The Interstate Compact for School Psychologists
About
The Council of State Governments (CSG) is partnering with the Department of Defense (DoD) and the National Association of School Psychologists (NASP) to support the mobility of licensed school psychologists through the development of a new interstate compact. This additional licensing pathway will facilitate multistate practice among member states and reduce the barriers to license portability.
Current Status
The model language for the Interstate Compact for School Psychologists is now available.
The following language must be enacted into law by a state to officially join the Interstate Teacher Mobility Compact.
No substantive changes should be made to the model language. Any substantive changes may jeopardize the enacting state’s participation in the Compact. Please direct questions to Adam Diersing at [email protected].
Click below to access the model language.
Frequently Asked Questions
An interstate compact is a constitutionally authorized, legislatively enacted, legally binding contract between multiple states.
Nine professions have active interstate compacts for occupational licensure:
- Interstate Medical Licensure Compact (IMLC)
- Nurse Licensure Compact (NLC) and Advanced Practice Registered Nurse Compact (APRN Compact)
- Recognition of Emergency Medical Services Personnel Licensure Compact (The EMS Compact)
- The Physical Therapy Compact (PT Compact)
- The Psychology Interjurisdictional Compact (PSYPACT)
- Audiology and Speech-Language Pathology Interstate Compact (ASLP-IC)
- The Occupational Therapy Licensure Compact (OT Compact)
- The Counseling Compact
Compacts for teachers, social workers, massage therapists, dentists and dental hygienists, school psychologists and dieticians and nutritionists are under development.
- Facilitate multistate practice.
- Enhance license portability when changing state of residence.
- Expand employment opportunities into new markets.
- Improve continuity of care when patients or providers relocate.
- Support relocating military spouses.
- Reduce the burden of maintaining multiple licenses.
The ICSP looks different than many of the existing occupational licensure compacts. A school psychologist wishing to use the ICSP will use their existing license to show another member state that they are qualified through the compact to receive a license. The compact commission (the governing body of the compact comprised of representatives from each member state) information exchange will facilitate the transfer of documentation from the sending state to the receiving state and the receiving state will grant the school psychologist the closest equivalent license.
A school psychologist that holds an active, unencumbered license in a member state is eligible to use the ICSP to be granted a license in another member state. States may also require additional state-specific requirements after granting the license and may continue all current background check procedures
Under the ICSP, school psychologists are only required to complete the renewal requirements in their home state. Other states may have additional administrative requirements but all content requirements including continuing education are only required in the home state.
Interstate compacts must be approved by the legislature and signed into law by the Governor. Once 7 states enact the ICSP model legislation, the compact member states can begin the process of making the compact operational.
The compact commission is a government agency established by the compact. The compact commission will be comprised of one delegate from each member state. The compact commission writes rules and bylaws to administer and implement the compact. As stated in Section 7 of the compact, commissioners will be a designee from each participating state’s licensing authority. The compact commission is not a licensing board. It cannot affect state licensing requirements or take action against a licensee.