School Psychological Consultation in the Eighties. Relevance for the Delivery of Special Services

Abstract

The consultative role of the school psychologist will be affected by the Education for All Handicapped Children Act, Public Law 94–142. If school psychologists implement the law by increasing time allotted to psycho-educational assessment, the verdict for the school psychologist's consultative role could be “death penalty”. If school psychologists implement the law by increasing time allotted to traditional consultative services, the verdict for the consultative role could be “life imprisonment”. If, however, we implement the law by increasing environmental consultation, the verdict for the consultative role could be “freedom”. In this paper the three means of implementing the law and the associated verdicts for the consultative role are described. The authors indicate that the three means of implementation can be defended and supported as consistent with the intent of the law, and that professional judgement should determine how professional time is balanced among the various activities.