Licensing

1. Must hold an active, unencumbered license issued by another state, the District of Columbia, or a territory of the United States in a profession with a similar scope of practice, determined by the board or the Department, as applicable.
2. Must have obtained a passing score on the ETS Praxis Examination for school psychologists.
3. Must have actively practiced the profession for at least three years during the four-year period immediately preceding the date of submission of this application.
4. Must not have ever been reported to the National Practitioner Data Bank, unless you have successfully appealed to have the report removed.
5. Must not be the subject of a disciplinary proceeding in a jurisdiction in which you hold a license or by the U.S. Department of Defense for reason related to the practice of the profession for which you are applying.
6. Must not have had disciplinary action taken in the five years immediately preceding the date of submission of the application.
7. Please refer to section 456.0145(2)(c), Florida Statutes, for licensure ineligibility criteria.

Applicants must complete the following steps:

1. Obtain Licensure Verification(s)

• Contact the state board(s) in which a license has been held to request license verification(s) be sent to Florida. If the state has an online verification including disciplinary actions, we will accept the online verification.

2. Transfer ETS Praxis for School Psychologist Examination Score

Request your score be provided directly to the Florida Department of Health, Office of School Psychology, as outlined below

• If you passed the exam less than 10 years ago, contact ETS at 609-771-7395 or login to your
  online Praxis account to request your original score be transmitted to our office via
  destination code R7114.
• If you passed the exam more than 10 years ago, you may request the score be transferred directly to our office by one of the means below.
  • A copy of your score may be transmitted by a licensing agency of another state or territory of the U.S., which previously received your original exam score from ETS.
  • A letter from the National Association of School Psychologists (NASP) provided directly from the NASP to our office.
  • The score may be emailed in a password-protected format from either entity to MQA.SchoolPsychology@FLHealth.gov OR mailed to the following address: Florida Department of Health, Office of School Psychology, 4052 Bald Cypress Way, BIN C05, Tallahassee, FL 32399-3255.

Minimum Passing Scores According to Year Exam Complete:

• Exam taken September 2023 – Present: 155
• Exam taken from September 2014 through August 2023: 147
• Exam taken between September 2008 – August 2014: 165
• Exam taken prior to September 2008 :660

3. Apply online a FLHealthSource.gov, pay the $355 application fee, and upload any supplemental documentation.

4. If applicants have any affirmative answers in the Criminal, Personal, or Disciplinary sections of the application, submission of the personal statement and supporting documentation can be uploaded with the online application.

5. Please allow up to 5 business days for initial review of new applications. All applications and document submissions are reviewed in the order they are received. After your application is reviewed, any deficiencies will be communicated to you in writing by our Department staff. To expedite processing, please submit all required supporting documentation with your application and the requisite fees. If you are having documentation submitted by another entity on your behalf, please verify the Department’s mailing address to ensure delivery.

6. When all requirements are met the license will be issued to qualified applicants within 7 days pursuant to section 456.0145(2)(e), Florida Statutes.

Applicants with Health History

If a “Yes” response was provided to any of the questions in this section, provide the following documents directly to the board office:

• Written self-explanation, identifying the medical condition(s) or occurrence(s); and current status.
• Letter from a licensed health care practitioner, who is qualified by skill and training to address the condition identified, which explains the impact the condition may have on the ability to practice the profession with reasonable skill and safety. The letter must specify that the applicant is safe to practice the profession without restrictions or specifically indicate the restrictions that are necessary. Documentation provided must be dated within one year of the application date.

Applicants with Discipline History

Disciplinary history documentation must include:

Copy of the Administrative Complaint and Final Order.

Written self-explanation, describing in detail the circumstances surrounding the disciplinary action.

Applicants with Criminal History

Criminal history documentation must include for each offense:

1. Written self-explanation, describing in detail the circumstances surrounding each offense; including dates, city and state, charges and final results.
2. Final dispositions and arrest records for all offenses. The clerk of court in the arresting jurisdiction will provide you with these documents. Unavailability of these documents must come in the form of a letter from the clerk of court.
3. Completion of sentence documents. You may obtain documents from the Florida Department of Corrections. The report must include the start date, end date, and that the conditions were met.

