National Association of School Psychologists Advanced Skills Institute 2026

+ Target Audience: School Psychologists, Clinical Psychologists, Child and Adolescent Psychiatrists, and Developmental Pediatricians

+ Information:

The National Association of School Psychologists (NASP) 2026 Advanced Skills Institute is a two-day virtual learning event designed for experienced practitioners. Scheduled for July 7–8, 2026, the institute focuses on providing practical, evidence-based skills to navigate complex legal, ethical, and clinical challenges in modern educational environments.

Learning Objectives

• Apply Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT) skills directly to school-based settings.

• Address and mitigate racial battle fatigue through practical, targeted interventions and self-analysis.

• Enhance the accuracy and depth of multilingual student evaluations beyond basic checklists.

• Align coaching and leadership styles to effectively guide school systems through change.

• Advocate for socially just Multi-Tiered System of Supports (MTSS) at the micro-level.

• Build coalitions to combat misinformation and promote powerful home-school partnerships.

• Navigate situations where new laws or administrative directives conflict with professional ethics.

Target Audience

Designed for experienced practitioners seeking practical, evidence-based skills in school psychology and allied educational fields. Best for School Psychologists, Clinical Psychologists, Child and Adolescent Psychiatrists, and Developmental Pediatricians.

National Association of School Psychologists Advanced Skills Institute 2026

School Psychology • Child & Adolescent Mental Health • DBT • MTSS • Multilingual Assessment • Ethics & Legal Issues

Develop practical, evidence-informed skills for complex school-based psychological practice with the National Association of School Psychologists Advanced Skills Institute 2026 (NASP ASI 2026), a focused two-day professional learning event designed for experienced practitioners working across school psychology, mental health, assessment, consultation, leadership, and student support.

Held July 7–8, 2026, the NASP Advanced Skills Institute provides concentrated training on challenges encountered in contemporary educational environments. The official program includes sessions on Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT) in schools, socially just Multi-Tiered Systems of Supports (MTSS), leadership and coaching, family-school partnerships, legal and ethical issues, misinformation, multilingual evaluations, racial battle fatigue, executive functioning, and support for gender-diverse youth.

The program emphasizes practical application rather than theory alone, helping participants connect psychological principles, consultation, assessment, systems-level work, mental and behavioral health, and professional ethics with real-world school practice.

Course Details

• Course: Advanced Skills Institute – ASI 2026
• Provider: National Association of School Psychologists – NASP
• Year: 2026
• Dates: July 7–8, 2026
• Format: Virtual Professional Development Event
• Specialty: School Psychology
• Primary Focus: Advanced School Psychology Practice / Child & Adolescent Behavioral Health
• Program Areas: Mental Health, Assessment, MTSS, Ethics, Law, Leadership, Advocacy, Family-School Collaboration
• Language: English

The official program was organized across two days, with sessions scheduled in Eastern Time (ET). Several sessions were offered in parallel, allowing participants to select training areas relevant to their professional needs.

Course Overview

School psychologists increasingly work at the intersection of:

Mental Health + Assessment + Education + Behavioral Intervention + Consultation + Ethics + Law + Systems Change

The NASP Advanced Skills Institute 2026 addresses this complexity through sessions designed to strengthen practical skills that can be used in schools and educational systems.

The program covers challenges involving:

• School-based mental health
• DBT skills
• Multi-Tiered Systems of Supports
• Educational advocacy
• Leadership and coaching
• Family-school partnerships
• Legal issues in school psychology
• Professional ethics
• Multilingual evaluations
• Racial battle fatigue
• Executive functioning
• Misinformation
• Diverse student populations

Rather than concentrating on a single clinical diagnosis, the institute examines how psychological knowledge and professional decision-making can be applied within the broader educational environment.

Learning Objectives

Upon completion of this program, participants should be better able to:

• Apply Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT) skills directly to school-based settings.
• Address and mitigate racial battle fatigue through practical, targeted interventions and self-analysis.
• Enhance the accuracy and depth of multilingual student evaluations beyond basic checklists.
• Align coaching and leadership styles to effectively guide school systems through change.
• Advocate for socially just Multi-Tiered System of Supports (MTSS) at the micro-level.
• Build coalitions to combat misinformation and promote powerful home-school partnerships.
• Navigate situations where new laws or administrative directives conflict with professional ethics.

NASP Advanced Skills Institute 2026 Curriculum

The official NASP program was divided across Tuesday, July 7 and Wednesday, July 8, 2026, combining general sessions with concurrent advanced-skills sessions.

