DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION  
SUPERINTENDENT OF PUBLIC INSTRUCTION  
SCHOOL SOCIAL WORKER  
(By the authority conferred on the superintendent of public instruction by sections  
6, 1701 and 1703 of 1976 PA 451, MCL 380.6, MCL 380.1701 and MCL 380.1703,  
and Executive Reorganization Order Nos. 1996-6 and 1996-7, MCL 388.993 and  
MCL 388.994).  
R 340.1001 -- R 340.1010 Rescinded.  
History: 1979 AC.  
R 340.1011 Role of school social worker.  
Rule 1. A school social worker may function in any of the following roles:  
(a) Provide individual and group counseling to students and their families in  
need of assistance utilizing an ecological framework addressing variations in  
development and learning, as well as reciprocal influences of home, school, and  
community.  
(b) Provide consultation, collaboration, and advisement services to students,  
their family members and school staff regarding students' social, emotional, and  
behavioral status impacting learning, development, mental health, and school success.  
Encourage developmentally appropriate student self-determination and self-advocacy.  
(c) Implement school social work services within a multi-tiered intervention  
model for programs and services.  
(d) Provide instruction, modeling, and coaching to students, parents, and school  
staff in the implementation of effective behavior intervention strategies and  
techniques. Provide ongoing guidance and training services to parents and school  
staff on topics pertinent to the development, mental health, and learning needs of  
students.  
(e) Provide liaison, coordination, and case  
management  
services with  
schools, families, community agencies, and other resources to influence positive  
school outcomes for students.  
(f) Develop functional behavior assessments and behavior intervention plans to  
facilitate successful learning and socialization opportunities. Provide services and  
disseminate information to encourage school wide positive behavior supports.  
(g) Identify and coordinate accommodations and modifications of school  
environment for a student to obtain access to  
instruction.  
general  
education curriculum and  
(h) Provide support to facilitate successful transitions  
students' learning opportunities.  
in areas that affect  
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(i) Provide crisis  
prevention,  
planning,  
and  
intervention services,  
including assessments of the impact of trauma on development, learning, and school  
performance.  
(j) Provide comprehensive written reports of assessments and evaluations of  
students that specifically address the reasons for referral. Utilize multiple  
methods of collecting data, and provide  
intervention and anticipated outcomes from service.  
appropriate measurable goals for  
(k) Provide and interpret assessments and evaluations  
eligibility for special education, and identify needs for programs and services.  
(l) Utilize home and community settings, as appropriate, to collect  
assessment information, collaborate with parents, and provide interventions.  
(m) Collaborate with parents, multidisciplinary evaluation team members,  
school administrators, and other community agencies to develop an accurate  
to determine  
understanding of a student's disability, the impact of the disability on students'  
educational performance, and provide information regarding whether behaviors and  
school performance are attributable to manifestations of the disability.  
(n) Conduct needs assessments and advocate for  
policies,  
programs, and  
services to meet educational and mental health needs of all students, and to support safe  
school climates conducive to learning.  
(o) Identify issues that may interfere with student development, learning, and  
school success.  
(p) Identify and work to prevent bias,  
oppression that interfere with individual rights in the educational process.  
(q) Ensure that prevention, assessment, evaluation, and intervention  
services are sensitive to the diverse needs of the student's multi-cultural differences.  
(r) Consult, collaborate, and supervise school social work students and  
colleagues.  
prejudice,  
discrimination, and  
History: 1979 AC; 2011 AACS.  
R 340.1012 Qualifications of school social worker.  
Rule 2. (1) For temporary approval, a school social worker shall meet all of the  
following:  
(a) A master's degree from a graduate school of social work program.  
(b) Completion of an approved graduate school social work program.  
(c) A minimum of a 500-clock-hour supervised social work practicum  
completed through the process of earning a master's degree in social work and  
completing a program for school social worker approval.  
(2) Temporary approval shall be granted to a school social worker for the initial  
year of service.  
(3) For full approval, a school social worker shall possess the following minimum  
qualifications:  
(a) Temporary approval as a school social worker.  
(b) Written documentation from the employing school district of satisfactory  
completion of 1 year as a temporary approved school social worker working with  
direction from a fully approved school social worker.  
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(4) A previously approved school social worker who has not been employed by a  
public school in Michigan for or more consecutive years shall seek  
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recommendation from a Michigan institution of higher education to obtain reapproval  
from the department of education as a condition of reemployment.  
