Why a name change could help with the shortage of school psychologists in Texas
AUSTIN (CBSDFW.COM) - After years of COVID-19 isolation and recent school shootings, Texas students are in need of more mental health support and many are at risk of not getting it.
A study published in the American Journal of Psychiatry found one in five kids in the U.S. need mental health support and yet nearly 80% don't receive services.
"I worry about that, 100%," said Kelsey Theis, president of Texas Association of School Psychologists. "There are many students out there that just go without the help."
Theis is one of more than 2,000 school psychologists working in Texas schools.
School psychologists are graduate level professionals uniquely trained to address mental and behavioral health concerns for all students.
The National Association of School Psychologists recommends schools have one school psychologist for every 500 students.
In Texas, the statewide ratio is one school psychologist for every 2,597 students, according to Texas Education Agency data.
In the Fort Worth Education Service Center Region 11, there's one school psychologist for 2,721 students. In the Richardson ECS Region 10 (Dallas), there's one school psychologist for every 3,759 students, according to TEA data compiled by the TASP. These ratios reflect school psychologists employed by school districts.
Some school districts contract with private agencies to provide school psychologist services. In 2020, there were 3,594 Licensed Specialist in School Psychologist (LSSPs) with an active license in the state, according to data from the Texas Department of State Health Services. However, even if all licensed LSSPs worked in Texas public schools, Texas would still need to hire nearly 7,000 more to reach NASP recommended ratios.
"We have a major challenge related to the mental health workforce in the state of Texas," Dr. David Lakey, the Chief Medical Officer for the University of Texas System, told CBS 11 in a July interview.
After the 2018 Santa Fe High School shooting, Texas lawmakers created the Texas Child Mental Health Care Consortium, tasking Dr. Lakey with finding ways to increase access to mental health services for students.
Through various initiatives, including a telehealth program, TCMHCC has expanded mental health services for students, but efforts have been limited by workforce shortages.
"I've told the Legislature just that point," Dr. Lakey said. "They can give me a bucketful of money but if I can't hire enough people to provide these services, I can't spend those dollars."
Texas needs more people to become school psychologists, but training capacity at the 21 universities in Texas that offer graduate school psychology programs is limited.
According to the TASP, at the current rate of graduate training it would take almost 45 years to meet workforce shortages and that's assuming all the current school psychologists never retire.
"We are in a pretty dire place with just the services we are able to provide students because there is not enough of us," Theis said.
While expanding training programs is crucial to increasing the school psychologist workforce, those efforts will take years before they payoff.
However, Theis said there is something Texas could do that would make an immediate impact – change their name.
Texas is just one of two states where school psychologists are not called "school psychologists." On the Texas license is Licensed Specialist in School Psychology (LSSP). Theis said the LSSP name often leaves parents and teachers confused and unclear as to who they are.
"I certainly believe that if we could change the title, it would just help people on who to go to," Theis explained. "It's just hard to constantly have to explain who you are and why you are in the room.
The TASP has been pushing to change the official title for more than a decade. Past proposed state legislation to change the LSSP name failed to be brought up for a vote. TASP is now taking a different approach, looking for a rule change through the Texas Behavioral Health Executive Council. This is a several step process, but school psychologists could get the final adoption of the name change as soon as January.
While school psychologists do play a vital role in mental health services for students, Jake Kobersky, a TEA spokesperson, told CBS 11 school psychologist numbers do not always reflect all of the mental health support provided by school districts. Some districts may elect to partner with external mental health practitioners such as clinical social workers, licensed professional counselors, and family therapists to provide these services, according to TEA officials.