Since 2019, federal grants have supported a broad range of innovative efforts to address the critical shortage of school psychologists and other school-based mental health providers across the country. In collaboration with partner organizations and state school psychology associations, the National Association of School Psychologists (NASP) has…

The current brief provides an overview of the 2021-2022 school year student-to-school psychologist ratio for every United States territory, using the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) counts of school psychologists. In addition to this, data are presented on the percentage change in student-to-school psychologist ratio from the…

The purpose of this document is to provide a historical perspective of the evolution of special education in Iowa through the voices of the people who created the system of support for individuals with disabilities. In addition to the interviews, extensive historical literature reviews were conducted. One hundred and thirty individuals were…

Examined are the roles of special service personnel (SSP) who provide support services for Iowa public school teachers by three methods: helping a specific child, helping develop instructional program content, and helping develop new instructional skills. The 13 SSPs include counselor, director of special education, educational consultant, hearing…

In a survey of 169 rural school psychologists, the major barrier to effective educational assessment was perceived to be inadequate special education program options. Other perceived barriers were inadequate adaptive behavior measures, inadequate time for evaluations, and bias shown toward a child based on knowledge of other family members. (JHZ)

System reform in U.S. heartland is the story of a decade-long effort to change the ways we think about children and youth who experience learning or behavior problems in educational settings. This fundamentally different way of thinking involves a shift from seeking the causes and solutions to learning and emotional/behavioral problems in inferred…

Written for Iowa's school psychologists, the report examines current issues in mental retardation including the problem of definition, court actions affecting the schools, and trends in educational programming, evaluation, and diagnosis. Considered are reasons why mental retardation is difficult to define (such as the lack of an acceptable…

Across the nation, increasing emphasis is being placed on prevention and early intervention services for children. Changes are reflected in legislative mandates, increased collaboration within and across services delivery systems, and recommended professional practices. This study examines one state's efforts for children in early childhood…

This paper discusses the importance and usefulness of assessing student goal attainment, reviews the steps required to select intervention goals, and describes several goal attainment measurement systems. Practical difficulties which are likely to be encountered are described and potential solutions to those difficulties are discussed. The…

This resource guide for comprehensive counseling and guidance programs provides counselors, student service personnel, and administrators of Iowa's K-12 schools and community colleges with a means to improve or design programs. With the rapidly changing global society and the increase in violence at all levels of society, there is a critical need…

Opinions of 503 support services professionals in Iowa were surveyed regarding reforms in service delivery designed to integrate special and regular education programs for students with low achievement. The majority of psychologists, social workers, and special education consultants supported providing services for students without formal…

Considerable variation exists across response-to-intervention (RTI) approaches. There is currently insufficient research on outcomes associated with these different RTI approaches to inform decision-making. However, school psychologists who are asked to work within an RTI model need guidance to select an approach that has a high likelihood of…

Responsiveness-to-intervention (RTI) is the front-running candidate to replace current practice in diagnosing learning disabilities, but researchers have identified several questions about implementation. Specific questions include: Are there validated intervention models? Are there adequately trained personnel? What leadership is needed? When…