Existing law requires the Commission on Professional Standards in Education to prescribe regulations for licensing educational personnel, including regulations which provide for the reciprocal licensure of educational personnel from other states. (NRS 391.019, 319.032) Existing law defines the term “school psychologist” to mean a person who holds a license issued pursuant to the provisions of existing law governing the licensing of educational personnel and an endorsement to serve as a school psychologist issued pursuant to the regulations adopted by the Commission or who is otherwise authorized by the Superintendent of Public Instruction to serve as a school psychologist. (NRS 385.007) Section 2 of this bill enacts the School Psychologist Interstate Licensure Compact. The Compact allows a person who has been issued a license as a school psychologist in his or her home state that is a member of the Compact, which the Compact designates as a “home state license,” to obtain an equivalent license in any other state that is a member of the Compact. Sections 3 and 5 of this bill require the Commission on Professional Standards in Education to adopt regulations: (1) to carry out the provisions of the Compact; and (2) which provide for the licensure of persons pursuant to the Compact. The Compact provides for the creation by member states of a joint governmental agency called the School Psychologist Interstate Licensure Compact Commission. Under the Compact, the Commission has the power to establish and amend rules and bylaws and various other powers relating to the administration of the Compact. The Compact establishes procedures and requirements for the conduct of meetings of the Commission and for the promulgation of rules by the Commission. The Compact sets forth certain requirements for a state to be eligible to join the Compact, including qualifications that a state must impose for the issuance of a home state license. Existing regulations of the Commission on Professional Standards in Education, with certain exceptions, set forth three alternative avenues for a person to qualify for an endorsement to serve as a school psychologist in this State. Under the first avenue, a person must: (1) hold a master's or more advanced degree; (2) have preparation in school psychology; (3) have successfully completed certain areas of study; (4) have earned 60 semester hours of graduate credits in certain areas of study; and (5) have completed an internship in school psychology consisting of two full-time regular consecutive semesters or 1,000 hours of supervised and practical experience which meet certain criteria. Under the second avenue, a person must hold a credential as a Nationally Certified School Psychologist issued by the National Association of School Psychologists or its successor organization. Finally, under the third avenue, a person must have completed a program approved by the State Board of Education which prepares a person to be a school psychologist. (NAC 391.315, as amended by LCB File No. R120-22 and R165-22, NAC 391.319, as amended by LCB File No. 124-22) The Compact requires that, to be eligible to join the Compact, a state must require an applicant for a home state license as a school psychologist to have: (1) taken and passed a qualifying national examination, as defined by the rules of the School Psychologist Interstate Licensure Compact Commission; (2) completed a minimum of 1,200 hours of supervised internship, of which at least 600 must have been completed in a school, before being approved for licensure; and (3) graduated from a qualifying school psychologist education program approved by the rules of the Commission. The Compact sets forth procedures by which a person who has been issued a home state license as a school psychologist may obtain an equivalent license in another state that is a member of the Compact. In order to obtain and maintain such an equivalent license, the Compact requires the person to: (1) hold and maintain a home state license; (2) satisfy any applicable state-specific requirements established by the member state after an equivalent license is granted; (3) complete certain administrative or application requirements and pay certain fees; (4) complete any requirements for renewal in his or her home state; and (5) undergo a criminal background check. To renew an equivalent license issued pursuant to the Compact, the Compact requires a person only to apply for renewal, complete a background check and pay any applicable fees for renewal. Sections 4, 6 and 8 of this bill exempt a person licensed pursuant to the Compact from: (1) requirements concerning the examinations required for the initial licensing of teachers and other educational personnel; (2) requirements for continuing education for school psychologists; and (3) a requirement for an applicant for a license as a teacher or administrator or to perform some other educational function to submit with his or her application for licensure proof of completion of a certain course of study and training approved by the Commission on Professional Standards in Education. (NRS 391.021, 391.0349, 391.037) Section 1 of this bill revises the definition of the term “school psychologist” to include a person licensed pursuant to the Compact among the persons who constitute a school psychologist. The Compact also requires a member state to agree to provide for the facilitation of certain information concerning persons licensed as school psychologists. Section 7 of this bill revises provisions governing the confidentiality of certain information concerning an application for licensure to authorize such information to be disclosed when required by the Compact. Section 9 of this bill provides for the confidentiality of certain information disclosed pursuant to the Compact. The Compact provides additional provisions to carry out the Compact, including provisions relating to active military members or their spouses, provisions for oversight, dispute resolution and enforcement by the School Psychologist Interstate Licensure Compact Commission and procedures for amendments of and withdrawals from the Compact. The Compact becomes effective upon ratification from seven states. Currently, only Colorado and West Virginia have ratified the Compact.

Statutes affected:
As Introduced: 385.007, 391.019, 391.021, 391.032, 391.0349, 391.035, 391.037, 239.010
BDR: 385.007, 391.019, 391.021, 391.032, 391.0349, 391.035, 391.037, 239.010