Clifford V. Hatt, EdD, ABPP

Welcome to the American Board of School Psychology (ABSP) webpage.  We appreciate your interest in specialty board certification in school psychology and hope that the available information is helpful.  The decision to pursue board certification is one of the most important and rewarding professional decisions that you can make and is the highest level of certification in school psychology that you can obtain.

If you are licensed for independent practice in your state, have a doctoral degree in school psychology or a closely-related area of professional psychology, professional identity as a school psychologist, and at least one year of post-licensure experience, please consider applying.  Once your application is reviewed and your credentials are verified, you will be asked to submit a professional statement and two practice samples that represent the foundational competencies  You will be assigned a mentor, who will help you through the process of preparing your materials in an acceptable format.  ABSP’s director of examinations will review your materials to determine that they are complete and in an acceptable format and will assign a three-member examination team who will review and evaluate your professional statement and work samples to determine if you are ready for the oral examination, which you and the examination team chair will arrange at a mutually-agreed time and location.  Frequently, we hold these examinations during national professional meetings (i.e., NASP, APA, CDSSP). 

If you are a doctoral student, intern or have not yet obtained licensure, there is an Early Entry Program that allows you to apply now at a reduced application fee.  Once you have completed and documented the requirements for board certification, you are eligible to begin the certification process.  I encourage university faculty and internship directors to inform their students of this early entry option.

If you have any questions, please contact me or any of the ABSP members.   We can even arrange a video chat through a Go-To-Meeting format for you to meet with board certified specialists to discuss the process, the benefits of board certification and answer any questions you might have.  We look forward to receiving your application and wish you all the best on this professional journey. 
 
Clifford V. Hatt, EdD, ABSP, NCSP
President, American Board of School Psychology