School psychologists are well served to stay up to date on trends in special education law, particularly with respect to determinations when school teams' decisions are challenged. This allows them to focus on proactive best practices that foster accurate specific learning disability (SLD) identification and active collaboration with parents. This…

Education laws and policies serve to guide the way programs and services are implemented in schools. The transition from law or policy to implementation can be fraught with complications that impact the education system across many levels. According to Viennet and Pont (2017), one of the areas that can either hinder or support the transition from…

This article serves as the first in a series addressing comprehensive suicide prevention programming in the school context. Suicide is currently the second leading cause of death for 10- to 24-year-olds in the United States. As schools are a place where the majority of youth spend a significant amount of time, it follows that they are a natural…

Dyslexia has been the recent focus of a groundswell of interest, advocacy, and legislative activity. Struck by this salient movement and its implications regarding practice, the author set out to investigate the dyslexia advocacy movement. While mandates and initiatives vary greatly from state to state, the motivation behind the advocacy efforts…

This exercise is designed to assist school counselors in assessing their knowledge of prevalent ethical and legal issues within the school setting. The aim is to highlight emerging legal and ethical dilemmas and motivate counselors to stay abreast of specific school rules and policies, as well as keep a basic understanding of state and federal…

Although some writers have suggested that the Americans With Disabilities Act (ADA), contrary to its intent, was responsible for a decline in employment for persons with disabilities, there is little strong empirical support for such an assertion. This study is an attempt to demonstrate that, in fact, the dismal labor market experience following…

This booklet on counselor licensure is intended for professional counselors who may be interested in working toward the passage of counselor licensure legislation. Following a brief introduction to the topic of counselor licensure, a list of resource persons is given. A history of licensure and related credentialing activities is provided,…

This document is designed to fill major information voids in the field of adoption and to provide prospective adoptive parents with reliable data on which to base decisions. The factbook contains four major types of new information: (1) a frank discussion of the issues concerning adoption -- including costs; tax regulations; transracial adoption;…

With the growing number of counselors working outside of school settings, licensure of mental health counselors has become an important issue. A main problem facing counselors is the lack of a clear identity. Licensure would lead to increased professionalism and identification. Licensure is authorized by the state legislature, regulating the…

This report is designed to familiarize American Counseling Association members with the concepts and terminology of managed care, and the various options for regulating managed care to safeguard the interests and rights of professional counselors and their clients. Topics covered in this report include controlling costs, private sector oversight,…

The Kentucky Department of Education, Office of Leadership and School Improvement developed this revised and updated technical assistance manual for the 2004-2006 Effective Instructional Leadership Act (EILA) cycle to assist local educators as they strive to improve the quality and effectiveness of their leadership skills and to assist districts…

Section 622.10 of the Code of Iowa provides that no qualified school guidance counselor shall be allowed, in giving testimony, to disclose any confidential communications entrusted to the counselor by a pupil or his or her parents or guardian while the counselor is in a professional counseling role. In order for this privilege to apply, four…

This publication provides information for intervention and prevention services concerning sexual harassment and sexual discrimination in schools. It is especially designed for student services professionals and includes national and state laws, suggestions for how to work with students, and strategies for protecting employees and students. Chapter…

This vocational program book is intended to assist vocational rehabilitation counselors in moving toward the goal of community employment for people with autism. The first section considers vocational issues for this population and discusses the following: autism and work, educational experiences/programming, vocational evaluations, purposes of…

Couselor credentialing is a way to symbolize professionalism and high standards to the public. Its purpose is to identify counselors who are at least minimally qualified to provide counseling services. This special digest collection on credentialing counselors covers many aspects of legislation, methods, and special concerns about credentialing.…