Across Canada, students and families face long wait times for school-based psychological assessments.
These waits reflect broader national shortages in school psychology services. The school psychology profession has faced longstanding staffing shortages, and demand continues to rise.
The federal government currently projects a high risk of a national shortage of school psychologists through 2033.
In Ontario, the consequences have been visible for years. In 2023-24, only 26 per cent of elementary schools reported regularly scheduled access to a psychologist. Twenty-four per cent reported having no access at all.
The lack of access to this professional knowledge is significant as school psychologists can do much more than assess individual students struggling with their learning, behaviour and mental health.
Their expertise can be applied across multiple levels of influence: They can consult with teachers, develop school-based prevention and intervention programs and contribute to policies across school systems.