Day 1 – July 7, 2026

Keeping Public Education Alive and Well: What History Teaches Us

The opening educational session examines public education through a historical perspective and considers how lessons from the past can inform contemporary educational practice.

For school psychologists, understanding the broader educational system can provide useful context when working with:

• Students
• Families
• Educators
• School leadership
• Educational systems
• Community stakeholders

The session forms part of the institute’s broader systems-focused approach to school psychology.

Micro-Level Advocacy for Socially Just MTSS

Multi-Tiered System of Supports (MTSS) provides a framework for organizing academic, behavioral, and social-emotional supports across different levels of student need.

The official NASP session focuses specifically on micro-level advocacy for socially just MTSS.

A school-based MTSS framework commonly progresses across:

Universal Supports → Targeted Supports → Individualized Supports

The session places advocacy within this systems framework, highlighting the role school psychologists can play in supporting equitable educational practices.

Applying DBT Skills and Practices to School-Based Settings

The program includes a dedicated session on applying Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT) skills within school settings.

NASP states that this session examines implementation of DBT STEPS-A and DBT STEPS-E at the universal school level, including barriers and challenges associated with implementation.

The official session objectives include helping participants:

• Identify skills associated with DBT content modules
• Differentiate acceptance skills from change skills
• Identify strategies that support effective curriculum implementation

The session is presented by James Mazza and is listed for 1.5 CPD.

A practical DBT-oriented framework includes:

Recognize Situation → Select Acceptance or Change Strategy → Apply Skill → Evaluate Response

Leading Through Change: Aligning Coaching and Leadership Styles

School psychologists frequently contribute to organizational and systems-level change rather than working exclusively through individual student services.

The institute includes:

Leading Through Change: Aligning Coaching and Leadership Styles

The session is associated with Stacy Williams, whose professional work includes school psychology, educational leadership, MTSS implementation, coaching, and systems change.

Relevant areas include:

• Leadership
• Consultation
• Coaching
• Systems change
• Team development
• Organizational implementation
• School improvement

The central concept is that leadership strategies may need to change according to the needs of the system, team, and implementation stage.

Promoting Powerful Partnerships: Practical Ways to Improve Home-School Connections

Effective family-school collaboration can influence the success of assessment, intervention, consultation, and educational planning.

The NASP program includes a dedicated session on strengthening these relationships.

Official learning areas include:

• Building strong connections with families
• Treating families as meaningful members of educational teams
• Creating productive and welcoming meetings
• Addressing communication barriers
• Navigating cultural differences
• Managing emotional responses
• Applying problem-solving and relationship-building strategies

The session is presented by Sara Kupzyk and Georgia Ryba and is listed for 1.5 CPD.

A useful consultation pathway is:

Build Relationship → Understand Concerns → Collaborate → Develop Plan → Implement → Review Outcomes

Current and Relevant Legal Issues Impacting School Psychology Practice

School psychologists work within overlapping professional, educational, ethical, state, and federal requirements.

The official NASP session examines:

• Current and emerging legal tensions
• Differences between state and federal requirements
• Ethical-practice gaps
• Legal challenges affecting diverse student populations
• Strategies for navigating legal and ethical pitfalls

The session is presented by Wayne Stewart and provides 1.5 CPD.

This area is particularly important because school-based psychological decisions can involve:

Clinical Judgment + Educational Requirements + Professional Ethics + Applicable Law

Day 2 – July 8, 2026

Coalition Building to Combat Misinformation

The second day begins with a session focused on coalition building to combat misinformation.

For school psychologists, effective communication may involve collaboration among:

• Families
• Educators
• Administrators
• Mental health professionals
• Community partners
• Students
• Professional organizations

The session fits within the institute’s broader focus on advocacy, communication, systems-level intervention, and evidence-informed professional practice.

Beyond the Checklist: Enhancing Multilingual Evaluations

Assessment of multilingual students requires more than applying a standardized checklist.

The NASP program includes:

Beyond the Checklist: Enhancing Multilingual Evaluations

as a dedicated advanced-skills session on July 8.

Evaluation of multilingual students can require thoughtful integration of:

Language Background + Educational Experience + Cultural Context + Assessment Data + Multiple Information Sources

The focus is on developing more complete evaluations while considering the complexities introduced by linguistic and cultural diversity.

Supporting Trans and Gender Diverse Youth in a Time of Turmoil

The official curriculum also includes a session focused on supporting transgender and gender-diverse youth in school environments.

NASP describes the session as providing practical guidance for navigating:

• Policy changes
• Family concerns
• School-based challenges
• Student wellbeing
• Communication with families and teams
• Documentation
• Ethical and policy considerations

The session is presented by Jill Davidson, is scheduled for July 8, and provides 1.5 CPD.

