Educational innovations continue to improve schools' abilities to implement up-to-date, effective, efficient evidence-based practices. Across education, it is important to understand the implementation and contextual elements that are critical to educator acceptability, feasibility, and usability. This preliminary qualitative study seeks to better…

School psychologists often have reason to suspect that students may not be putting forth full effort during diagnostic tests, or that questionnaire or rating scale data are not credible. However, such suspicions must be tested carefully to yield data-based conclusions. Structured, empirically supported methods for assessing the "response…

Socio-emotional learning (SEL) is essential for the holistic development of a child. It is a process through which individuals acquire and effectively apply their knowledge and skills to understand and manage their own emotions, show empathy for others, establish and maintain positive relationships, and make responsible decisions. Schools function…

School counselors need to be intentional about implementing a comprehensive school counseling program, which will often include planning and teaching classroom lessons on topics connected to academic skills, career planning, and social/emotional learning. Universal Design for Learning (UDL) is a scientifically valid framework for providing access…

This article presents a structured blueprint for school psychologists to assess and intervene in cases of automatically maintained self-injurious behavior (SIB) while adhering to the Least Restrictive Environment (LRE) mandate. We outline a six-step process for conducting Functional Behavior Assessments (FBAs) of automatically maintained SIB,…

Schools in the United States are becoming more diverse with respect to race, ethnicity, gender, and sexuality, but many minority students experience disconnection from school for a variety of reasons. Longstanding research on the jigsaw method suggests that it has been an effective intervention for increasing interdependence among students and…

Background and Aims: A literature review of both Eastern and Western literature regarding families of children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) revealed limited empirical research that examines ASD in China. Furthermore, most research in this area comes from a deficit model and there is a lack of research that comes from a strengths background.…

Rural school communities face an array of systemic barriers that often impact students' college and career readiness (CCR). These barriers often extend to students identified as gifted and talented, a subsection with differing CCR readiness needs than their non-gifted peers. Despite these barriers, school counselors are well positioned to address…

College recovery services are designed to provide necessary supports for college students with issues related to substance use disorders to be successful in postsecondary education. However, as a still emerging form of student supports, major issues remain such as funding, the utilization of evidence-based interventions, effective program…

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…

Across demographic groups, incoming seniors (class of 2021) have been affected by the coronavirus pandemic, and some have altered their college plans accordingly. Most seniors are planning to attend the same type of institution they were planning on before the pandemic, but about half are planning on a different institution, one closer to home, or…

Just because a school has adopted a social and emotional learning (SEL) program does not mean it will work. This book explores the conditions needed to implement, strengthen, and sustain effective SEL, and identifies paths that schools, districts, and states have taken to create those conditions. Major themes include equity of access to…

Optimal service delivery for students with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) often involves interdisciplinary care coordination between primary care clinicians, community-based providers, and school personnel such as school psychologists. Interdisciplinary care coordination includes communication and collaboration from multiple providers to…

Military members endure a variety of stressors (e.g., transitioning from military culture to college culture), which may be associated with mental health distress. College counselors must be aware of the unique clinical needs of student Veterans. College counselors can increase military cultural competence and adopt effective clinical approaches…

While many team meetings in schools are ad hoc and vary from school to school and practitioner to practitioner, Individualized Education Program (IEP) team membership and meetings are a requirement for most school psychologists. As mandated by the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA, 2004), the IEP team must consist of a parent, a…