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Board approves initial updates to school psychologist credentials; members ask for wording changes on equity and credit expectations
Summary
The State Board approved the initial proposal to update credentialing standards for school psychologists, aligning practice domains with national guidance and proposing a 60'semester'hour expectation for master's'level preparation; board members asked staff to refine language around diversity, equity and how the credit threshold would affect workforce supply.
A committee of practicing school psychologists presented proposed revisions to New Hampshire'credentialing standards on Jan. 8, asking the board to adopt an updated framework aligned with the 2020 NASP practice model and to set clear education and practicum expectations.
Bridget Jamieson and other committee members described a package of changes that consolidates professional expectations (assessment, intervention, consultation, data'driven decision making) and proposes that candidates hold a master's'level or higher credential that includes, in most cases, the equivalent of 60 graduate semester hours. The committee said most U.S. school psychology programs already meet or exceed a 60'hour threshold, and that higher'hour programs support interstate reciprocity initiatives and legally defensible practice.
Board members pressed committee representatives on workforce effects and precise wording. Several members expressed concern that a strict 60'credit requirement could shrink the available candidate pool in the short term and asked staff to verify how programs nationwide map to the proposal. Members also asked the committee to revise several passages that used terms such as "social justice" and "equity," suggesting the rule should focus on concrete, measurable responsibilities (for example: ensuring students receive appropriate accommodations and that assessment materials are free of cultural bias) rather than political or broad policy phrases.
Committee members agreed that the policy language could be tightened. They explained that their original intent was to ensure practitioners are trained to identify and account for diversity in assessment and to prevent biased interpretation of standardized measures; they were open to striking or rephrasing politicized phrasing to avoid misinterpretation while preserving obligations to use evidence'based and nondiscriminatory practices.
The board moved to approve the initial proposal for ED507.40 (school psychologist credential) with the agreed amendments to wording and asked department staff to return with the final draft language for publication in the rulemaking record. The motion passed at the meeting.
What happens next: staff will refine the proposed language per board direction, confirm how the credit expectations align with program offerings nationwide, and publish the revised initial proposal with a public comment period before any final vote.
