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The credentialing of school psychologists for school-based practice is a state matter. The highest degree required for an SDE credential is the specialist degree (about 60 credit hours); no state currently requires a doctorate (Rossen, 2014). Although commonalities in credentialing standards exist across states, equivalence of requirements between states is the exception rather than the rule. Furthermore, different states may use different titles or designations (e.g., “school psychologist,” “school diagnostician”), and some states have more than one level of SDE credential, depending on the level of graduate preparation and years of experience.

Fagan and Wise (2007) identified two models of SDE credentialing: transcript review and program approval. Transcript review requires submission of transcripts and other supporting materials to a state credentialing agency. The agency then determines whether the applicant successfully has completed the prescribed set of courses and field experiences outlined in the SDE’s credentialing standards. The program approval process means that applicants who have the recommendation from an approved state training program will be credentialed by the SDE. The procedure used for SDE credentialing may be different for applicants from in-state training programs and those from out-of-state programs. (See Rossen, 2014).