Mental health internships

AN ACT Relating to establishing a public school-based mental 1
health internship grant program; adding new sections to chapter 2
28B.77 RCW; and creating a new section. 3
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF WASHINGTON:4
NEW SECTION. Sec. 1. The legislature finds that school 5
psychologists are an integral part of supporting student learning, 6
mental health, and behavior to help students achieve academically, 7
socially, behaviorally, and emotionally. School psychologists work to 8
reduce barriers to student success by enhancing psychological and 9
educational support, including specialized knowledge of students' 10
rights. The national association of school psychologists recommends a 11
maximum ratio of 500 students per school psychologist to provide a 12
comprehensive range of school psychological services. There is a 13
shortage of school psychologists in the state, which jeopardizes the 14
state's ability to provide essential services, such as direct 15
behavioral health services, and to provide support to students, 16
schools, and communities. Data indicates that shortages of school 17
psychologists will persist into the future and that there is an 18
insufficient number of credentialed school psychology graduates 19
produced by the state's higher education institutions to fill 20
existing gaps. The legislature further finds that initiatives 21
S-0920.1
SENATE BILL 5666
State of Washington 69th Legislature 2025 Regular Session
By Senators Slatter, Hasegawa, Nobles, and Valdez
Read first time 02/05/25. Referred to Committee on Higher Education
& Workforce Development.
p. 1 SB 5666
designed to promote and support the education and preparation of 1
school psychologists can help mitigate this shortage, such as 2
increasing the availability of high-quality internships. Research and 3
best practice show that after three years of employment within a 4
school, school psychologists become embedded in their community, 5
resulting in lower turnover within the profession. 6
NEW SECTION. Sec. 2. A new section is added to chapter 28B.77 7
RCW to read as follows: 8
(1) The public school-based mental health internship grant 9
program is established to support school districts, educational 10
service districts, charter schools, and state-tribal education 11
compact schools to attract and pay full-time school psychology 12
interns participating in an accredited school psychology training 13
program. 14
(2) In administering the program, the council shall:15
(a) Coordinate with school districts, educational service 16
districts, charter schools, and state-tribal education compact 17
schools to identify school districts and schools that have qualified 18
supervisors who can support school psychology internships in 19
partnership with an institution of higher education;20
(b) Subject to the availability of amounts appropriated for this 21
specific purpose, allocate program funds to school districts, 22
educational service districts, charter schools, and state-tribal 23
education compact schools, through a competitive process, for one-24
year internship grants equal to either: 75 percent of the entry-level 25
salary of a school psychologist in the district or school; or 75 26
percent of the entry-level salary of an educator with a master's 27
degree and 45 credits in the district; 28
(c) Establish eligibility criteria to receive an internship grant 29
under the program, which must include requirements that a recipient:30
(i) Is enrolled in a school psychologist preparation program at 31
an institution of higher education; and 32
(ii) Is placed as an intern at a school district, educational 33
service district, charter school, or state-tribal education compact 34
school that employs a qualified supervisor; and 35
(d) Establish an advisory committee, which may include school 36
counselors and school nurses, to assist in the implementation of the 37
program. The advisory committee shall: 38
p. 2 SB 5666
(i) Make recommendations regarding the funding for internship 1
grants that reflect barriers to becoming a school-based mental health 2
professional and the best practices of internships in other states; 3
and 4
(ii) Include representatives of school psychologist preparation 5
programs, teacher preparation programs, and representatives of 6
diverse communities. 7
(3) For purposes of this section, the following definitions 8
apply: 9
(a) "Educator" means a teacher, paraeducator, principal, 10
administrator, superintendent, school counselor, school psychologist, 11
school social worker, school nurse, school physical therapist, school 12
occupational therapist, behavioral analyst, orientation or mobility 13
specialist, or school speech-language pathologist or audiologist.14
(b) "School psychologist" has the same meaning as described in 15
RCW 28A.410.044. 16
NEW SECTION. Sec. 3. A new section is added to chapter 28B.77 17
RCW to read as follows: 18
(1) In compliance with RCW 43.01.036, the council, in 19
consultation with the office of superintendent of public instruction, 20
shall report to the legislature by December 1, 2026, and by December 21
1st annually thereafter, on career data for school psychologists and 22
outcomes of the public school-based mental health internship grant 23
program established in section 2 of this act. The data must include:24
(a) School psychologists and other licensed professionals 25
providing school psychology services employed and contracted in the 26
state; 27
(b) School psychologists and other licensed professionals 28
providing school psychology services employed and contracted in 29
person and remotely; 30
(c) The number of grant applicants; 31
(d) The number of grants and grant amounts awarded; and32
(e) Demographic data on grant recipients. 33
(2) The report must be made publicly available on the website of 34
the council. 35
(3) For purposes of this section, "school psychologist" has the 36
same meaning as described in RCW 28A.410.044. 37
--- END ---
p. 3 SB 5666