Beyond Awareness: Applying Skills to Address Racial Battle Fatigue

The institute moves beyond general awareness by providing a dedicated session focused on practical responses to racial battle fatigue.

Official session objectives include helping participants:

• Examine personal biases, power, and positionality
• Develop culturally responsive and identity-safe educational environments
• Assess the mental-health effects of racism
• Apply interventions supporting students experiencing racism and racial battle fatigue

The session is presented by Geremy Grant and Blair Baker and is listed for 1.5 CPD.

The intervention pathway can be considered as:

Self-Analysis → Recognize Context → Assess Impact → Create Supportive Environment → Apply Targeted Intervention

Supporting Executive Skills Within an MTSS Model

Executive-function difficulties can affect:

• Organization
• Planning
• Task initiation
• Working memory
• Self-monitoring
• Time management
• Academic performance

The NASP program includes a dedicated session on integrating executive-skills interventions throughout an MTSS model.

The official objectives address:

• Tier 1 classroom supports and scaffolding
• Tier 2 small-group interventions
• Tier 3 individualized interventions

The session is presented by Peg Dawson and provides 1.5 CPD.

The model can be summarized as:

Tier 1 Universal Support → Tier 2 Targeted Intervention → Tier 3 Individualized Intervention

When Laws or Directives Conflict With Ethics: Charting the Course

One of the final sessions addresses a particularly complex aspect of school psychology: situations in which legal requirements or administrative directives may conflict with professional ethical responsibilities.

NASP describes this session as using practical strategies and structured problem solving to navigate these conflicts.

Official objectives include:

• Applying the NASP Ethics Problem Solving Model
• Identifying concrete strategies for practitioners
• Developing next steps for systems-level change

The session is presented by John Garruto and provides 1.5 CPD.

A structured approach can be summarized as:

Identify Conflict → Review Ethical Obligations → Review Applicable Requirements → Use Structured Problem Solving → Determine Action → Document & Reassess

School-Based Mental & Behavioral Health

A major theme connecting multiple ASI sessions is the expanding mental and behavioral health role of school psychologists.

The program addresses skills applicable to:

• Emotional regulation
• Behavioral intervention
• Student mental health
• Consultation
• Family collaboration
• Systems intervention
• Equity
• Ethical decision-making

The DBT, racial battle fatigue, executive-skills, MTSS, and student-support sessions illustrate the program’s combination of individual-level and systems-level approaches.

Multilingual & Culturally Responsive Assessment

Student evaluation should account for factors that may influence how assessment findings are interpreted.

The program’s multilingual-evaluation and racial-battle-fatigue sessions reinforce the importance of considering:

• Language
• Culture
• Educational context
• Identity
• Student experience
• Multiple data sources
• Environmental factors

These elements help place assessment findings within the broader context of the student’s educational experience.

MTSS & Systems-Level Practice

The institute includes multiple topics linked directly to Multi-Tiered Systems of Supports.

The official program contains both:

• Micro-level advocacy for socially just MTSS
• Supporting Executive Skills Within an MTSS Model

Together, these topics demonstrate how MTSS can function as both an intervention-delivery framework and a broader systems structure.

Ethics, Law & Professional Decision-Making

Professional practice in school psychology sometimes requires balancing competing considerations.

These may include:

• Student needs
• Professional standards
• Ethical responsibilities
• Administrative directives
• State requirements
• Federal requirements
• Family concerns
• Educational policies

NASP’s program directly addresses both current legal issues affecting practice and situations where legal or administrative directives conflict with ethics.

Leadership & Consultation

School psychologists may influence student outcomes not only through individual assessment or intervention but also through:

• Consultation
• Coaching
• Leadership
• Team participation
• Family engagement
• Program development
• Systems change

The leadership and home-school partnership sessions highlight this broader role.

Target Audience

Designed for experienced practitioners seeking practical, evidence-based skills in school psychology and allied educational fields.

Best for:

• School Psychologists
• Clinical Psychologists
• Child and Adolescent Psychiatrists
• Developmental Pediatricians

The content may also be relevant to professionals whose work intersects with school-based mental health, assessment, educational consultation, behavioral intervention, and systems-level student support.

Who Should Take This Course?

National Association of School Psychologists Advanced Skills Institute 2026 is particularly relevant for professionals seeking advanced training in:

• School Psychology
• Child and Adolescent Mental Health
• School-Based Behavioral Health
• DBT Skills
• MTSS
• Multilingual Assessment
• Executive Functioning
• Family-School Collaboration
• Professional Ethics
• Educational Law
• Leadership and Consultation
• Equity and Student Support
• Systems-Level Intervention

Why This Course Is Useful

The strength of NASP Advanced Skills Institute 2026 is its practical focus on complex issues encountered by experienced school psychology practitioners.

