School Psychologists

Special Requirements

The Board of Psychology shall license, as school psychologists - limited, persons licensed by the Board of Education with an endorsement in psychology and a master’s degree in psychology. The Board of Psychology shall issue licenses to such persons without examination, upon review of credentials and payment of an application fee in accordance with regulations of the Board for school psychologists - limited.

Persons holding such licenses as school psychologists - limited shall practice solely in public school divisions; holding a license as a school psychologist - limited pursuant to this subsection shall not authorize such persons to practice outside the school setting or in any setting other than the public schools of the Commonwealth, unless such individuals are licensed by the Board of Psychology to offer to the public the services.

Requirements for licensure as a school psychologist - limited:

A. Every applicant for licensure as a school psychologist - limited shall submit to the board:

1. A copy of a current license issued by the Board of Education showing an endorsement in psychology.
2. An official transcript showing completion of a master’s degree in psychology.
3. A completed Employment Verification Form.
4. The application fee.

B. At the time of licensure renewal, school psychologists - limited shall be required to submit an updated Employment Verification Form if there has been a change in school district.


School Psychologist

LICENSURE BY EXAM:

A. The following must be submitted not less than 90 days prior to the date of the written examination:

a. A completed application, on forms provided by the board;
b. A completed residency agreement or documentation of having fulfilled the experience requirements
c. The application processing fee prescribed by the board;
d. Official transcripts documenting the graduate work completed and the degree awarded. Applicants who are graduates of institutions that are not regionally accredited shall submit documentation from an accrediting agency acceptable to the board that their education met the requirements
e. Verification of any other professional license or certificate ever held in another jurisdiction.

B. In addition to fulfillment of the education and experience requirements, each applicant for licensure by examination must achieve a passing score on the required examinations for School psychologist: State Practice Examination for School Psychology, Jurisprudence and Examination for Professional Practice in Psychology.


LICENSURE BY ENDORSEMENT:

Every applicant for licensure by endorsement shall submit in one package;
1. A completed application

2. The application processing fee

3. An affidavit of having read and agreed to comply with the current Standards of Practice and laws governing the practice of psychology in Virginia;

4. Verification of all other professional licenses or certificates ever held in any jurisdiction. In order to qualify for endorsement, the applicant shall have no history of disciplinary action, shall have not surrendered a license or certificate while under investigation and shall have no unresolved action against a license or certificate; and

5. Further documentation of one of the following:

a. A current listing in the National Register of Health Services Providers in Psychology;
b. Current diplomate status in good standing with the American Board of Professional Psychology in a category comparable to the one in which licensure is sought;
c. Twenty years of active licensure in a category comparable to the one in which licensure is sought, with an appropriate degree as required in this chapter documented by an official transcript; or
d. If less than 20 years of active licensure, documentation of current psychologist licensure in good standing obtained by standards substantially equivalent to the education, experience and examination requirements set forth in this chapter for the category in which licensure is sought as verified by a certified copy of the original application submitted directly from the out-of-state licensing agency or a copy of the regulations in effect at the time of initial licensure and the following:

(1) Documentation of post-licensure active practice for at least five of the last six years immediately preceding licensure application;
(2) Verification of a passing score on the Examination for Professional Practice of Psychology as established in Virginia for the year of that administration;
(3) Verification of passing score on other written and oral examinations or both as required by the jurisdiction which granted the license; and
(4) Official transcripts documenting the graduate work completed and the degree awarded in the category in which licensure is sought.

B. Notwithstanding the provisions of this section, the board may issue a license to any individual who qualifies for such a license pursuant to an agreement of reciprocity entered into by this board with a board of another jurisdiction or multiple jurisdictions.


Education requirements for school psychologists:

A. At least a master’s degree in school psychology, with a minimum of at least 60 semester credit hours or 90 quarter hours, from a college or university accredited by a regional accrediting agency, which was accredited by the APA, NCATE or NASP, or shall meet the requirements of subsection B of this section.

B. If the applicant does not hold a master’s degree in school psychology from a program accredited by the APA, NCATE or NASP, the applicant shall have a master’s degree from a psychology program which offers education and training to prepare individuals for the practice of school psychology as defined in §54. 1 - 3600 of the Code of Virginia and which meets the following criteria:

1. The program is within an institution of higher education accredited by an accrediting agency recognized by the United States Department of Education, or publicly recognized by the Association of Universities and Colleges of Canada as a member in good standing. Graduates of programs that are not within the United States or Canada must provide documentation from a credential evaluation service acceptable to the board which demonstrates that the program meets the requirements set forth in this chapter.

