Dear Colleagues,
As you may recall, last February at the direction of the Louisiana
Department of Education (LDE), I requested input from practicing school
psychologists on the procedures used in your districts to monitor the
progress of students on your caseloads. Thanks again to those of you who
responded.
In April, the LDE requested that a task force be established to develop
measures to determine the effectiveness of school psychological
services. The task force consisted of representatives from north and
south Louisiana, and included practicing specialist and doctoral level
school psychologists, university trainers, supervisors of school
psychologists, and a district administrator. Effort was taken to address
the diversity of our roles and to determine a fair and equitable method
for assessing the effectiveness of our services. The task force
recommendations were presented to LDE in June, 2010 with the
understanding that input from practitioners would be solicited. Although
the LDE has not yet determined whether to accept the recommendations, I
am attaching them in draft form for your review and consideration. The
document will also be available for review on the LSPA website.
Accountability models for school psychologists and other related service
providers are on the horizon. We were pleased to have the opportunity
to design a model that addresses the effectiveness of our services in a
meaningful and accurate manner, rather than waiting until a plan is
imposed upon us. The attached recommendations are in draft form subject
to LDE decision. I hope you will take time to review the recommendations
and send any comments or suggestions to me at this e-mail address no
later than March 18. I will compile the comments and have them available
to LDE when the task force's recommendations are considered.
Thank you for your time and input.
Debra
Debra A. Duhe, Ph.D., NCSP
Supervisor, School Psychological Services
Louisiana Department of Education
P.O. Box 94064
Baton Rouge, LA 70804-9064
Telephone: 225-342-5992
Fax: 225-219-4454