Rather than concentrating solely on psychological testing, the curriculum extends across:

Mental Health → Assessment → Intervention → MTSS → Consultation → Leadership → Family Partnerships → Ethics → Law → Systems Change

This provides a broader framework for professionals working with children and adolescents in educational settings.

Official NASP 2026 Session List

Tuesday, July 7, 2026

• LS001 – Keeping Public Education Alive and Well: What History Teaches Us
• LS002A – Micro-level advocacy for socially just MTSS
• LS002B – Applying DBT Skills and Practices to School-Based Settings
• LS003A – Leading Through Change: Aligning Coaching and Leadership Styles
• LS003B – Promoting Powerful Partnerships: Practical Ways to Improve Home-School Connections
• LS004 – Current and Relevant Legal Issues Impacting School Psychology Practice

Wednesday, July 8, 2026

• LS005 – Coalition Building to Combat Misinformation
• LS006A – Beyond the Checklist: Enhancing Multilingual Evaluations
• LS006B – Supporting Trans and Gender Diverse Youth in a Time of Turmoil
• LS007A – Beyond Awareness: Applying Skills to Address Racial Battle Fatigue
• LS007B – Supporting Executive Skills Within an MTSS Model
• LS008 – When laws or directives conflict with ethics: Charting the Course

These titles follow NASP’s current official 2026 session listing.

Major Topics Covered

• School Psychology
• Child and Adolescent Mental Health
• School-Based Mental Health
• Dialectical Behavior Therapy – DBT
• DBT STEPS-A
• DBT STEPS-E
• Multi-Tiered System of Supports – MTSS
• Socially Just MTSS
• Educational Advocacy
• Leadership and Coaching
• Systems Change
• Family-School Partnerships
• Home-School Connections
• Legal Issues in School Psychology
• Professional Ethics
• NASP Ethics Problem Solving
• Misinformation
• Coalition Building
• Multilingual Evaluations
• Culturally Responsive Assessment
• Gender-Diverse Youth Support
• Racial Battle Fatigue
• Culturally Responsive School Environments
• Executive Skills
• Tier 1 Supports
• Tier 2 Interventions
• Tier 3 Individualized Interventions

Short Description

National Association of School Psychologists Advanced Skills Institute 2026 (NASP ASI 2026) is a two-day professional development program held July 7–8, 2026, focused on advanced skills for contemporary school psychology practice.

The program covers school-based DBT, socially just MTSS, multilingual evaluations, executive-skills interventions, racial battle fatigue, leadership and coaching, family-school partnerships, misinformation, legal issues, professional ethics, and support for diverse student populations.

Provider: National Association of School Psychologists – NASP
Dates: July 7–8, 2026
Format: Virtual
Primary Focus: School Psychology / Child & Adolescent Behavioral Health
Specialty: School Psychology

Topics

• Keeping Public Education Alive and Well: What History Teaches Us
• Micro-level advocacy for socially just MTSS
• Applying DBT Skills and Practices to School-Based Settings
• Leading Through Change: Aligning Coaching and Leadership Styles
• Promoting Powerful Partnerships: Practical Ways to Improve Home-School Connections
• Current and Relevant Legal Issues Impacting School Psychology Practice
• Coalition Building to Combat Misinformation
• Beyond the Checklist: Enhancing Multilingual Evaluations
• Supporting Trans and Gender Diverse Youth in a Time of Turmoil
• Beyond Awareness: Applying Skills to Address Racial Battle Fatigue
• Supporting Executive Skills Within an MTSS Model
• When laws or directives conflict with ethics: Charting the Course

• Applying DBT Skills and Practices to School-Based Settings

• Beyond Awareness: Applying Skills to Address Racial Battle Fatigue

• Beyond the Checklist: Enhancing Multilingual Evaluations

• Coalition Building to Combat Misinformation

• Current and Relevant Legal Issues Impacting School Psychology Practice

• Keeping Public Education Alive and Well: What History Teaches Us

• Leading Through Change: Aligning Coaching and Leadership Styles

• Micro-level advocacy for socially just MTSS

• Promoting Powerful Partnerships: Practical Ways to Improve Home-School Connections

• Supporting Executive Skills Within an MTSS Model

• Supporting Trans and Gender Diverse Youth in a Time of Turmoil

• When laws or directives conflict with ethics: Charting the Course