Kentucky Association for Psychology in the 2013 Winter Edition Schools KAPS REVIEW February 28, 2013 Inside this issue: President’s Message Beth Edmonson State & Regional 2 News/Updates It is hard to If any good can come of this, it is that we believe it is may use this tragedy and other recent trage- 2013 Fall Conference 5 time for my dies to serve as catalysts to encourage our Information second mes- school districts, communities, states, and na- sage as your tion to see that mental health services should PBIS on the Bus 6 KAPS Presi- be a priority. If we can persuade these groups dent. This year to listen and work together then maybe we KASA Institute 8 is passing so can get the manpower and resources needed Observation Research quickly! As I sit to help provide or improve mental health ser- trying to decide vices before we end up reading about another Ethics 9 what message I school and/or community dealing with tragic would like to share, I find myself dwelling on loss. recent national events. The tragedy in Con- NASP Summer 10 As school psychologists I feel we can help Conference necticut was horrific and has touched us all fuel this conversation. Remember that by with the loss of one of our own, Newtown advocating for the services that you can Book Review 11 School Psychologist, Mary Sherlach. I had provide as a school psychologist you are tak- never really thought about my life being ing a step toward helping a child out there taken on the job. I had never really thought know that they are not alone and someone Award Nominations 12 about what I would do if confronted with a gunman walking into my school. I had never cares. thought I might have to give my life to pro- tect others. Why would I? I live in Owens- Remember that you make a difference in the boro, KY. Nothing like that would ever hap- Special Points of Interest: lives of children every day! pen here. Or could it? -Beth Edmonson NASP is on Facebook! Be sure to “Like” the page! NASP Summer Conference Editor’s Message in Cincinnati July 8-10 KAPS Fall Conference Ashley Wright September18-20 NASP Public Policy Institute The school year is more than half over, and we are all probably counting down the days July 17-19 until spring break...and then until our summer break. The year goes by fast! I’m excited about KAPS is now accepting being able to send out a second newsletter for this year, and hope to send out a third one in nominations for Regional mid– to late May to include updates and information that might be helpful to you over the and Best Practice Awards! summer and beginning of next school year. In addition, I want to encourage all readers to See page 12 for more infor- consider submitting articles, research summaries, book reviews, intervention experiences, mation! photos of regional meetings or activities, and funny moments that make you smile or laugh. There are great examples in this newsletter that you can use as a guide. If you have any ques- tions, please don’t hesitate to contact me! I will send out an email requesting submissions in April, but you are welcome to submit something sooner. Until then, enjoy your snow days and spring break! Page 2 Kentucky Association for Psychology in the Schools State & Regional Updates Region 1 Report The KAPS Region 1 meeting was held December 14, 2012 in Grand Rivers, KY. Twenty-five school psychologists participated in this meeting/workshop that was held in conjunction with the West Kentucky School Psychology Network. Carla Adams and Leslie Flat from the West KY Coop coordinated this meeting. Marty Dunham presented a workshop titled Better Behavior Ob- servations where he discussed how to use local norms and a behavior observation form he developed with two former stu- dents, Desrie Rideout and Morgan McCall. Following the behavior observation training, which included practice in applying the norms and the worksheet, Marty discussed his recommendations for structuring tiered interventions to address behavior refer- rals. After the formal presentation the group discussed innovations in interventions, identifying learning disabilities, and progress monitoring. In short, the meeting was well attended and generated a great deal of discussion around current topics in school psychology and local school psychology practices. Marty Dunham KAPS Region 1 Representative KY Certified School Psychologist Coordinator of School Psychology, Murray State University Central Kentucky The Central Kentucky School Psych Cadre met on December 7, 2012, with three wonderful sessions that included: * A review of the latest information on seclusions and restraints by Karen King. * Information and update from Jan Ulrich on how districts are implementing suicide prevention awareness training in the schools. * A review of the latest info on possible changes/inclusions to the DSM-5 by Carol Robertson. Attendees