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**For Immediate Release**
November 9, 2008
Contact: Sarah Krauss
212.669.4193; 917.541.0936
Release #: 039-2008
Gotbaum Survey: School Psychologists Spend More Time on Paperwork than Working with Special Needs Students
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MANHATTAN- A new survey released by Public Advocate Gotbaum finds that, since the reorganizations of the special education system, school psychologists report that the significantly increased workload and the associated paperwork hinder their ability to complete quality student interventions and evaluations. At the same time, there are 86 school psychologists and social workers in the Department of Education's (DOE) Absent Teacher Reserve, earning a combined $7.1 million. Instead of being utilized in their respective fields of expertise, they are working as substitute or temporary teachers.
Public Advocate Gotbaum said, "We have more students receiving special education services than ever before, but school psychologists are actually spending less time working directly with students. Instead, they are being required to spend much of their day filling out paperwork. It's also troubling to see a number of trained mental health professionals sitting idly in the Absent Teacher Reserve instead of filling the holes in the special education system and delivering essential services to special needs students."
Randi Weingarten, President of the United Federation of Teachers said, "It is important that precious education resources are used wisely, particularly given the difficult economic times we now face. We cannot afford to bury our school psychologists in paperwork when they could be helping students with emotional and behavioral issues succeed in their home-zoned schools and reducing the need for costly placements in specialized programs. School psychologists are spread very thin, but this problem could be mitigated by tapping the Absent Teacher Reserve pool, which has 28 psychologists and 58 social workers who lost their assignments through no fault of their own. Utilizing these specialists could benefit plenty of children."
The reorganization of the school system in 2003 and 2007 focused, in part, on special education and included profound changes to the administration of special education services that shifted oversight, accountability, and many of the responsibilities from centralized offices to schools. While these changes have put decision-making ability in the hands of school-level employees who know students with special needs the best, they have also overburdened school psychologists with administrative responsibilities.
As a result of a 2004 Office of the Public Advocate survey of school psychologists, it was revealed that the DOE was withholding special education services for up to 20,000 students. The current survey was conducted to assess how the 2003 and 2007 reorganizations affected the job performance of school psychologists and identify problems related to their new job responsibilities. The Public Advocate's Office surveyed 100 veteran school psychologists and found that:
-Ninety-one percent of respondents report that their new case management responsibilities and the associated paperwork hinder their ability to complete quality student interventions and evaluations;
-Nearly 84 percent report that their ability to evaluate students initially referred for special education services in a professional manner has suffered since the reorganizations in 2003 and 2007;
- Nearly 87 percent of respondents report that they no longer have the time to consult with parents and staff regarding behavioral issues prior to a referral for special education;
-Nearly 63 percent agree they are under pressure from their supervisors not to re-evaluate children with special needs, or reduce the scope of testing
-Nearly 94 percent report that they now spend more time on paperwork and compliance issues than they do on issues that directly benefit children and families
The Office of the Public Advocate recommends that the Department of Education (DOE):
-Re-assign school psychologists and school social workers in the Absent Teacher Reserve who are rated satisfactory or above to the schools;
-Re-distribute special education case management responsibilities equally among members of the Individualized Education Plan (IEP) team (school social worker, school psychologist and IEP teacher) to relieve burden on school psychologists;
-Hire more school psychologists to address the fact that the number of children in special education has increased by 51 percent and the number of schools in the city has increased by 43 percent since the current psychologists staffing levels were established in 1988.
-Seek additional federal funds through the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) to help defray the cost to the city of these new hires during the current economic downturn.
Carmen Alvarez, UFT Vice President for Special Education said, "The system is not considering how the Children First so-called reforms affected students with disabilities and the staff who serve them. Kids who act out aren't receiving interventions before they are referred for special education. School staff are not receiving the help they need to address challenging behaviors, and students who might have disabilities are not being assessed in a thorough and professional manner."
Ann Englesbe, chair of the UFT school psychologists and social workers said, "This situation has been extremely upsetting for everyone, but especially for school psychologists. They are trained to understand, help and advocate for children, but they have been put in a position where they are unable to use their skills or carry out their assignments in a truly professional manner."
Since 1988, when the minimum number of school psychologists was established by law, the number of schools has increased by 43 percent and the number of school-aged students receiving special education services has grown by nearly 60,000 students. However, the DOE has not significantly increased the number of school psychologists during this time period.
School psychologists are licensed mental health professionals who assess students referred for special education services and reassess those students who already receive special education services. These assessments help to determine if a student needs special education services or if a student already in special education needs additional services or has made enough progress to move back into the general education population. In addition to assessments, school psychologists also provide individual, group, and crisis counseling services, as well as early intervention services for students with the goal of managing at-risk students' behavior to keep them in the general education population.
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