Health Care Fraud, Disqualification for License, Certificate, or Registration

According to section 456.0635, Florida Statutes, provides that health care boards or the department shall refuse to issue a license, certificate, or registration and shall refuse to admit a candidate for examination if the applicant:

1. Has been convicted of, or entered a plea of guilty or nolo contendere to, regardless of adjudication, a felony under Chapter 409, F.S., (relating to social and economic assistance), Chapter 817, F.S., (relating to fraudulent practices), Chapter 893, F.S., (relating to drug abuse prevention and control) or a similar felony offense(s) in another state or jurisdiction unless the candidate or applicant has successfully completed a drug court program for that felony and provides proof that the plea has been withdrawn or the charges have been dismissed. Any such conviction or plea shall exclude the applicant or candidate from licensure, examination, certification, or registration, unless the sentence and any subsequent period of probation for such conviction or plea ended:
   • For the felonies of the first or second degree, more than 15 years from the date of the plea, sentence and completion of any subsequent probation;
   • For the felonies of the third degree, more than 10 years from the date of the plea, sentence and completion of any subsequent probation;
   • For the felonies of the third degree under section 893.13(6)(a), F.S., more than five years from the date of the plea, sentence and completion of any subsequent probation;
2. Has been convicted of, or entered a plea of guilty or nolo contendere to, regardless of adjudication, a felony under 21 U.S.C. ss. 801-970 (relating to controlled substances) or 42 U.S.C. ss. 1395-1396 (relating to public health, welfare, Medicare, and Medicaid issues), unless the sentence and any subsequent period of probation for such conviction or pleas ended more than 15 years prior to the date of the application;
3. Has been terminated for cause from the Florida Medicaid program pursuant to section 409.913, F.S., unless the candidate or applicant has been in good standing with the Florida Medicaid program for the most recent five years;
4. Has been terminated for cause, pursuant to the appeals procedures established by the state or federal government, from any other state Medicaid program, unless the candidate or applicant has been in good standing with a state Medicaid program for the most recent five years and the termination occurred at least 20 years before the date of the application;
5. Is currently listed on the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services’ Office of Inspector General’s List of Excluded Individuals and Entities.

If you meet any of the categories listed above for Health Care Fraud; Disqualification for License, Certificate, or Registration, you must provide the following documentation:

1. Written explanation for each question including the county and state of each termination or conviction, date of each termination or conviction, and copies of supporting documentation.
2. Supporting documentation should include final court dispositions or agency orders where applicable, as well as documentation of the satisfaction of all related penalties.

For criminal convictions, the clerk of court in the arresting jurisdiction will provide you with these documents. Unavailability of these documents must come in the form of a letter from the clerk of court.

For other terminations or exclusions, the agency issuing the termination or exclusion should be contacted to obtain related documents and dispositions.

Florida Statutes

• Chapter 490, Florida Statutes: Psychology
• Chapter 456, Florida Statutes: Health Professions and Occupations: General Provisions

Florida Administrative Code

• Chapter 64B21, Florida Administrative Code, School Psychology

A doctorate, specialist, masters or equivalent degree from a program primarily psychological in nature and has completed 60 semester hours or 90 quarter hours of graduate study, in areas related to school psychology as defined by Rule 64B21-500.009, Florida Administrative Code, Education Requirements for School Psychologists.

Official Transcripts: Official graduate level transcripts may be submitted to the Office of School Psychology in password-protected electronic formats to MQA.SchoolPsychology@FLHealth.gov.

Successful completion of three years of school psychology experience:

• One year of experience consists of 1,500 hours within 12 consecutive months.
• Two years of the three-year requirement shall consist of supervised experience.
• All supervised experience shall be performed by a certified or licensed school psychologist in any jurisdiction or a licensed psychologist.
• The third year can consist of general experience.
• Doctoral internships may be applied toward the supervision requirement.
• Non-doctoral internships, which are part of the education requirement, do not count toward the supervised or general experience requirement.

Florida requires proof of passage of the specialty area examination in school psychology developed and administered by the Educational Testing Service (ETS), Praxis for School Psychologists. Persons who have applied for and taken the licensure examination and who have official documentation of a passing score submitted to the Department shall be deemed to have successfully completed the licensure examination. Note that the examination score must have been obtained subsequent to March 1, 1988. Beginning September 1, 2023, the licensing exam for new graduates, or persons who have not previously taken the school psychology Praxis exam, is the ETS Praxis II School Psychologist Exam 5403.

Minimum Passing Scores According to Year Exam Completed

• Exam taken September 2023 – Present: 155
• Exam taken from September 2014 through August 2023: 147
• Exam taken between September 2008 – August 2014: 165
• Exam taken prior to September 2008: 660

Transferring Your ETS Praxis for School Psychologist Examination Score to Florida

Please request that your score be provided directly to the Florida Department of Health, Office of School Psychology, as outlined below.

