The University of Alaska Anchorage kicked off its new school psychology masters program this fall to address a shortage in school psychologists.
But the program has so far failed to get approval from the state Board of Education over concerns about social justice advocacy. That could make it harder for students to get jobs after they graduate.
Alaska has very few local school psychologists. They are trained to evaluate students to see if they qualify for special education services and to provide mental health support.
But very few work directly for school districts. To fill the gap, UAA professor Hattie Harvey said districts contract with school psychologists instead.
“So that often looks like someone from Lower 48 coming up two-to-three times a year for special education testing, which is a very small percentage of the capacity of the role of a school psychologist, they could provide,” Harvey said.
Alaska is one of two states that didn’t have an in-state school psychology program. Harvey spearheaded efforts to launch the state’s first program at UAA.
The goal is to train school psychologists locally, in a state where they currently serve more than three times the national recommended average of students. In the 2023-2024 school year, the ratio of school psychologists to students in Alaska was 1 to 1,576. The national standard is 1 to 500.
But the first cohort of students might struggle to find work immediately after graduating because of licensing requirements. Harvey said state law requires school psychologists to get their license to work in the state in a couple ways.
“They can graduate from a NASP-accredited program, which is the National Association of School Psychologists,” she said. “It’s the one accrediting and the only accrediting body for school psychology programs across the nation. And then the second way is graduating from a state-approved program.”
Harvey said the university is in the accreditation process. The earliest they can achieve accreditation is in 2029, which is a year after the current cohort is expected to graduate.
The state Board of Education makes the decision on approving the program so that students can get licensed through the state. But the board voted down the approval earlier this month in a split vote and asked the university to make changes based on their feedback.
Students still have an option to apply for a national certification after graduating that would allow them to get licensed in the state. But Harvey said the process is much longer than the other two pathways. That could mean students would have to wait a year after graduating before being hired by a district.
Board member Kathryn McCollum was one of the members who voted against approval. She said at the meeting she was concerned about an article from a sample syllabus that focused on social justice, as well as the structure of the program.
“I really do know that we need school psychologists, and I do appreciate the work that they do in the schools,” McCollum said. “I don’t want a program that is designed to create, basically, activists.”
She said she was concerned the program could become overly political or divisive.
Sally Stockhausen chairs the board and voted in favor of the program. She’s the special education director for the Ketchikan Gateway Borough School District and said school psychologists need to learn about social justice as part of their education.
“I would much rather us educate and have graduates leave who know what’s out there, rather than remove all exposure to these thoughts.”
Social justice and advocacy is a part of a framework for practicing school psychology as laid out by NASP. Emily Wendling is a school psychologist for the Anchorage School District and the state’s delegate for NASP.
She said social justice plays a big role in her daily work, which is largely about supporting student mental health and making sure they have equitable access to education.
“A part of that is making sure that we are understanding social justice and helping to prevent barriers or address barriers to students’ education and create equitable opportunities for all of our students.”
Ella MacRae moved to Alaska last summer and is enrolled in the new program. She called the program “life-changing” and hopes to stay in the state after graduating. She said accredited programs from outside the state touch on these topics, and hiring school psychologists from those programs means they will also be learning about topics of social justice.
“Why are we stopping our school psychs here, or trying to stop them from touching on those themes, especially when it’s so important that we have this program and include other things that out-of-state programs might not touch on, like, have an emphasis on rural communities,” MacRae said.
Megan Beattie is also a student in the program and works as a special education teacher for the Fairbanks North Star Borough School District. Beattie said the program has already helped her work as a teacher, where she spends her day advocating for her students.
“I advocate for my students all day, every day, whether it’s working with my co-teachers and trying to get accommodations in place for my students that have special education needs, or if it’s working with our counseling department to make sure that my kids’ mental health needs are met,” she said. “Sometimes it’s even literally just getting them fed.”
She said it’s been frustrating to see the board vote down the program.
“Yes, we’re exposed to different ideologies, we’re exposed to different research methods, but ultimately, our job is to advocate for our students and meet their best needs,” she said. “And so having one article that came up as kind of a primary reason for not approving the program as a whole is really frustrating.”
Beattie said she’s concerned about the lack of state approval and the idea of not being able to work as a school psychologist right after graduating. The program has a full-time internship that means students like her won’t be able to work their normal jobs for a school year. And they might not be able to get their old jobs back if they need to go through a longer certification process.
Beattie said she hopes the board will approve the program at its next meeting. She said she wants to stay in the state to continue to support students.
“This is home, and Alaska can sometimes get the short end of the stick on resources and everything anyways,” she said. “So to be able to give back to the state that has raised me and given me the opportunities that I have had in life is really important for me.”
The state board is expected to meet again in December.