National Association of School Psychologists

The National Association of School Psychologists (NASP) is the major national professional organization for school psychologists in the United States. Its stated mission is to "represent and support school psychology through leadership to enhance the mental health and educational competence of all children." The vision of NASP is that all children and youth access the learning, behavior, and mental health support needed to thrive in school, at home, and throughout life. The four main purpose of this organization is "a) to actively promote the interests of school psychology; b) to advance the standards of the profession; c) to help secure the conditions necessary to the greatest effectiveness of its practice; and d) to serve the mental health and educational interest of all children and youth" [1].

NASP provides standards for ethics and practice, and approves graduate training programs that sufficiently adhere to its training guidelines. NASP is a constituent member of the National Council for Accreditation of Teacher Education (NCATE) and although NCATE accredits units (such as colleges of education), not programs, it does provide "national recognition" status to NASP-approved programs located in units accredited by NCATE.[2]

The organization also offers an opportunity for those who have successfully completed their graduate coursework, participated in a 1200-hour internship with at least 600 hours in a school setting, and received a score of at least 660 on the School Psychologist Praxis II Examination to apply for National Certification in School Psychology.

While the American Psychological Association (APA) serves similar purposes through Division 16,[3] one way that NASP differs fundamentally from the APA is in that it officially recognizes the specialist degree as the entry-level degree for the field, as opposed to the doctoral degree. The two organizations, however, are more complementary than competing. Many view NASP as the governing body for sub-doctoral school psychologists and the APA as the governing body for doctoral-level school psychologists, although there are many doctoral-level school psychologists who belong to NASP. Further, NASP approval of graduate programs does not compete with APA accreditation; the APA does not accredit non-doctoral programs,[4] and NASP will more quickly approve programs that have already been APA-accredited.[5]

The National Association of School Psychologists currently distributes one journals: School Psychology Review, which is the second-largest psychology academic journal and includes research and theory related to school psychology. It previously distributed[6] School Psychology Forum: Research in Practice, an electronic publication, but the final issue was published in spring 2019[7]. NASP also publishes a periodical, Communiqué, which is the official newspaper of NASP that covers news, events, innovative practices, legislative developments, and other topics relevant to the field.