Dallas Independent School District (DISD) is the twelfth largest school district in the United States. It has an annual billion-dollar budget and is the second largest employer in the Metroplex. The DISD serves approximately 164,593 students in 220 schools. There are 157 elementary and 63 secondary schools. The DISD serves a diverse student body. The students come from homes where a total of 58 different languages are spoken. The student population is 60.9% Hispanic, 31.4% African-American, 6.3% White, 1.1% Asian, 0.3% American Indian.

The Dallas Independent School District presents interns with a unique opportunity to work with an unusually large number of different ethnic groups and populations. Our students come from many nations (58 languages spoken in the district) but also come with experiences that may not be seen in other settings. Many of our students come from countries involved in war or war like situations and may be the victims of extreme poverty and other hardships. Working with these students through the schools or the Youth and Family Centers exposes the interns to new opportunities for growth and service delivery. Additionally, the Psychological Services staff is 41% Anglo, 26% African American, 31% Hispanic, and 2% other.

Psychological Services (PS) is located at the Student Support Services Center, 2909 N. Buckner Blvd., Dallas, Texas, 75228. The departmental leadership is comprised of the Executive Director, a Coordinator of Psychological Services, a Coordinator of §504 and Medicaid. Of these, the Executive Director and the Coordinator of Psychological Services are licensed, doctoral-level psychologists. Direct services staff include 20 Licensed Specialists in School Psychology (LSSPs) and 14 visiting teachers/social workers. Five (5) of the staff hold licensed psychologist credentials. Each staff member is assigned a set of schools. They deliver counseling and consultation services to both regular education and special education students.

The Dallas Independent School District has offered a pre-doctoral professional psychology internship for over 25 years. The program was the first within a school district to receive accreditation from the American Psychological Association (APA). The APA can be contacted at:

The program was successfully re-accredited in 2001 for seven years. The School Psychology Division, Texas Psychological Association, in 1984 and 1991 also recognized PS for Outstanding Psychological Services.

The Dallas Independent School District currently funds four pre-doctoral interns in Psychological Services. The interns perform the role of the school psychologist under the title of "Predoctoral Psychology Intern". The assignment is two and a half days a week in traditional schools serving regular and special education students. One day is assigned in a school-based health/mental health clinic (Youth and Family Center). Interns have one day for group supervision, training, and research (including 4 hours dissertation) and a half-day for office and individual supervision. In the schools, interns provide individual and group counseling; consult with parents and school personnel regarding emotional, behavioral, and academic concerns; participate on Student Support Teams (SST); conduct functional behavioral assessments (FBA) and develop behavior intervention plans (BIP); and participate as members of the Crisis Intervention Team. Each intern will provide informal assessment (classroom observation, parent/teacher/student interview, and suicide/violence risk) in addition to 10-12 formal special education assessments (actual number depends on competency/experiences). The Youth and Family Centers allow interns the opportunity to broaden counseling experience to include family therapy; consultation with clinic psychiatrists; and assessment for the purpose of DSM-IV diagnosis. This configuration allows the interns broad, continuous exposure to the variety of roles fulfilled by professional school psychologists. Furthermore, it affords interns considerable opportunity to interact with each other as well as other professional and supervisory staff. The following is a summary of types of students served and time spent.

Types of Students Served

Time Spent

The rich experiences provided by our internship prepare the intern for employment in a variety of settings. Many of our former interns, for example, are employed as school psychologists across the country. Others are affiliated with universities, either in teaching, counseling, or consulting positions. One former intern is Director of Psychological Services in Fort Worth and another is with the APA office of Policy and Advocacy. Finally, several of the interns have chosen to remain with the Dallas Independent School District.

Psychological Services is a member of the Association of Psychology Postdoctoral and Internship Centers (APPIC). This site participates in the APPIC internship matching procedure. Our Program Code Number is 5711.