Advocating for Children and Mental Health Services in Schools
Identifying contact information Senators and Assemblymembers
NYS Senators –
Go to http://www.nysenate.gov/senators. In top left corner, under “Find My Senator,”
enter your address and zip code.
NYS Assemblymembers –
Go to http://assembly.state.ny.us/mem/. In top left corner click on “search by address”
under “Who is My Assemblymember?”, enter required information. Your representative
will be identified. You must click on “click here” hyperlink, which will take you to the
Assemblymember’s homepage. Click on “contact” tab along left column for contact
information and online email form.
Sample Letter
Dear Senator/Assemblymember (enter name) –
As a constituent and (enter your profession), it is important for me to know your position on issues that
are important to me.
Specifically, I need your commitment to support NYS Bill A3570/S2923 (choose A3570 if writing to
Assemblymember or S2923 if writing to your Senator), which provides for licensure of school
psychologists. This licensure would allow these highly trained professionals to practice “school
psychology” without restriction of setting. This licensure is necessary to ensure that school psychologists
will be able to provide services to preschool children currently threatened by regulatory limitations. In
addition, this licensure is a necessary credential to help schools recoup millions of dollars in Medicaid
reimbursement for services provide to eligible children.
One out of five children is diagnosed with a mental health issue severe enough to interfere with their daily
functioning. Yet very few of these kids get the appropriate treatment that they need. This leads to
significant problems in school and at home. Preschools and schools have become the de facto mental
health providers for children. Over 40,000 disabled children receive preschool services and over 400,000
disabled school-age children receive services in schools every year in NY. Due to all of these factors, it is
important for me to know that you will work hard to protect the vital services provided by school
psychologists and other education professionals. (Add a personal story of services you provided if
appropriate)
Please contact me at your earliest convenience to let me know of your support for these issues or to
discuss them further (enter contact information).
General Tips –
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When communicating with elected officials, focus your message on children, not your own
personal situation. Not that they don’t care about you or your job, but they tend to respond better
when they do not perceive the message to be “self-serving.”
Follow-up email messages with a phone call to their office. You are likely to speak to a
legislative aide, but that is good. They often inform the legislator about the issues.
Specific Talking Points –
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20% of children are diagnosed with a mental health disorder severe enough to interfere with their
daily life functioning.
75%-80% of these children do not receive the appropriate mental health services to address these
problems.
When children do get help for mental health problems, the vast majority of services are provided
in the school setting.
Mental health problems impact a child’s ability to function in school, including academic
achievement, performance on standardized testing, and social interactions with others.
Over 40,000 preschool age children (ages 3-5) receive services in 4410 programs due to
educational disabilities.
Over 400,000 school age children (ages 5-21) receive services through special education
programs due to educational disabilities.
There have been recent threats to school psychologists’ ability to service preschool children
through the Multidiscipline Evaluation process, which would impede the child’s ability to access
services.
School districts have lost the ability to seek reimbursement for services provided by 75% of the
school psychologists in NY to Medicaid eligible students. Special education administrators in NY
have estimated that this represents $100 million in lost funding for these services.
School psychologists are highly trained experts in child development, learning, and psychological
factors that impact functioning in educational settings.
The training and experiences of school psychologists is equal to or surpasses all of the current
non-doctoral licensed mental health professions in NYS.
Licensure of school psychologists will benefit children, families, and school districts across NYS.
NYS Bill A3570/S2923 provides for licensure of school psychologists to practice school
psychology, regardless of the setting.