School Psychology Certification

School Psychology certification from the Office of Teaching New York State Education Department is required to practice in the public schools as a school psychologist. A program including course work and field training is required to obtain certification. The CAS Program at the University at Albany-SUNY is approved by the New York State Education Department.

Fingerprinting

Effective July 1, 2001, the Schools Against Violence in Education (SAVE) requires the Commissioner of Education and the New York State Education Department (NYSED) to request a fingerprint supported criminal history background check for applicants for certification as well as for prospective employees of school districts, charter schools, and boards of cooperative educational services (BOCES). Each fingerprint packet distributed by the State Education Department (SED) will include one Department of Criminal Justice Services (DCJS) fingerprint card and one Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) fingerprint card. Completed cards will be returned to SED and then forwarded to DCJS.

Certification in Other States

Students should be aware that states may differ in requirements for certification. The CAS Program is designed so that graduates should be eligible for certification as a school psychologist in most other states. However, students considering moving to another state should check carefully the requirements of that particular state so that they can be sure that their course work and fieldwork training experiences meet the specific requirements of that state. There is a national examination in school psychology (the comprehensive examination for the CAS), which may facilitate efforts to obtain certification in other states.