South Carolina Code of Regulations
Chapter 36 - DEPARTMENT OF LABOR, LICENSING AND REGULATION BOARD OF EXAMINERS FOR LICENSURE OF PROFESSIONAL COUNSELORS, MARRIAGE AND FAMILY THERAPISTS, ADDICTION COUNSELORS, AND PSYCHO-EDUCATIONAL SPECIALISTS
Article 3 - LICENSING PROVISIONS
Section 36-13 - Licensing Provisions for Psycho-educational Specialists

Universal Citation: SC Code Regs 36-13

Current through Register Vol. 48, 12, December 27, 2024

An applicant for initial licensure as a psycho-educational specialist must:

(1) submit an application on forms approved by the Board, along with the required fee; and

(2) submit evidence of successful completion of an earned master's degree plus thirty (30) graduate semester hours, or an earned sixty (60) graduate semester hour master's degree, or a sixty (60) graduate semester hour specialist's degree, or a doctoral degree in school psychology from an institution of higher education whose program is approved by the National Association of School Psychologists or the American Psychological Association or a program which the Board finds to be substantially equivalent. A substantially equivalent program must include an earned master's, specialist's, or doctoral degree in an applied area of psychology, education, or behavioral sciences from a regionally accredited institution, completion of at least sixty (60) graduate semester hours, and substantial preparation, including coursework, in the following areas:

(a) psychological foundations, including biological bases of behavior; human learning; child and adolescent development; social/cultural bases of behavior; and individual differences (exceptionalities/psychopathology of children and youth); and

(b) educational foundations, including organization and operation of schools; and instructional/remedial design; and

(c) assessment and intervention, including diverse methods of individual assessment that can be linked to intervention; direct intervention including counseling and behavior analysis/intervention; and indirect intervention including a consultation with school personnel and families; and

(d) statistics and research methodologies; and

(e) professional school psychology, including history and foundations of school psychology; legal and ethical issues; professional issues and standards; alternative models of service delivery; emergent technologies; and roles and functions of school psychologists; and

(f) a one-year twelve hundred (1200) hour internship, at least one-half (1/2) of which must be in an approved school setting. The internship shall include a full range of psycho-educational services supervised by a licensed psycho-educational specialist or certified or licensed school psychologist. If a portion of the internship is completed in a non-school setting, supervision may be provided by a psychologist appropriately credentialed for that setting as approved by the Board. The possession of a National Certified School Psychologist (NCSP) credential issued after January 1, 1988 shall be evidence of completion of a satisfactory program as provided above; and

(g) has completed, within three (3) years after the effective date of these regulations, a minimum of three (3) graduate semester hours in Psychopathology in academic training from a college or university approved by the Board. This course must provide the practitioner with an understanding of psychopathology, abnormal psychology, abnormal behavior, etiology dynamics, and treatment of abnormal behavior; and

(h) has completed, within three (3) years after the effective date of these regulations, a minimum of three (3) graduate semester hours in Diagnostics in academic training from a college or university approved by the Board. This course must provide the practitioner with an understanding of the diagnostics of psychopathology; and

(3) provide evidence satisfactory to the Board of certification by the South Carolina Department of Education in school psychology level II or III; and

(4) provide evidence satisfactory to the Board that the applicant has successfully served as a certified school psychologist for at least two (2) years in a school or comparable setting. After January 1, 2000, one (1) year must have been under the supervision of a licensed psycho-educational specialist that included experience assessing and treating clients with the more serious problems as categorized in standard diagnostic nomenclature. One (1) year of experience is defined as full-time employment for one (1) contract year of at least one hundred ninety (190) work days. Two (2) consecutive years of half-time work may, at the discretion of the Board, be deemed to be equivalent to one (1) full year of experience. The experience must include provision of a full range of services to children, youth, and families. Experience acquired under a provisional or temporary certificate in school psychology, or in a pre-degree practicum or internship, may not count toward this experience requirement; and

(5) submit evidence of a passing score on examinations approved by the Board.

Disclaimer: These regulations may not be the most recent version. South Carolina may have more current or accurate information. We make no warranties or guarantees about the accuracy, completeness, or adequacy of the information contained on this site or the information linked to on the state site. Please check official sources.
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