GEORGIA
LEGISLATIVE ISSUES
GASP Legislation Day February 26, 2008
GASP is sponsoring a LEGISLATIVE DAY at the CAPITOL on Tuesday,
February 26, 2008. We need YOU to be a part of this event. We will all
meet at a designated location at 9:00 am for a brief training and then
go to the Capitol together.
After a morning of lobbying, a late lunch will be provided by the
Legislative Committee. You can use your committee budget for expenses,
if travel is over 90 miles. I will help in finding a hotel if you need
to stay overnight.
Please reply to me if you plan to attend this event so that I can plan
for lunch and a meeting place in the morning. I hope to hear from many
of you about your attendance to the GASP LOBBYING DAY at the CAPITOL.
Please respond as soon as possible since February 26, is just around
the corner. Katie Edwards at
KateLynnEd@aol.com
ACTION ALERT
The American Psychological Association (APA)
is considering changes to its Model Act for State Licensure of
Psychologists, its recommended prototype language for state licensing
boards to use in developing regulations and legislation for licensing
psychologists. Adopted in 1987, the current APA model act addresses a
number of issues relevant to school psychologists and, as such the
National Association of School Psychologists (NASP) has a significant
interest in the outcome of the proposed changes.
NASP opposes the proposed change in the APA model act that removes the
title exemption language for school psychologists. The exemption language
in the current 1987 APA model act reflects long-standing recognition of
the right of school psychologists practicing in public schools and
credentialed by their state education agency to use the term
"psychologist" in their title. The APA model act generally recommends very
restrictive use of the title "psychologist" and seeks to reserve it for
individuals with doctoral degrees who are licensed by the state psychology
licensure board. The proposed language changes to the APA model act, which
NASP opposes, removes the title exemption for school psychologists.
NASP supports school psychologists’ long-standing right to use the term
"psychologist" in their title and urges APA to maintain the exemption
language in its model act. The title "school psychologist" accurately
reflects the level of training and supervised field-based experiences in
psychology and education for both specialist-level (a minimum of 60 hours
of graduate education) and doctoral-level school psychologists. The title
of "school psychologist" has been widely recognized for both degree levels
since the 1950s and specifically acknowledged by APA governance through
the exemption language since 1977.
All School Psychologists are encouraged to comment to the APA governance board regarding the proposed
changes you can do so using the following link:
NASP link- Easy web format for submitting
comments
http://www.nasponline.org/standards/apamla.aspx
APA website- Not as web friendly to accepting comments
http://forms.apa.org/practice/modelactlicensure/
GASP has
responded and the
State Superintendent has
responded on our behalf as well.
GASP LEADERSHIP ATTENDS PPI, July 2007
Tracy Boney, GASP President, Michael Johnson, GASP President-elect, and
Ginny Hall, PAGE Liaison, attended NASP's Fourth Public Policy Institute
in Washington, D.C. (full story).
GASP GOES TO WASHINGTON DC June 27-29, 2004
Jeanne Pound, GASP legislative Chair, Katie Edwards, GASP President, and
Bruce Rogers, GASP legislative monitor, went to Washington DC June 27-29,
2004 to receive training from the NASP (PPI) Public Policy Institute.
NASP's PPI is similar to school psychologists political lobbyists on a
more national level. (full
story)
NCSP CERTIFICATION SALARY EQUALIZATION
INITIATIVE
Thanks GASP members for your continued support on the various bills and
amendments in trying to gain NCSP salary adjustment. We will likely need
your help again next year. Make your voice count! If you are
interested in meeting with a legislator and would like to obtain a
legislative packet of information, please contact Jeanne Pound, GASP
Legislative Chair Jeanne Pound.
Currently there are around 204 certified NCSP psychologists in Georgia.
More NCSP information
THE FUTURE OF SCHOOL PSYCHOLOGY
An invitational conference was held on November 14-16, 2002
in Indianapolis, Indiana. One of our own, Frank Smith, was able to attend
the conference. Use the provided link to view what was discussed by
professionals from around the country.
Futures
Link for Webcast
GEORGIA GAINS NCSP RECIPROCITY
Georgia became the 19th state to recognize the NCSP
certified programs as an accepted standard for gaining certification in
Georgia! GASP has worked for the past three years to gain potential
practitioners for the students and school system.
Professional
Standards Commission webpage .
