School Psychology Workforce Trends: Recommendations for Graduate Preparation and Policy

Abstract

Recent concerns about the psychoeducational needs of children and adolescents have drawn increased attention to the importance of psychological services in public schools. In particular, media reports on issues related to school safety, special education supports, and appropriate service delivery for culturally and linguistically diverse students have underscored the demand for school psychologists. The need for school psychologists to address these critical concerns is compounded by the fact that, for many years, there have been documented shortages of school psychologists. For the most part, reporting on shortages has been either anecdotal or based on surveys. In this article, we identify trends in graduate preparation and workforce data to better understand current and future needs by analyzing public data on graduate students, public-school employees, and workforce records from Texas. Following this analysis, we provide recommendations for policy and practice.