Accreditation

Training programs in School Psychology are approved by a state department of education to prepare students for professional roles as school psychologists and require that programs meet state guidelines for licensure. In the majority of states, a minimum of sixty graduate hours and completion of an internship are required. The majority of school psychology programs are housed within colleges or schools of education, most of which are approved to grant degrees in education by the National Council for Accreditation of Teacher Education (NCATE). Accreditation is a voluntary process by which training programs seek recognition by an independent and non-governmental body that it is meeting the standards or expectations of high-quality training in the respective field. In School Psychology, there are two accrediting/approval bodies: the American Psychological Association (APA) and the National Association of School Psychologists (NASP). There is also a distinction between accreditation and approval...