Abstract
Since 1992, the British Columbia Association of School Psychologists (BCASP) has been the professional body for school psychologists in British Columbia. In the intervening 24 years, BCASP has been very successful in performing the dual roles of a certifying body and a professional development organization for school psychologists in British Columbia. Historically, school psychologists at the master’s level have been allowed to practice and to use the title school psychologist in specific settings (school, government agencies, hospitals, and universities) through an Exemption Clause in the Psychologist Regulation of the Health Professions Act. In 2001, the Health Profession’s Council repealed both the Psychologist Regulation and the exemption clause under which school psychologists work. The Ministries of Education and Health, recognizing that if these recommendations were adopted, the provision of psychological services in British Columbia schools would be severely affected, instead opted to extend the existing Exemption Clause until an agreement could be reached with the College of Psychologists of British Columbia (CPBC) and BCASP. This article provides an examination of the integral role that BCASP has played in this evolution of school psychology in British Columbia.
Keywords
In British Columbia (BC), the British Columbia Association of School Psychologists (BCASP) is the professional body that provides a certification process for and oversees the practice of more than 300 school psychologists currently practicing in the province. Since 1992, the various iterations of the BCASP Executive have worked diligently to enhance the profession. In fact, the current executive’s primary focus has been to have the practice of school psychology recognized by the public as a part of a larger regulated professional body and to be governed by the same professional guidelines as other psychologists in BC.
BCASP is relatively unique, in that it is not a regulatory body, nor is it solely a professional development body, it is in fact a registered society regulated under the Societies Act in BC. Thus, membership, even though highly desired by school districts, has been voluntary, and up until 2013, not a requirement for employment by school districts in the province. BCASP currently serves a number of functions under the auspices of the BC Ministry of Education. For example, the Ministry of Education has determined that to work in BC schools as a school psychologist, you must either be Certified by BCASP or a registrant of the College of Psychologists of British Columbia (CPBC). Moreover, BCASP, as the certifying body for school psychologists in BC, is closely involved in graduate-level practicum and/or internship supervision and the professional development of school psychologists. School psychology applicants wanting to be certified by BCASP undergo rigorous scrutiny to ensure that they meet the current membership criteria specific to the scope of school psychology, including at the minimum a master’s-level degree in school psychology from an approved university, appropriate course work within the scope of school psychology, a 1,200-hr internship as part of their graduation requirements or under the supervision of either a BCASP member or a registrant with the CPBC, successful completion of the National Association of School Psychologists competency exam, and two satisfactory professional references. BCASP also has an expectation that its members participate in ongoing professional development. In support of the ongoing professional development of school psychologists in BC, BCASP has for the past 27 years hosted a highly successful annual conference, which is arguably one of the best in the nation and has demonstrated an ability to consistently draw a variety of influential and leading experts in the field as presenters each year.
Members of BCASP currently practice school psychology under an Exemption Clause in the Psychologist Regulation of the Health Professions Act (the ACT; “Health Professions Act—Psychologists Regulation,” 2008). The original intention of the Exemption Clause was to permit master’s-level psychologists the use of the title “psychologist” in specific work environments (i.e., schools, government agencies, hospitals, and universities). The Exemption Clause was intended to be a temporary measure. One of its purposes was to allow the Ministry of Education sufficient time to negotiate with the Ministry of Health regarding the process and conditions by which Certified School Psychologists would eventually be regulated by the CPBC, with the least disruption in psychological services in schools.
There has been an ongoing discussion over a number of years within and between the Ministries of Education and Health with regard to having Certified School Psychologists regulated under the ACT through the CPBC. BCASP and the CPBC have participated in these discussions alongside the Ministry of Education in an attempt to address the following issues:
How to maintain the role of school psychologists in school districts,
How to secure and maintain the provision of psychological services in school districts, and
How to find a resolution concerning the removal of the exemption clause of the Act that continues to allow master’s-level psychologists to practice in educational settings.
The two main parties involved in these discussions, over the last decade, have been BCASP and CPBC. Throughout these discussions, it has been evident to the BCASP Executive and the Registrar of CPBC that there must be “common ground” found and established between the two organizations to move beyond the impasse of long-standing issues. The primary contentious issues involved the use of title and the role of school psychologists in BC. Apart from those individuals who practice under the exemption clause, the use of title is restricted and to be used only by members of the CPBC. The CPBC has in the past raised concerns about school psychologists and school psychology services, including such issues as supervision, liability, and qualifications. In addition to the aforementioned concerns, the fundamental issue of “protecting the public” has been raised by the CPBC with regard to school psychologists and school psychology services in Education. This issue of “protecting the public” raised by the CPBC, was reviewed and monitored annually over a 5-year period by the Ministry of Education. Analysis of the results of the review demonstrated there was little or no concern with regard to the CPBC’s assertion that there was a “protecting the public” issue. In fact, during the 5-year review period no substantive complaints were filed with the Ministry of Education involving school psychologists.
The subsequent issue of note was what the process of “porting over” BCASP members would entail and ultimately look like. This issue included such factors as group membership or group entry into the CPBC, supervision requirements, and scope of practice (including working in the Independent School System), registration requirements (including the Written Jurisprudence Exam, etc.), and annual fees.
