In this article, James Joshua Coleman and Jon Wargo interrogate the (queer) child as a concept and specter that haunts civic life in the United States. Whereas scholars across a range of fields and standpoints have questioned the value of LGBTQ+ inclusion in public school curricula, and society more broadly, together Coleman and Wargo wonder at…

One of the more salient roles of school psychologists is the school-based assessment of child and adolescent mental health problems. The most widely used diagnostic and classification system for mental health disorders in the United States is the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM). Many school psychologists (or their…

The administration of campus climate surveys has proliferated across the United States at institutions of higher education to help respond to sexual misconduct. This study reviews existing state legislation related to campus climate surveys and compares it to the recent federal mandate outlined in the Violence Against Women Reauthorization Act of…

This next article in the series on evaluation under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) focuses on the common, core responsibility of school psychologists for timely completion of the initial evaluation. For this topic, first is a legal analysis and then a discussion for professional implementation that includes ethical…

Context: In recent years, 44 U.S. states have proposed legislation that restricts the teaching of race and racism in social studies. Commonly called "anti-critical race theory" (anti-CRT) legislation, these laws are notoriously difficult to interpret and have led many social studies teachers to avoid discussing race and controversial…

The purpose of this study was to examine the presence of continuous improvement and improvement science in the Consolidated State Plans required by ESSA. Through an exploratory qualitative content analysis, we examined 52 state plans to determine the extent education policies encourage professional educators to use a continuous improvement and…

The purpose of this case study was to explore potential gaps in supports for students with disabilities at the K-12 and postsecondary levels. For the utility of this study, the potential gaps in supports for students with disabilities were defined as recurring patterns and differences in federal and state-level laws and regulations pertaining to…

The U.S. Department of Education defines physical restraints as a restriction that immobilizes or reduces the ability to move torso, arms, legs, or head freely. Because of the inherent dangers of physical restraints, their use is strictly regulated in most hospitals, prisons, and public law enforcement settings. Although students have died in…

In recent years, dyslexia legislation and awareness has become more prevalent. Dyslexia is a specific learning disorder that affects a student's ability to read because they have deficits in their overall phonological awareness skills. While federal and state legislation has been passed regarding dyslexia, awareness surrounding dyslexia is still…

Restraint and seclusion are frequently misused in schools, leading to harmful outcomes for students. There is currently no federal law regulating these practices, which has led to inconsistencies in state and district policies. This policy paper aims to provide a brief background on current definitions, case law, and policies and provide teachers…

The necessity of a college degree is irrefutable. However, the path to college for undocumented students can be crowded with boulders, steep walls, or altogether non-existent. Drawing on interviews with 25 undocumented Latina/o students and 5 years (2012-2017) of school ethnography, I show that their college-going experiences are framed by the…

Following the recent proliferation of anti-discrimination protections supporting LGBTIQ+ youth internationally, backlash periods have ensued. Whilst liberal-progressive rights models theorise 'backlash' as an expected consequence of rights recognitions progress, some post-colonial and Queer scholars frame backlash within enduring authoritarian…

An array of federal, state, and local laws and policies come into play when situations arise that could compromise student safety. These laws and district policies combine to form an intricate and sometimes inconsistent patchwork of protocols that schools must follow. Robert Kim discusses the interplay between federal, state, and local laws…

Extended school year (ESY) under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) has become a more frequent issue as a result of the learning loss and increased needs of some special education students due to the COVID-19 pandemic. School psychologists often play a significant role in implementation of the IDEA requirements specific to ESY.…

Teachers in the United States are increasingly tasked with using data to inform their classroom instruction both through federal policies, such as the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA, 2016), and state policies requiring the use of teacher-determined data-driven goals for performance evaluations (MA 603 CMR 35.07). Many teachers, however, report…