Review of State Policies and Guidance for the Identification of Culturally and Linguistically Minoritized Students With Specific Learning Disabilities.

The identification of specific learning disabilities (SLD) remains fraught with controversy and uncertainty about professionals' capacity to appropriately identify special education eligibility. For students from linguistically minoritized backgrounds, the exclusionary clause prohibits the identification of learning difficulties primarily attributable to contextual or linguistic factors. Yet the ambiguity of the federal language may hinder application, making critical states' interpretation and corresponding guidance for professional practice in eligibility determination. In this archival study, we systematically reviewed state departments' education policies and related guidance on the identification of multilingual learners with SLD, with a focus on how states have articulated policies and procedures related to the federal exclusionary clause. Our findings demonstrate variability and depth of information across states pertaining to guidance regarding the exclusionary clause. Implications for practice and policy are provided.

Academic achievement and relations to externalizing behavior: Much ado about nothing?

Some of the worst long-term outcomes of children are associated with the presence of externalizing behavior and low academic achievement. However, the nature of the causal and predictive relationship between these two domains remains contested due to inconsistent findings in previous literature. Leveraging a nationally representative sample (N = 7330) from the Early Childhood Longitudinal Study (ECLS)-Kindergarten Cohort of 2011, we used latent class growth analysis and machine learning cross validation techniques to analyze the association of early math and reading achievement with the development of externalizing behavior trajectories in elementary school. Several theoretically and empirically important covariates were utilized to develop a profile of learners in each trajectory. Results indicated stable teacher ratings of behavior across kindergarten to fifth grade and three primary trajectories, consisting of (1) higher persistent, (2) low persistent, and (3) no problem behavior. Importantly, teacher rated early inattention and approaches to learning behaviors, rather than direct standardized measures of academic achievement, were the strongest malleable predictors to trajectory membership. Student demographics, including being a boy and identifying as Black, contributed to these students being almost twice as likely to belong to the higher problem behavior trajectory as compared to girls and White peers. Educational implications for intervention, as well as the influence of implicit bias and structural racism in the role of teacher ratings, are discussed.

A call to action for school psychology to address COVID-19 health disparities and advance social justice.

The health, economic, and social challenges associated with coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) present a range of threats to students' well-being, psychoeducational experiences, and outcomes, spurring fears for a "lost generation." In this article, we present COVID-19 as a large-scale multisystemic disaster causing massive disruptions and losses, with adversities moderated by the intersectional nature of systemic inequity. We first synthesize the broad effects of COVID-19 as they relate to equity and social justice, followed by the major implications for students and schools, with a focus on intersectional systemic issues. We then propose foundational considerations and resources intended to usher a paradigm shift in how school psychologists' roles and activities are conceptualized in the years to come, ending with key imperatives for practice and graduate education in school psychology. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2021 APA, all rights reserved).

Examining the Effects of a Brief, Group-Based Motivational Implementation Strategy on Mechanisms of Teacher Behavior Change.

Training and consultation are core implementation strategies used to support the adoption and delivery of evidence-based prevention programs (EBPPs), but are often insufficient alone to effect teacher behavior change. Motivational interviewing (MI) and related behavior change techniques (e.g., strategic education, social influence, implementation planning) delivered in a group format offer promising supplements to training and consultation to improve EBPP implementation. Beliefs and Attitudes for Successful Implementation in Schools for Teachers (BASIS-T) is a theoretically informed, motivational implementation strategy delivered in a group format prior to and immediately after EBPP training. The purpose of this study was to examine the proximal effects of BASIS-T on hypothesized mechanisms of behavior change (e.g., attitudes, subjective norms, intentions to implement) in the context of teachers receiving training and consultation to implement the Good Behavior Game. As part of a pilot trial, 83 elementary school teachers from 9 public elementary schools were randomly assigned (at the school-level to reduce contamination across participants) to a BASIS-T (n = 44) or active comparison control (n = 39) condition, with both conditions receiving Good Behavior Game (GBG) training and consultation. A series of mixed effects models revealed meaningful effects favoring BASIS-T on a number of hypothesized mechanisms of behavior change leading to increased motivation to implement GBG. The implications, limitations, and directions for future research on the use of MI with groups of individuals and other behavior change techniques to increase the yield of training and consultation are discussed.