Panel hears bill to join interstate compact to ease school psychologist licensing

Senator Victor Rountree introduced LB 84 to have Nebraska join the School Psychologist Interstate Licensure Compact, saying the compact "aims to provide greater mobility for licensed school psychologists" and help military families and other relocating professionals begin work more quickly.

Tessa Petereit, Nebraska delegate to the National Association of School Psychologists and executive‑board member of the Nebraska School Psychologists Association, told the committee Nebraska has "a ratio of 1 school psychologist per 921 students, which is nearly double the recommended ratio" and that paperwork and credential transfers can take weeks or months. She said the compact would not lower standards but would reduce administrative burden and facilitate faster placement of practitioners.

Laura Ebke, senior fellow at the Platte Institute, testified in the neutral capacity and noted that last year Nebraska enacted LB 16, a universal recognition law that broadly allows out‑of‑state licenses to be recognized in Nebraska; she said LB 16 reduces the need for compacts in many occupations and cautioned that compacts create a national governance layer that may reduce state flexibility on licensure standards.

Committee members asked about fees and timing. Supporters said the compact requires a threshold number of member states before it can operate and that fees and commission governance vary by compact. Senator Rountree said the compact would be particularly helpful for military families in his district and for school districts with shortages. No vote or formal committee action was recorded during the hearing.

The bill's proponents urged the committee to advance LB 84 to help address a statewide shortage in school psychologists by streamlining licensure portability.