. The reduction in the number of school psychologists within the Place school district name here will significantly reduce the implementation of these services, resulting in a devastating number of children unable to be adequately served.
School psychologists are trained to address barriers to learning across the spectrum of educational issues at the individual, classroom, and building-wide levels. We provide psycho-educational assessments for learning, behavior and mental health problems; support for English Language Learners; group and individual counseling; drop-out prevention; positive behavioral supports; consultation with school staff, parents, and community agencies; risk assessments (suicide/homicide); and crisis intervention and postvention services. Additionally, we have extensive knowledge of school law, and we work to ensure that school IEP teams are compliant with federal and state statutes.
Meeting the accountability requirements for individual student achievement requires understanding the obstacles each student faces, how they learn, and what strategies will help them succeed. We know that teachers alone cannot meet all of these challenges for every student. This is particularly true given the growing focus on general education teachers assuming a greater role in use of evidence-based interventions to improve literacy, to monitor the progress of those students, and to use those data to make decisions regarding the effectiveness of instruction. Classroom teachers need the support and expertise of school psychologists who are equipped with research-based strategies and who have the ability to link interventions to improved outcomes. Depleting access to such expertise and support can undermine teachers’ ability to maintain focused classroom learning environments and to meet the learning needs of individual students.
Research Supports Increasing School Psychological Services
There is ample evidence at the national level for increasing, rather than decreasing, the school-based services provided by school psychologists. For example, research shows that whole-school interventions, like positive behavior supports, decrease behavior problems while improving academic performance, as measured by standardized tests in reading and mathematics. Programs that foster students’ engagement in school reduce high school dropout. Furthermore, supporting students’ mental health directly improves learning as well as social-emotional and behavioral functioning. The President’s New Freedom Commission on Mental Health reported that “mental health is essential to learning as well as to social and emotional development” and that ”growing evidence shows that school mental health programs improve educational outcomes by decreasing absences, decreasing discipline referrals, and improving test scores …”. These findings are echoed in recommendations from the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA), groups like The Center for Mental Health Services in the Schools at UCLA, and in current legislation in Congress. School psychologists working in school settings with adequate student to practitioner ratios regularly provide promotion, prevention, and intervention services that reduce barriers to learning and directly improve student achievement. These services are critical to schools seeking to meet AYP guidelines that require that ALL students be proficient by 2014.
Reducing School Psychological Staff Risks Financial and Legal Consequences
Beyond the direct negative effects on students and staff, the financial costs of such decisions can be greater than the investment in maintaining trained, essential school personnel. IDEA mandates that “every school district provide the necessary professional services for the diagnosis and evaluation of exceptional students” and that “students suspected of having a disability be evaluated within a period of time not to exceed 60 school days.” This includes necessary psychological services for students. Failure to meet these requirements could put School district name here at risk of federal penalties for noncompliance and increased lawsuits and due process proceedings brought by parents dissatisfied with school decisions. School psychological evaluations demonstrably reduce disproportionality in federally mandated programs, making it less likely that the district will be party to and vulnerable to liability in lawsuits claiming discrimination
Inadequate School Psychological Services Will Harm Students
The maximum national recommended ratio of school psychologists to students is 1:1000. The average in California is currently 1:1200. Widening this ratio by cutting school psychological staff likely means that thousands of students will go without necessary services or receive inappropriate services from staff who lack the requisite combination of psychological, educational, and assessment training and skills. With insufficient staffing, too many children are identified as having learning problems when none exist, while many others with need are denied access to essential support services.
Sadly, it will be the most vulnerable students who are most significantly impacted—the children who most need our safeguarding. The proposed cuts in psychological services will particularly affect those children with special needs, such as those who have recently immigrated to the U.S., the disabled, the emotionally and behaviorally handicapped, those who live in poverty, and those who are maltreated and/or abused. The barriers ignored or even raised as a result of reduced student support services can potentially ripple throughout their school career.
Districts across the country face tight budgets for the coming year. However, many of these districts continue to recognize the value of maintaining school psychologists and other related student services personnel because they understand that we are essential to improved academic outcomes for children and schools.
We share your goal to ensure the success of every student. cASP understands the challenges involved as we all look to identify ways to maintain essential services that support improved academic outcomes and healthy student development. We would be happy to provide you with additional information on this critical issue.
Thank you.
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