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Brown County
ESC Phone: 937-378-6118 | Fax: 937-378-4286
9231 Hamer Road Georgetown, Oh 45121
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Special Education

School Psychologists

Roles and Responsibilities
School psychologists provide direct support and interventions to students, families and other school professionals; work with school administrators to improve schoolwide practices and policies; and collaborate with community providers to coordinate needed services.

Information about School Psychologists
Ohio Department of Education licensure requirements include the following:

  1. a master’s or Education Specialist (Ed.S.) degree in school psychology;
  2. a 1200-hour internship; and
  3. passing the Praxis School Psychologist exam.

School Psychologists are Trained to:

  • Conduct psychological and academic assessments and collect and interpret student and classroom data;
  • Support teachers in providing individualized instruction and interventions and progress monitoring;
  • Promote positive student and classroom behavior while encouraging student motivation/engagement;
  • Improve students’ development, including communication, social skills and social-emotional learning;
  • Assess students' emotional and behavioral needs; provide individual/group counseling;
  • Promote problem-solving, anger management, resilience and conflict resolution;
  • Provide individual and group counseling; coordinate services with community-based providers;
  • Provide culturally responsive services to students and families from diverse backgrounds;
  • Assess diverse learning needs and modify or adapt curricula and instruction;
  • Plan appropriate individualized education programs for students with disabilities;
  • Monitor and effectively communicate with parents about student progress;
  • Implement schoolwide positive behavioral supports, positive discipline and restorative justice;
  • Assess school climate and improve school connectedness;
  • Identify at-risk students and school vulnerabilities; prevent bullying and other forms of violence;
  • Provide crisis prevention and intervention services;
  • Help families understand children’s learning and emotional needs;
  • Connect families with community service providers when necessary;
  • Enhance staff understanding of and responsiveness to diverse cultures and backgrounds;
  • Assist in navigating special education processes;
  • Generate, collect and interpret useful student and school outcomes data;
  • Collect and analyze data on risk and protective factors related to student outcomes;
  • Plan services at the district, building, classroom and individual levels.

References

  • National Association of School Psychologists (2010) Practice Model. Available from www.nasponline.org.
  • Ohio Department of Education. (2014). Ohio Operating Standards for the Education of Children with Disabilities. Available from https://education.ohio.gov/ getattachment/Topics/Special-Education/Federal-and-State-Requirements/Operational-Standards-and-Guidance/2014-Ohio-Operating-Standards-for-theEducation-of-Children-with-Disabilities.pdf.aspx.
  • Ohio Administrative Code 3301-24-05 (C) (1) (c). (2015). Licensure. Available from http://codes.ohio.gov/oac/3301-24-05.
  • Ohio School Psychologists Association. Available at www.ospaonline.org. • Ohio Revised Code 3317.15. (2016). Children with disabilities; speech-language pathology and psychological services. Available from http://codes.ohio. gov/orc/3317.15.

Speech Pathologists

Roles & Responsibilities
Speech-language pathologists (SLPs) work to prevent, assess, diagnose and treat speech, language, social communication, cognitive-communication and swallowing disorders in children. In addition, speech-language pathologists provide training and education to families,caregivers and other professionals. Additionally, they provide counseling, consultative services and work collaboratively with professionals in the educational arena to determine supports and services for the whole child.

Information about Speech-Language Pathologists
Speech-language pathologists in schools must have at least a master's degree, pass a national exam and complete a supervised professional experience. Speech-language pathologists in schools are required to maintain two licenses: an Ohio Department of Education professional license and a license from the Ohio Speech and Hearing Professionals Board.

Speech-Language Pathologists are Trained to:

  • Offer a unique perspective as an expert in communication development and disorders;
  • Facilitate students’ access to the academic curriculum and functional life skills by targeting the language processes of reading, writing, speaking, listening and learning
  • Use evidence- and research-based intervention strategies;
  • Serve on intervention teams and multi-tiered system of support teams to collaborate in the development of intervention and accommodation plans;
  • Provide students ages 3-21 services and support within a diverse range of service delivery models, including direct instruction and collaborative models;
  • Serve as a schoolwide and/or district consultant and resource for administrators, educators, parents and students regarding communication disorders and language-learning disabilities;
  • Target a wide range of communication disorders, including:
    • Speech sound disorders
    • Language disorders
    • Pragmatics
    • Voice and fluency disorders
  • Address communication disorders across all disability categories;
  • Support changing communication demands of students as they transition throughout their school careers and into the community.