The Ministry of Education presented concerns that included the protection of the existing system of assessment and designation for funding and programming purposes, the potential (and real) shortage of school psychologists in some school districts of the province, and the lack of school psychology services to Ministry-approved independent schools across the province.
The recent round of discussions between the Ministries of Education and Health has occurred, in part, because the 5-year window of review of school psychology services covered by the exemption clause has come to an end. As a result of these discussions, at the November 8, 2010, Annual General Meeting, the BCASP Executive brought forward two motions which were given unanimous approval by the membership. These motions were as follows:
Motion 1
Endorsed the BCASP Executive to enter into formal conversations with CPBC for the purpose of members of BCASP being regulated by the CPBC with an understanding that entry requirements, scope of practice, knowledge of jurisprudence and code of conduct, continuing competency requirements, and access to restricted activity are key regulatory elements which would form the framework for these discussions.
Motion 2
The BCASP Executive was given the additional mandate to
Ensure that current BCASP membership criteria will be prominent in the development of entry requirements for school psychologist practitioners with a master’s degree;
Ensure that while it is understood that each applicant must be considered on its own merits, that avenues of appropriate accommodation or modification of entry requirements, based on training and experience of BCASP members, be discussed;
Ensure that any sunset provisions, which are typically in place for regulatory transitions of this nature, are in place in any transition to regulation by the CPBC.
The CPBC for its part published an article in its professional newsletter outlining the CPBC Board of Director’s willingness to accept master’s-level school psychologists: “Ensuring that practitioners with access to title by way of current exemptions will retain access to maintaining title and scope of practice, in the new classes of registration, should exemptions be removed” (“CPBC Bylaw Proposal Regarding New Classes of Registration,” Chronicle, 2010, p. 4).
The preceding actions taken by the two organizations enabled the CPBC and the BCASP Executive to create an opportunity and potential framework for BCASP members to transition into the CPBC with minimal resistance and hardship to its members and minimal disruption to school districts across the province.
The discussions between the CPBC and the BCASP Executive to date have been based on the following Guiding Principles:
All psychology practitioners would be regulated under one regulatory regime, both for public protection as well as for enhancing standards of best practice and professional identity. (There are already a significant number of BCASP members registered with the CPBC and the CPBC’s interest in developing a new registration class for school psychologists provides a window of opportunity.)
Having a unique registration class of school psychologists within the CPBC may enhance the public’s ability to identify the profession of school psychology.
The CPBC has the experience of regulating under the Health Professions Act for more than a decade. Professional development and best practice will be enhanced by the CPBC’s ability to establish and monitor professional development and professional conduct.
Registration with the CPBC includes requirements to adhere to standards of conduct. (This will enhance the ability of school psychologists to advocate for higher standards of conduct with regard to issues like informed consent, record keeping, and supervision.)
Given that the CPBC would regulate school psychologists, BCASP could then focus its “energies and resources” exclusively on professional development and advocacy activities for its members.
Public policy trends all indicate government’s commitment to professional regulation. (This is true across the country and elsewhere.)
From a public protection standpoint, parents, teachers, and other persons involved with and potentially affected by the services of school psychologists, will have access to a fully developed complaint process in a regulated profession. Thus, the investigation of complaints would follow the legislated path, which ensures fairness and due process.
The BC Ministry of Education has also taken into consideration approaches taken by other provincial jurisdictions establishing school psychology as a regulated profession. However, after review, the Ministries of Education and Health, BCASP, and CPBC agreed to utilize the existing avenues of dialogue as the best approach to achieve regulation for all practitioners of psychology under one regulatory regime governed by a revised ACT. This approach would result in the regulation of school psychologists transitioning from BCASP to the CPBC. BCASP members would be placed within a “limited registry.” This proposed transition was endorsed by the BCASP membership and has been recognized and accepted as the next appropriate step in the evolution of school psychology service delivery in BC School Districts. Under the CPBC bylaws being placed within the “limited registry” means that school psychologists would be entitled to the continued use of the title “school psychologist.” The scope of their practice would though be limited to supporting students in school settings, and the assessment and diagnosis of learning disabilities and intellectual disabilities. The “limited registry” in no way precludes opportunity for full membership in CPBC, once the specific training and clinical experience required for full membership registration has been undertaken and appropriately completed.
School psychologists across BC are looking forward to the clarity, recognition, and credibility of being a registrant of the singular regulatory body of the practice of psychology in the province of BC (CPBC).
The next step for BCASP and CPBC was to seek endorsement from the Ministries of Education and Health to resolve this matter and to ensure the continued provision of school psychology services in BC schools. After years of “on-again, off-again” discussions, the Ministries of Education and Health have approved this jointly prepared and agreed upon proposal. BCASP and CPBC will now embark upon the facilitation of this momentous and somewhat onerous task of transitioning school psychologists into the regulatory framework of CPBC by January 2018.
Footnotes
Declaration of Conflicting Interests
The author(s) declared no potential conflicts of interest with respect to the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article.
Funding
The author(s) received no financial support for the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article.