North Carolina HB 1124: Interstate Compact for School Psychologists.

Bill Text

GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF NORTH CAROLINA
SESSION 2025
H 1
HOUSE BILL 1124

Short Title: Interstate Compact for School Psychologists. (Public)
Sponsors: Representatives Pickett, Ball, Lambeth, and Paré (Primary Sponsors).
For a complete list of sponsors, refer to the North Carolina General Assembly web site.
Referred to: Health, if favorable, Appropriations, if favorable, Rules, Calendar, and Operations
of the House
April 30, 2026
*H1124-v-1*
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED 1
AN ACT TO ADOPT THE INTERSTATE COMPACT FOR SCHOOL PSYCHOLOGISTS 2
AND TO APPROPRIATE FUNDS FOR A VIRTUAL SCHOOL PSYCHOLOGY 3
TRAINING PROGRAM. 4
The General Assembly of North Carolina enacts: 5
6
PART I. INTERSTATE COMPACT FOR SCHOOL PSYCHOLOGISTS 7
SECTION 1.(a) Chapter 115C of the General Statutes is amended by adding a new 8
Article to read: 9
"Article 17F. 10
"School Psychologist Interstate Licensure Compact. 11
"§ 115C-270.40. Purpose. 12
The purpose of this Compact is to facilitate the interstate practice of School Psychology in 13
educational or school settings, and in so doing to improve the availability of School 14
Psychological Services to the public. This Compact is intended to establish a pathway to allow 15
School Psychologists to obtain equivalent licenses to provide School Psychological Services in 16
any Member State. In this way, this Compact shall enable the Member States to ensure that safe 17
and effective School Psychological Services are available and delivered by appropriately 18
qualified professionals in their educational settings. To facilitate the objectives described above, 19
this Compact does the following: 20
(1) Enables School Psychologists who qualify for receipt of an Equivalent 21
License to practice in other Member States without first satisfying 22
burdensome and duplicative requirements. 23
(2) Promotes the mobility of School Psychologists between and among the 24
Member States in order to address workforce shortages and to ensure that safe 25
and reliable School Psychological Services are available in each Member 26
State. 27
(3) Enhances the public accessibility of School Psychological Services by 28
increasing the availability of qualified, licensed School Psychologists through 29
the establishment of an efficient and streamlined pathway for Licensees to 30
practice in other Member States. 31
(4) Preserves and respects the authority of each Member State to protect the health 32
and safety of its residents by ensuring that only qualified, licensed 33

General Assembly Of North Carolina Session 2025
Page 2 House Bill 1124-First Edition
professionals are authorized to provide School Psychological Services within 1
that state. 2
(5) Requires School Psychologists practicing within a Member State to comply 3
with the Scope of Practice laws present in the state where the School 4
Psychological Services are being provided. 5
(6) Promotes cooperation between the Member States in regulating the practice 6
of School Psychology within those states. 7
(7) Facilitates the relocation of military members and their spouses who are 8
licensed to provide School Psychological Services. 9
"§ 115C-270.41. Definitions. 10
The following definitions shall apply in this Article: 11
(1) Active Military Member. – Any person with full-time duty status in the Armed 12
Forces of the United States, including members of the National Guard and 13
Reserve. 14
(2) Adverse Action. – Disciplinary action or encumbrance imposed on a License 15
by a State Licensing Authority. 16
(3) Alternative Program. – A nondisciplinary, prosecutorial diversion, 17
monitoring, or practice remediation process entered into in lieu of an Adverse 18
Action which is applicable to a School Psychologist and approved by the State 19
Licensing Authority of a Member State in which the participating School 20
Psychologist is licensed. This includes, but is not limited to, programs to 21
which Licensees with substance abuse or addiction issues may be referred in 22
lieu of an Adverse Action. 23
(4) Commissioner. – The individual appointed by a Member State to serve as the 24
representative to the Commission for that Member State. 25
(5) Compact. – This School Psychologist Interstate Licensure Compact. 26
(6) Continuing Professional Education. – A requirement, imposed by a Member 27
State as a condition of License renewal to provide evidence of successful 28
participation in professional educational activities relevant to the provision of 29
School Psychological Services. 30
(7) Criminal Background Check. – The submission of fingerprints or other 31
biometric information for a License applicant for the purpose of obtaining that 32
applicant's criminal history record information, as defined in 28 C.F.R. § 33
20.3(d), and the state's criminal history record repository, as defined in 28 34
C.F.R. § 20.3(f). 35
(8) Doctoral Level Degree. – A graduate degree program that consists of at least 36
90 graduate semester hours in the field of School Psychology, including a 37
supervised i