• If you passed the exam less than 10 years ago, contact ETS at 609-771-7395 or login to your online Praxis account to request your original score be transmitted to our office via destination code R7114.
• If you passed the exam more than 10 years ago, you may request the score be transferred directly to our office by one of the means below.
  • A copy of your score may be transmitted by a licensing agency of another state or territory of the U.S., which previously received your original exam score from ETS.
  • A letter from the National Association of School Psychologists (NASP) provided directly from the NASP to our office.
  • The score may be emailed in a password-protected format from either entity to MQA.SchoolPsychology@FLhealth.gov OR mailed to the following address: Florida Department of Health, Office of School Psychology, 4052 Bald Cypress Way, BIN C05, Tallahassee, FL 32399-3255.

Applicants with Health History

If a “Yes” response was provided to any of the questions in this section, provide the following documents directly to the board office:

• Written self-explanation, identifying the medical condition(s) or occurrence(s); and current status.
• Letter from a licensed health care practitioner, who is qualified by skill and training to address the condition identified, which explains the impact the condition may have on the ability to practice the profession with reasonable skill and safety. The letter must specify that the applicant is safe to practice the profession without restrictions or specifically indicate the restrictions that are necessary. Documentation provided must be dated within one year of the application date.

Applicants with Discipline History

Disciplinary history documentation must include:

Copy of the Administrative Complaint and Final Order.

Written self-explanation, describing in detail the circumstances surrounding the disciplinary action.

Applicants with Criminal History

Criminal history documentation must include for each offense:

1. Written self-explanation, describing in detail the circumstances surrounding each offense; including dates, city and state, charges and final results.
2. Final dispositions and arrest records for all offenses. The clerk of court in the arresting jurisdiction will provide you with these documents. Unavailability of these documents must come in the form of a letter from the clerk of court.
3. Completion of sentence documents. You may obtain documents from the Florida Department of Corrections. The report must include the start date, end date, and that the conditions were met.

Health Care Fraud, Disqualification for License, Certificate, or Registration

According to section 456.0635, Florida Statutes, provides that health care boards or the department shall refuse to issue a license, certificate, or registration and shall refuse to admit a candidate for examination if the applicant:

1. Has been convicted of, or entered a plea of guilty or nolo contendere to, regardless of adjudication, a felony under Chapter 409, F.S., (relating to social and economic assistance), Chapter 817, F.S., (relating to fraudulent practices), Chapter 893, F.S., (relating to drug abuse prevention and control) or a similar felony offense(s) in another state or jurisdiction unless the candidate or applicant has successfully completed a drug court program for that felony and provides proof that the plea has been withdrawn or the charges have been dismissed. Any such conviction or plea shall exclude the applicant or candidate from licensure, examination, certification, or registration, unless the sentence and any subsequent period of probation for such conviction or plea ended:
   • For the felonies of the first or second degree, more than 15 years from the date of the plea, sentence and completion of any subsequent probation;
   • For the felonies of the third degree, more than 10 years from the date of the plea, sentence and completion of any subsequent probation;
   • For the felonies of the third degree under section 893.13(6)(a), F.S., more than five years from the date of the plea, sentence and completion of any subsequent probation;
2. Has been convicted of, or entered a plea of guilty or nolo contendere to, regardless of adjudication, a felony under 21 U.S.C. ss. 801-970 (relating to controlled substances) or 42 U.S.C. ss. 1395-1396 (relating to public health, welfare, Medicare, and Medicaid issues), unless the sentence and any subsequent period of probation for such conviction or pleas ended more than 15 years prior to the date of the application;
3. Has been terminated for cause from the Florida Medicaid program pursuant to section 409.913, F.S., unless the candidate or applicant has been in good standing with the Florida Medicaid program for the most recent five years;
4. Has been terminated for cause, pursuant to the appeals procedures established by the state or federal government, from any other state Medicaid program, unless the candidate or applicant has been in good standing with a state Medicaid program for the most recent five years and the termination occurred at least 20 years before the date of the application;
5. Is currently listed on the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services’ Office of Inspector General’s List of Excluded Individuals and Entities.

If you meet any of the categories listed above for Health Care Fraud; Disqualification for License, Certificate, or Registration, you must provide the following documentation:

1. Written explanation for each question including the county and state of each termination or conviction, date of each termination or conviction, and copies of supporting documentation.
2. Supporting documentation should include final court dispositions or agency orders where applicable, as well as documentation of the satisfaction of all related penalties.

For criminal convictions, the clerk of court in the arresting jurisdiction will provide you with these documents. Unavailability of these documents must come in the form of a letter from the clerk of court.

For other terminations or exclusions, the agency issuing the termination or exclusion should be contacted to obtain related documents and dispositions.