FASP President

President

Joshua Lutz

3612 Quail Run Road
Gulf Breeze, FL 32563
Cell: 850.910.1806
Work: 850.469.5371
Email: jalutz74@gmail.com
JLutz@escambia.k12.fl.us

FASP Responds to proposed Position cuts in Miami-Dade County

The following letter was mailed to all members of the School Board of Miami-Dade County and the Superintendent. All members are encouraged to write their own letters. With permission, FASP will post additional letters that members can use as a framework should a similar situation occur in another county.

Thank you all for your time,
Josh Lutz
FASP President

View Miami-Dade Letter...Click Here!

Dear FASP Members,

As many of you may already be aware, the State of Florida Board of Education removed school psychology from the list of critical shortage areas. In addition, the state has proposed a new rule governing eligibility for SLD. Considering the direct impact of both of these issues on our profession I traveled in March to Tallahassee and met with Bambi Lockman, state director of ESE, to discuss the impact on school psychology that these issues will have.

Bambi was very receptive to the meeting and to the discussion that we had on both topics. On the subject of critical shortage, we discussed how the decision was made and she indicated to me that a plan is already underway to look at reinstatement for next year. Unfortunately, there is no way of reinstating for this year.

If a school psychologist is already receiving loan forgiveness or other benefits due to a critical shortage designation they will continue to receive the loan forgiveness up to the maximum lifetime benefit of $10,000. If a student is currently enrolled they will receive the tuition assistance component for this school year (but not next).

I have offered the state FASP's resources in collecting the data that will be required to reinstate school psychologists and the memo will give information to each district on when/how they should collect their data. I am hopeful that the DOE will use us as a resource. FASP will be working hard to get us back on for next year.

The second topic was the proposed SLD eligibility rule. Again, Bambi was very understanding of the issues I brought up, which were gleaned from your member emails on this topic and the other information I had been provided. The state does have a plan to take all of the public comments, weight them accordingly, and make changes to the rule if they feel it is necessary. There is a process to go through and there will be another 30 day period for public comment. FASP will develop a position statement on this and send it to DOE during the next comment period. If there is a public meeting on this issue during the next comment period FASP will be ready to send people to that meeting. The state will develop a TAP as needed to help districts implement the new regulations and they will do what they can to provide clarity as this process continues. I provided Bambi with a copy of the NASP position statement on SLD identification and we then discussed FASP's professional development plan (Blueprint for the next 3-5 years) - she was very pleased with the direction we are headed with professional development.

Regarding the Blueprint for Professional Development: Each of the task force chairs and their respective committees have been charged with developing a 3-5 year plan for profesional development. This plan will offer training in the areas of Response to Intervention, Autism Spectrum Disorder, Emotional/Behavior Disorder, Multicultural service delivery, and Crisis Intervention. It is our goal to have this plan completed at the end of April and available for our members to review shortly thereafter.

On a legislative front, to say that the state has no money would be a gross understatement. I was fortunate to attend the Council for Exceptional Education of Students (CEES) meeting in Tallahassee from March 30-April 1. We received training from John and Bob Cerra on all legislation relevant to ESE and we were able to visit several legislators. While no movement on anything with a fiscal impact is expected, there is some encouraging news. SB 790 and it's House counterpart, referred to as the Jeffrey Johnston Stand Up for All Children Act, is a proposal that would mandate every school district in Florida to have anti-bullying policies in place. Some districts already do and some do not. FASP is very supportive of this bill and has been for the past 3 years. It has died on the schedule or in committee in the past and has previously been blocked by one person in particular. That person has now publicly stated that the bill will be heard in committee. As I write this, the bill has passed the House committees with no problem and has been unanimously approved in 2 of the 3 Senate committees. It is our hope that by the time this newsletter goes to press, the bill will have passed both houses and will be on the governor's desk for signature.

Last but certainly not least, on our website you will find a Call for Nominations. Several elected board member positions are up for election this year: The positions that any FASP member may run for are President Elect, Treasurer Elect, and Secretary. Additionally, members in the following regions may run for regional representative for their region: Northwest, East Central, and South.

That is what we have been up to as of late, as always I am available to discuss/listen to any issue - just drop me an email or give me a call.

Josh Lutz
FASP President
Jalutz74@gmail.com
850.910.1806