Foundations of School Psychology: Law, Theory, and Role
The legal spine
School psychology practice sits on a stack of federal statutes that questions love to swap. IDEA (successor to PL 94-142, 1975) funds special education and guarantees FAPE, LRE, child find, related services, and procedural safeguards across disability categories; eligibility requires a disability, adverse educational impact, and need for specially designed instruction. Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act (1973) and ADA Title II prohibit disability discrimination; they require equal access and reasonable accommodations, not an IEP. FERPA governs education records-parent access, amendment, and consent before disclosure-and generally is the privacy law for schools, not HIPAA.
Theory you must name
Bronfenbrenner's ecological model explains why the unit of analysis is the child-in-context; behaviorism and social learning theory underpin FBA and reinforcement-based plans; CHC theory organizes cognitive assessment; MTSS/RTI supplies the prevention logic (universal screening, tiered intervention, progress monitoring) that now sits inside both general and special education.
Traps
- Assuming 504 eligibility requires IDEA's three-prong test; a major life activity limitation suffices, with accommodations for access.
- Treating RTI as a reason to delay an initial evaluation; child find duties run from suspicion, not from exhausted interventions.
- Confusing parent consent with prior written notice; both are required, at different moments.
- Misquoting LRE as inclusion at all costs-the standard is appropriate placement in the least restrictive setting that yields educational benefit.
Rule of thumb
Ask one question first: Does this student need specially designed instruction to make progress? Yes → IDEA. No, but a disability limits a major life activity and accommodations are needed → Section 504. Neither → general education supports.