Discrepancies between recommended and actual practices of school psychologists have plagued the field for decades. Previous studies have examined and identified differences in school psychology practices based upon geographical location within the United States as well as between community settings (e.g., rural, urban). The present study sought to fill a gap in the literature (Hosp & Reschly, 2002) by examining the actual and perceived needed practices of school psychologists in the East South Central (ESC) census division of the United States and compare those practices to the National Association of School Psychologists (NASP) Practice Model (NASP, 2020c). Sixty-five school psychologists from the ESC division completed an adapted and reproduced version of the NASP Membership Survey (Walcott & Hyson, 2018) measuring a number of demographic variables as well as their engagement in a variety of school psychologist activities and services using a 7-point Likert-scale. Participants rated their actual practice during the most recently completed school year and rated the level of engagement in those same practices they thought was needed to best serve students in their district during a typical school year. Results indicated that as a whole, school psychologists in the ESC division do not engage in a comprehensive service delivery model as recommended by NASP. Rather, their perceived need for services was more closely aligned to the NASP Practice Model (NASP, 2020c). State-level comparisons indicated that school psychologists in Alabama practice under a traditional gatekeeper of special education model (Merrell et al., 2006) compared to their counterparts in Kentucky and Tennessee. School psychologists in Kentucky reported more engagement in mental-health related services than participants from other states. Community-level comparisons indicated that school psychologists practicing in urban settings are more engaged in a comprehensive service delivery model than those practicing in rural or suburban areas. No specific practices were identified as more needed than others by school psychologists in rural settings. Implications for future research include analysis of organizational factors contributing to discrepancies with implications for practice related to advocacy efforts.

ABSTRACT: The field of school psychology has grown tremendously within the past 100 years, and legislation has played a major role in many changes related to the field. A review of the literature revealed that many studies have been conducted that explored demographic information, professional practices, and employment conditions. The studies tend to be somewhat narrow in focus (e.g., one study may look at demographic characteristics, while another considers only professional practices) and consider state differences rather than regional differences. In accordance with a policy established by the National Association of School Psychologists (NASP) that a study be conducted every five years, Graden and Curtis (1991) surveyed school psychologists who were members of the NASP for the purpose of developing a national database that reflected the demographic characteristics, employment conditions, and professional practices for the field during the 1989-1990 school year. Members of the NASP have been surveyed relative to the same information every five years since that initial study. The fourth national NASP study was initiated in June of 2005 using data based on the 2004-2005 school year. The database was created using survey data. The present study represented a secondary analysis of the database for the purpose of examining regional differences across the nine U.S. census regions. Regional differences in demographic characteristics, professional practices related to special education, direct and indirect services to students, and employment conditions were analyzed utilizing chi-square analyses and analyses of variance. When significant relationships were found, follow up t-tests were conducted to identify regions between which differences existed. Results indicated statistically significant regional differences for highest degree earned, licensure that allowed for independent practice in non-school settings, the number of re-evaluations conducted, the percentage of ethnic minority students in the district and served, the ratio of students to school psychologists for the district and based on caseloads, the number of days in respondents' contracts, salaries, and percentage of respondents who received clinical supervision.