The College of Psychologists of New Brunswick is raising concerns over Bill 35, which was recently introduced in the New Brunswick Legislature.
It would give teachers with a Master’s Degree the ability to do Psychological tests, and assess them.
Dr. Janine Olthius says this means giving people who are not fully qualified the ability to use the testing in a way it isn’t supposed to be used, “Presents a lot of risks for the kids who are going to be receiving these assessments and it also presents a lot of risks for teachers who are going to be asked to do something that they aren’t necessarily fully qualified to do. It presents some liability issues for them too.”
She says this could lead to an improper diagnosis for a child and in turn the wrong type of intervention, “What ends up happening later is this kid comes back into the mental health system with probably more problems and challenges later in life. Even though it perhaps seems like a time savings or cost savings strategy right now, it is going to cost more in the long run.”
Dr. Olthius says proper consultation wasn’t done for this Bill, and this solution is not viable, and won’t have the effects that the Education Minister thinks it will.
“If we are, let’s say diluting the quality of the assessments that are going to be done in the school system, that is creating another disadvantage for kids that are already up against it, in trying to navigate all of their needs in the school system,” Dr. Olthius says.
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She feels the goal should really be making sure there are Psychologists in the public system who can do these assessments and do them correctly.
“There is an element of disrespect to Psychologists in general. I have had some of the students who I train in my program say, this is exactly why I don’t want to stay in New Brunswick, or this is why I don’t want to work in the public system because the people I am supposed to be working for don’t have any respect for the skills and knowledge that I bring to the table.”
Education Minister Dominic Cardy responded to concerns this week, stating that teachers will not be diagnosing students. He also called college an obstacle to addressing the shortage of psychologists in the school system.
He claims the College was invited to be a part of the team to come up with a solution and they declined.
Dr. Olthius says, “I think overall the legislation and the comments that the Minister made about the legislation just suggest there is a bit of misunderstanding as to what these tests are designed to do and how they should be used as a part of a bigger assessment. It seems to me there are a lot of people who share this perspective that this isn’t the right solution. I would hope the Minister would go back and consider having a conversation at the table. I think there is an opportunity to come up with lots of really good solutions.”
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