The school psychologist's role in special education

By the IEP Atlas editorial teamLast updated November 1, 2026

Short answer

In special education, the school psychologist usually plans and gives the evaluation, explains the results, helps the team decide eligibility and supports the IEP after. That includes cognitive, academic and behavior testing, functional behavior assessments, consultation with teachers and counseling as a related service. The exact duties depend on the district and state, and the psychologist never decides eligibility alone.

A school psychologist is trained in both psychology and education. The job is to support learning, behavior and mental health at school.^[1] In special education, the role centers on evaluation and eligibility, but it reaches well past testing. IDEA lists psychological services as a related service. These include giving and explaining tests and gathering facts about behavior. They also include advising staff, running counseling and helping build positive behavior supports.^[2]

Eligibility itself is a team decision made by qualified professionals and the parent, not by the psychologist alone.^[3] A psychologist's report informs that decision; it does not make it.

What the school psychologist does at each stage

Stage	Typical duties	Where states and districts differ
Before referral	Consults on intervention plans, reviews screening data, joins student support team meetings	How much time psychologists spend in MTSS versus testing
Evaluation planning	Reviews existing data, proposes the assessments, helps write the assessment plan	Who sends consent forms and tracks the timeline
Evaluation	Gives cognitive, academic, social-emotional and behavior measures; observes; interviews parent, teacher and student	Which tests are allowed; whether psychologists give academic tests or special education teachers do
Report and eligibility	Writes or combines the report, explains results, walks the team through category criteria	Whether a psychologist must be on the team for certain categories
IEP development	Suggests present levels, goals and accommodations from the findings	Level of involvement after eligibility
Ongoing services	Counseling, behavior plans, FBAs, crisis support, teacher consultation	Whether counseling is given by psychologists, counselors or social workers
Reevaluation	Leads the review of existing data and any new testing every 3 years	Whether record-review reevaluations are common

Titles and licenses vary. Many states license school psychologists through the education department. Some use other titles, such as educational diagnostician, for staff who give tests. The federal rules for a specific learning disability team require at least one person qualified to conduct individual diagnostic examinations, such as a school psychologist, SLP or remedial reading teacher.^[4] So a psychologist is common on the team but not always required by federal law.

Scenario: one school year with Maya

Maya is a fictional grade 5 student. Here is how the school psychologist, Dr. Reyes (also fictional), shows up across one year.

September 15: student support team. Maya's teacher reports she finishes 3 of 10 assignments and cries before tests. Dr. Reyes suggests a 6-week check-in, check-out plan and a daily work completion chart.
November 2: data review. Work completion rises to 5 of 10, but test-day nurse visits stay at 2 to 3 a week. Maya's mother asks for an evaluation in writing. Dr. Reyes helps draft the assessment plan, and consent is signed on November 9.
November and December: evaluation. Dr. Reyes gives a cognitive battery (average range), behavior rating scales to the mother, two teachers and Maya, and a clinical interview. She observes Maya 3 times. The special education teacher gives academic tests: reading and math are in the average range. Rating scales show anxiety in the clinically significant range from all 4 raters.
January 11: eligibility meeting. Dr. Reyes presents the findings in plain words and leads the team through the criteria. The team, including the mother, finds Maya eligible under other health impairment for anxiety, as the state allows. The guide to Other Health Impairment examples covers how such conditions qualify.
January 25: IEP. Dr. Reyes proposes a coping skills goal and 30 minutes a week of counseling as a related service. The guide to counseling as a related service explains how this is written.
February to May: services. Weekly counseling sessions; monthly consultation with the teacher on test-taking supports; a progress note each grading period.
May 20: annual check. Test-day nurse visits drop to 1 every 2 weeks. Work completion is at 8 of 10.

That year shows the four main hats: consultant before referral, evaluator, interpreter at eligibility and service provider after the IEP.

For parents: what to expect from the psychologist

You can expect the school psychologist to:

Ask you about your child's development, health, behavior and what you see at home.
Explain which tests they plan to give and why, before you sign consent.
Meet or call to go over results, ideally before the eligibility meeting.
Answer questions about scores in plain language.
Respect your role as a member of the team that decides eligibility.

A school psychologist is not the same as a private clinical psychologist. They do not usually give medical diagnoses for insurance. The school evaluation answers a school question: does your child qualify for and need special education? The guide on how to read a psychoeducational report walks through the report they write.

Where the role is stretched

Many school psychologists serve several schools and carry heavy testing loads. That leaves less time for counseling and consultation. NASP describes a broad role. It includes mental and behavioral health services, prevention and consultation, along with testing.^[5] Teams can protect that time by using record-review reevaluations where the data support it, as described in triennial reevaluation without testing, and by sharing academic testing with special education teachers.

Working well with the psychologist

For teachers and case managers, a few habits make the partnership work:

Send work samples and intervention data before testing starts, not after.
Give the psychologist a clear referral question: "Why does she stop reading after two lines?" beats "Please test."
Share the parent's concerns in writing so they land in the report.
Ask for findings in plain words you can repeat to the family.
Bring behavior concerns early; an FBA and BIP work best before a crisis.

The library of goals for the school psychologist role collects the social-emotional, behavior and executive function goals psychologists most often write or support. For presenting results to families, see presenting evaluation results to families with care. For the process the role sits in, start with the IEP evaluation process.

Frequently asked questions

Does the school psychologist decide if my child gets an IEP?

No. Eligibility is decided by a group of qualified professionals and the parent together. The school psychologist often gives tests and explains the results, but the decision belongs to the whole team, including you.

Can a school psychologist diagnose autism or ADHD?

A school psychologist can find that a student meets the school's educational criteria for a category such as autism. That is an educational decision, not a medical diagnosis. Families who need a medical diagnosis for insurance or treatment usually see a doctor or private clinician.

Do school psychologists provide counseling?

Many do. Psychological services under IDEA include counseling and help with positive behavior supports. In some districts, school counselors or social workers provide most counseling, and the psychologist focuses on evaluation and consultation.

Use it in IEP Atlas

Sources

What Is a School Psychologist?, National Association of School Psychologists
34 CFR §300.34: Related services, Legal Information Institute, Cornell Law School
34 CFR §300.306: Determination of eligibility, U.S. Department of Education (IDEA website)
34 CFR §300.308: Additional group members, U.S. Department of Education (IDEA website)
NASP Position Statement: School-Based Mental and Behavioral Health Services, National Association of School Psychologists

Written and checked by the IEP Atlas editorial team under our editorial policy. This guide describes general practice and federal rules. It is not legal advice; your state may add requirements, and the IEP team makes the decisions for each student.