Epilogue: The Effective Practice of School Consultation

Abstract

PL 94-142, the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA), mandated that prior to classification and placement, a child was to be assessed in all areas related to his or her suspected disability. This assessment was to be conducted by a multidisciplinary team of professionals and include an individual psychological evaluation. The resulting information was to be used for determining eligibility for special education services and for making recommendations about instructional programming to be reflected in the student’s IEP. IDEA mandated also that following the initial evaluation, students’ instructional needs and continued eligibility for special services were to be reexamined at least every 3 years by appropriate, qualified professionals, usually meaning a psychologist or special education representative. Although IDEA had broad impact on the delivery of special education services, the evaluation team mandate virtually guaranteed that psychologists employed by school districts or contracted with externally would be needed to diagnose children’s learning and adjustment problems. Consistent with this role, survey data suggest that school psychologists spend approximately 60% of their time conducting assessments and about half of these involve mandatory reevaluations (Smith, 1984).