History: 1979 AC; 2011 AACS.  
R 340.1013 Approval of training program.  
Rule 3. A school social work training program maintained by an institution of  
higher education in this state shall be approved by the department of education. An  
approved program shall be in compliance with the competency requirements under R  
340.1014.  
History: 1979 AC; 2011 AACS.  
R 340.1014 Competencies of school social worker.  
Rule 4. (1) A candidate seeking school social worker approval shall possess all of  
the following competencies:  
(a) Knowledge of theoretical foundations and history of the school social work  
profession and service delivery.  
(b) Knowledge of legal and ethical standards necessary for social work practice  
in school settings.  
(c) Knowledge of federal and state special education laws and other legal aspects  
of the role of the school social worker.  
(d) Knowledge of organizational components and structural dynamics of public  
school agencies at local, state, and national levels, as well as identification of methods  
useful to analyze and influence these in order to maximize student success.  
(e) Knowledge of other professional educational roles to promote successful  
collaboration.  
(f) Knowledge of a broad range of experiences, personal characteristics, and  
background variables that influence student learning and development, including the  
reciprocal and diverse influences of home, school, and community.  
(g) Knowledge and skills for identifying factors that enhance strengths, resilience,  
and protection from adversity, and that diminish educational and developmental risks.  
(h) Knowledge and skills to provide crisis prevention, planning, and  
intervention services, and the impact of trauma on development, learning, and  
school performance.  
(i) Knowledge and skills to promote positive behavior supports for individuals  
and schoolwide programs.  
(j) Knowledge and skills in development of behavior intervention plans  
collaboratively with family members, educational staff, and outside resources,  
personnel, and agencies.  
(k) Knowledge and skills in mediation, conflict resolution, and collaborative  
problem-solving models.  
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(l) Knowledge and skills in comprehensive and systematic assessment and  
evaluation.  
(m) Knowledge and skills in effective written communication of the  
assessment and evaluation results that include educationally relevant  
recommendations and, where appropriate, measurable goals and anticipated outcomes  
from service delivery.  
(n) Knowledge of normative expectations for infant, child, adolescent, and young  
adult emotional, behavioral, social, cultural, communicative, cognitive, learning,  
and physical development.  
(o) Knowledge regarding similarities and differences between clinically-  
based definitions of psychiatric disorders and educational disabilities.  
(p) Knowledge and skills to evaluate effectiveness of programs and services and  
modify these based upon individual student need.  
(q) Knowledge and skills for locating, selecting, and applying empirically-  
supported, evidence-based prevention and intervention methods appropriate for use  
with individuals, groups, families, school personnel, and communities to enhance student  
learning, development, and school success.  
(r) Knowledge and skills to facilitate and coordinate student access to medical,  
health, mental health, social services, and other community resources, and to  
promote collaboration among school personnel and other community agencies.  
(s) Ability to verbally communicate in terms understandable to students, parents,  
school staff, and agencies.  
(t) Awareness of curriculum, teaching theories, and methodologies.  
History: 1979 AC; 2011 AACS.  
R 340.1015 Out-of-state applicants.  
Rule 5. (1) An applicant for temporary approval as a school social worker who has  
been educated in an accredited school of social work in another state shall present  
evidence of having fulfilled all of the requirements established for applicants who  
have been educated at a Michigan college or university approved by the department of  
education.  
(2) Temporary approval as a school social worker may be granted to an applicant  
from another state who presents evidence of graduation from an institution of higher  
education in the area of school social work.  
(3) Full approval will be granted in accordance with R 340.1012(3).  
History: 1979 AC; 2011 AACS.  
R 340.1016 Presently employed school social worker.  
Rule 6. A person employed by a school district and fully approved as a school  
social worker on the effective date of these rules shall retain full approval status.  
History: 1979 AC; 2011 AACS.  
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R 340.1017 Use of title ''school social worker.''  
Rule 7. Only those persons approved by the department of education as school social  
workers, in accordance with these rules, shall use that title.  
History: 1979 AC; 2011 AACS.  
R 340.1018 Rescission.  
Rule 8. The rules of the state board of education entitled "State Aid for School  
Social Work Programs," being R 340.1001 to R  
340.1010  
of  
the Michigan  
Administrative Code and appearing on pages 4218 and 4219 of the 1967 Annual  
Supplement to the Code, are rescinded.  
History: 1979 AC.  
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;