2. The program shall be recognizable as an organized entity within the institution.

3. The program shall be an integrated, organized sequence of study with an identifiable psychology faculty and a psychologist directly responsible for the program, and shall have an identifiable body of students who are matriculated in that program for a degree. The faculty shall be accessible to students and provide them with guidance and supervision. The faculty shall provide appropriate professional role models and engage in actions that promote the student’s acquisition of knowledge, skills and competencies consistent with the programs training goals.

4. The program shall encompass a minimum of two academic years of full-time graduate study or the equivalent thereof.

5. The program shall include a general core curriculum containing a minimum of three or more graduate semester hours or five or more graduate quarter hours in each of the following substantive content areas.

A. Psychological foundations (e.g., biological bases of behavior, human learning, social and cultural bases of behavior, child and adolescent development, individual differences).
B. Educational foundations (e.g., instructional design, organization and operation of schools).
C. Interventions/problem - solving (e.g., assessment, direct interventions, both individual and group, indirect interventions).
D. Statistics and research methodologies (e.g., research and evaluation methods, statistics, measurement).
E. Professional school psychology (e.g., history and foundations of school psychology, legal and ethical issues, professional issues and standards, alternative models for the delivery of school psychological services, emergent technologies, roles and functions of the school psychologist).

6. The program shall be committed to practicum experiences which shall include:

a. Orientation to the educational process;
b. Assessment for intervention;
c. Direct intervention, including counseling and behavior management; and
d. Indirect intervention, including consultation.


EXPERIENCE REQUIREMENTS:

A. Internship requirement.

Candidates for school psychologist licensure shall have successfully completed an internship accredited by the APA, APPIC or NASP or one that meets equivalent standards.

B. Residency requirement.

1. Successfully completed a one-year, full-time residency, or its equivalent in part-time experience for a period not to exceed three years, consisting of a minimum of 1,500 hours of supervised experience in the delivery of school psychology services acceptable to the board, or the applicant may request approval to begin a residency.

2. Supervised experience obtained in Virginia without prior written board approval will not be accepted toward licensure. Candidates shall not begin the residency until after completion of the required degree An individual who proposes to obtain supervised post-degree experience in Virginia shall, prior to the onset of such supervision, submit a supervisory contract along with the application package and pay the registration of supervision fee .

3. There shall be a minimum of two hours of individual supervision per week. Group supervision of up to five residents may be substituted for one of the two hours per week on the basis that two hours of group supervision equals one hour of individual supervision, but in no case shall the resident receive less than one hour of individual supervision per week.

4. Residents may not refer to or identify themselves as school psychologists; independently solicit clients; bill for services; or in any way represent themselves as licensed psychologists. Notwithstanding the above, this does not preclude supervisors or employing institutions for billing for the services of an appropriately identified resident. During the residency period they shall use their names, the initials of their degree, and the title, "Resident in Psychology”, in the licensure category in which licensure is sought.

5. Supervision shall be provided by a psychologist licensed to practice in the licensure category in which the resident is seeking licensure.

6. The supervisor shall not provide supervision for activities beyond the supervisor’s demonstrable areas of competence, nor for activities for which the applicant has not had appropriate education and training.

7. At the end of the residency training period, the supervisor or supervisors shall submit to the board a written evaluation of the applicant’s performance.


EXAMINATIONS:

A. An applicant for school psychologist licensure enrolled in an approved residency training program who has met all requirements for licensure except completion of that program shall be eligible to take the national and state written examinations.

B. A candidate approved by the board to sit for an examination shall take that examination within two years of the date of the initial board approval. If the candidate has not taken the examination by the end of the two-year period here prescribed, the applicant shall reapply according to the requirements of the regulations in effect at that time.

C. The board shall establish passing scores on the examinations.

D. Candidates who fail an examination may be reexamined once within a 12-month period without reapplying.

E. Candidates who fail any examination twice shall wait at least one year between the second failure and the next reexamination.


 

 

Required Fees:

 

	School psychologists	School psychologists (limited)
1. Registration of residency (per residency request)	$50	-
2. Add or change supervisor	$25	-
3. Application processing and initial licensure	$200	$85
4.  Annual renewal of active license	$140	$70
5.  Annual renewal of inactive license	$70	$35
6.  Late renewal	$50	$25
7.  Verification of license to another jurisdiction	$25	$25
8.  Duplicate license	$5	$5
9.  Additional or replacement wall certificate	$15	$15
10.  Returned check	$35	$35
11.  Reinstatement of a lapsed license	$270	$125
12.  Reinstatement following revocation or suspension	$500	$500

For More Information, Contact:

Virginia Department Of Health Professions
Board Of Psychology
6603 West Broad St., 5th Floor
Richmond, VA 23230-1712
Phone: 804.662.9913
TTY: 804.662.7197
Fax: 804.662.7250
http://www.dhp.virginia.gov/psychology/

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The data sources for the information displayed here include: Virginia Career VIEW Research.