were provided with handouts for the above sessions, as well as copies of “More Than Sad: Suicide Prevention Educa- tion for Teachers and Other School Personnel,” which included two DVDs. We discussed possible topics for our Spring cadre, as well as possible summer training ideas. There was a lot of interest in training on the new ADOS-II, NASP's Prepare curricu- lum, and refreshers on conducting FBA's. Lorie A. Mullins, Ed.S., Clark County Schools Update on the Restraint and Seclusion Policy in the Schools By Paul Baker 704 KAR 7:160. Use of physical restraint and seclusion in public schools, Is the formal title of the regulation that will govern the ap- propriate use of restraint and seclusion in school systems including the notification and data reporting requirements. This regu- lation requires schools to provide their staff with training on policies and procedures regarding physical restraint, seclusion, the use of positive behavioral interventions and de-escalation techniques. This will require school districts to identify and train a core team charged with responding to incidents where physical restraint is necessary. What is the status of 704 KAR 7:160? There has been a lot of movement on the restraint and seclusion regulation since the fall newsletter. At that time, the Ken- tucky Board of Education had approved the regulation with changes resulting from the public comments that KAPS and other groups provided. The regulation was then sent to the Administrative Regulation Review Subcommittee (ARRS). This is a group of both state senate and house members charged with reviewing all new Kentucky Administrative Regulations. ARRS reviewed and approved the amended regulation at their December Meeting with no objections. [Continued on Page 3] Kentucky Association for Psychology in the Schools Page 3 State & Regional Updates Restraint and Seclusion Update [Continued from page two] ARRS did amend some of the language of the regulation. Noteworthy, language inserted by ARRS included that this regulation would not prohibit the lawful exercise of law enforcement duties by sworn law enforcement officer. It also specified that school personnel shall not impose physical restraint on a student if it is known that physical restraint is ill advised based on the student’s disability, health care needs, or medical or psychiatric condition. With ARRS approval, the regulation including the aforementioned changes moved to the interim joint committee on education. This committee is composed of a larger group of house and senate members that have an emphasis in education. According to Legislative Research Commission Staff the com- mittee had 30 days from the ARRS approval date to review the regulation. If in that time the joint committee did not review the regulation (which it did not), then the regulation goes into effect. This means that as I write this, 704 KAR 7:160 is official statewide policy. What should KAPS do now? Last year when this regulation was first proposed a lot of concern was created about it unduly putting students and others in harm’s way by effectively hamstringing school staff’s ability to respond to students engaged in dangerous, out of control behav- ior. Thanks to the efforts of various stakeholders, KAPS among them, these concerns were voiced to KDE and the Kentucky Board of Education who changed the language. The passage of this regulation is an opportunity for school psychologists to use our expertise to aid in its implementation. School psychologists’ mental health background makes us the logical choice for the training of staff members on positive behavioral interventions and de-escalation techniques. This is an opportunity to step up and demonstrate our talents beyond the traditional assessment role that we are so often cast into. Being a psychologist in a rural district with limited time and resources, I realize that for many of my colleagues asking them to develop and conduct trainings at all their schools may be a daunting challenge. There needs to be a conversation had amongst the KAPS Executive Council and membership at large about finding and or developing a training that could be used by the membership to help im- plement this policy. If KAPS does this it will simultaneously demonstrate to it’s members the value they get out of their mem- bership, and well serve to promote KAPS as an organization at the vanguard of protecting the mental health of Kentucky’s chil- dren. KAPS-KCCRB Collaboration Connie Adams, KAPS Liaison to KCCRB Collaboration between KAPS and the KY Community Crisis Response Team is progressing nicely. On October 24th, Kelly Shanks, Chair of the newly created KAPS Crisis Response Committee, Debborah Arnold, Executive Director of KCCRB, and myself, Chair-KCCRB, as well as KAPS Liaison to KCCRB, had a productive meeting at the new KCCRB Office, 111 St.