National Association of School Psychologists



SAMPLE LETTER: Help [Enter School Psychology Related Legislative Concern Here]Dear [Name of your Elected Official], [Introduction: Introduce yourself and tell legislators why you are writing. ?Identify the key concern you wish to address. Be sure to identify what the problem is and the long term goal(s). Be sure to indicate the impact on student success in schools. Provide background (i.e., statistics) and context of the problem and why their support is needed.] Ex.: As your constituent and a school psychologist, I am writing to ask for your support of legislation that will help increase the number of school-employed mental health professionals, including school psychologists. There is currently a shortage of these professionals, and in order to fully meet the needs of our students and their families, we must increase the mental health workforce in our communities and schools. Only 16% of students who need mental health services receive them. Of those students that receive services, 70–80% receive them at school. Importantly, students are more likely to seek help when need if they know supports are available at school. ?The time has come to enact meaningful solutions that will address the nation’s current mental health crisis and improve outcomes for students. [Highlight Important Research: Summarize important research findings and references to NASP publications to legitimize the problem/legislative concern. Summarize relevant school psychologist roles and connect them to the legislative concern. Describe how school psychologists can positively impact the problem/legislative concern and help improve overall success of students. In the last sentence, explain why their support is so greatly needed to help every student be successful]Ex.: Research indicates that students with behavioral, social, emotional, and mental health concerns struggle to be successful in school; their issues often create barriers to learning for themselves and others and jeopardize relationships with teachers, peers, and parents. Greater levels of stress, anxiety, and depression caused by problems such as homelessness, parental job loss, increased poverty, or exposure to trauma, are continuously on the rise. Regrettably, there is decreased access to comprehensive school psychological services and qualified professionals due to significant budget cuts and staff reductions. ?The National Association of School Psychologists recommends a ratio of 1 school psychologist for every 500-700 students; however, the average ratio is more than twice this, and in many states exceeds 1:2000. I encourage you to support legislation intended to increase access to school psychologists who can help improve the success of all students. [Sample Legislation: Include a summary of key legislation that has been introduced in your state or other states. You can also propose language that is important to include in draft legislation. You may want to consult NASP GPR resources or committee members for assistance if needed. You may also utilize a lobbyist who can assist with identifying key legislation in your state if available. Be sure to appeal to the greater good of all children and why their support will help create positive outcomes for students.]Ex.: The unfortunate occurrence of several mass school shooting events have began to draw more attention to the critical need for increased mental health services in schools across the nation. A few states, such as Florida, have taken the lead in funding mental health services for students. The Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School Public Safety Act (SB7026) signed by Governor Rick Scott in March 2018 provided additional funding for the expansion of mental health services and treatment across the state. Senator Bill Nelson’s introduction of the Increasing Access to Mental Health in Schools Act in May 2018 emphasizes the importance of school psychologists, school counselors, and school social workers in improving student mental health and creating safe schools. This legislation, in recognition of the critical shortage that currently exists, would provide grants to help create school/university partnerships to help train, recruit, and retain school based mental health service providers in high needs districts who are experiencing critical shortages. ?Further, it directs the US Department of Education to 1) establish a loan forgiveness program for school based mental health service providers in low income agencies, and 2) to conduct a comprehensive study on the shortages of school psychologists, school counselors, and school social workers. Your support of legislation like these can improve the accessibility of school-based mental health professionals for troubled students.[Specific Legislative Requests: In a bulleted list, write specific solutions that should be included in legislation you think will improve the problem/legislative concern. Be sure to include the names of specific funding sources, organizations, congressmen, and other identifiable information to aid legislators in crafting a bill.]Ex.: Congress can help by introducing or co-sponsoring various pieces of legislation that implement the following policy solutions that will help increase the number of school psychologists in our nation’s schools:Create federal grant programs that that will increase the capacity of low-income rural or urban schools to train, recruit, employ, and retain student support personnel like school psychologists, who provide direct services to students to help them overcome these barriers to learning and achieve academically. ?One such program is outlined in The Partnerships for Achieving Student Success (Introduced by Congresswoman Chu and Senator Tester in previous years).Support the continued funding for Behavioral Health Workforce Grants, administered by HRSA, which provides financial support for school psychology interns with a specific focus on those serving in rural or underserved communities;Secure Congressional authorization and appropriations to allow for loan forgiveness of school psychologists as granted under the Public Service Loan Forgiveness Program; and Expand Health Service Corps Loan Forgiveness grants to include licensed and/or certified school psychologists.[Closing: Make a last urgent plea for support of your policy solutions. Briefly summarize why the legislative action and support is so important and who it can positively impact the lives of students. Leave this as your last sentence: If you would like to learn more about these policy proposals, please contact Kelly Vaillancourt ?NASP Director, Policy and Advocacy. Be sure to thank the legislator for their attention and consideration. Leave your name and contact information.]Ex.:I urge you to support legislation that addresses these key policy solutions. It is critical that we increase the number of mental health professionals in our schools. To ensure that all students feel safe, are supported, and reach their academic potential, school-employed mental health professionals must be available and accessible in every school to respond to children’s social, emotional, behavioral, and academic needs. Please support programs like these that provide access to learning support programs and services in all public schools. If you would like to learn more about these policy proposals, please contact Kelly Vaillancourt Strobach (kvaillancourt@) NASP Director, Government Relations. Thank you for your service to our country and for consideration of this request.[Your Name and Address] ................
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