Moving Forward: Addressing the Shortage of SLPs in the Schools

1
Moving ForwardAddressing the Shortage of SLPs
in the Schools

• ASHA Convention
• November 17, 2006
• Lynn Flahive Cherry Wright
• Texas Speech-Language-Hearing Assn.

2
ISSUE 1 SHORTAGE OF SPEECH-LANGUAGE
PATHOLOGISTS

• National Data
• ASHA Issue Brief on Personnel Preparation
  Credentialing in SLP (June 2003)
• 51 of respondents to the ASHA 2000 Schools
  Survey reported a shortage of SLPs, particularly
  in rural and urban areas
• US Bureau of Statistics (Oct 2003)
• Employment of SLPs will grow much faster than
  other occupations through 2010
• SLP ranks 25th out of 700 occupations and 11th
  out of 68 health-related occupations in terms of
  growth

3

• Estimated that more than 34,000 additional SLPs
  will be needed to fill the demand between 2000
  and 2010 plus a 39 increase in job openings
• Total of 57,000 job openings for SLPs projected
  between 2000-2010 due to growth and net
  replacements

4

• Dept. of Education 24th Annual Report to
  Congress (Sept 2003)
• 55 of all preschoolers had SLI (2000-2001)
• Overall shortage is mild but threat of future
  shortages is more pronounced
• Almost 50 of school-based SLPs will be eligible
  for retirement within approximately 15 years
• Unless the number of newly prepared SLPs
  increases substantially, a severe shortage will
  be unavoidable
• Vacancies/retirement rates are most severe for
  SLPs in lower-income, inner city and rural areas

5

• Study of Personnel Needs in Special Education
  (SPeNSE) (2003) SLP Vacancies
• Suburban districts had the greatest number of
  vacancies, followed by urban and rural
• Medium sized districts had the greatest number of
  vacancies, followed by small, large and very
  large
• Districts with poverty levels of 21-38 had
  greatest number of vacancies, followed by
  districts with 0-9, 10-20, and 39
• The greatest number of job openings were in the
  Great Lakes area, followed by the Southeast
  (includes Texas)

6

• 94 of the districts in the Southeast area of the
  US (includes Texas) hire fully qualified SLPs as
  compared to the greatest percentage of 99.6 in
  the Mid-south
• 13 increase other SLPs caseloads as compared to
  the greatest percentage of 25.4 in the Great
  Lakes
• 14.8 hire more SLP-As as compared to the
  greatest percentage in the Great Lakes
• 30.4 contract for more SLP services as compared
  to the greatest percentage in the Mid-south

7

• NASDSE Supply Demand of Sp. Ed. Professionals
  (April 2003)
• Information verified that shortage is not unique
  to SLP
• 98 of the nations school districts reported
  shortages in special education
• Number of disabled students is growing at a rate
  almost 3 times greater than the overall student
  population, which suggests the need for 80,000
  new special education teachers by 2010

8

• US News World Report Jobs With Staying Power
  (March 2004)
• Education
• 16,000 special ed vacancies in the US last year
• Result of a growing population of autistic
  children the fact that the children of the
  late-80s and early 90s drug epidemic are now
  school age
• High burnout rate of specialized teachers
• Dept. of Labor estimates that more than 200,000
  special ed teachers will be needed in the next 5
  years

9

• Texas Study of Special Education Professionals
  Personnel Needs Texas Center for Educational
  Research (Sept 2001)
• SLP vacancy rate
• Single districts - 7.1
• Shared Service Arrangements (SSAs) 12.4
• Rate was superceded by vacancies of teachers for
  students with
• Limited English proficiency
• Emotional disturbance
• Severe Disabilities

10

• Vacancy rate for bilingual SLPs
• Single districts 9.1
• SSAs 16.2
• Rate was superceded again by vacancies of
  teachers for
• LEP students
• Bilingual educational diagnosticians
• Turnover rate for special ed personnel (teachers
  and other special ed professionals) less than
  15 which was comparable to statewide teacher
  turnover rate

11
CURRENT DATA

• ASHA 2006 Schools Survey
• Caseloads
• Median caseload size of 50 (55 for Texas)
• Caseloads larger in rural areas than in urban or
  suburban
• Decrease in moderately impaired students and
  increase in mildly and severely impaired
• Use of Time
• Most of the SLPs time was spent in traditional
  pull-out service (21 hours per week)
• 4 hours in classroom based therapy
• 4 hours in self-contained classrooms
• 2 hours in collaborative consultation
• 2 hours in pre-referral activities or response to
  intervention activities
• 1 hour in a resource room

12

• Primary Disorders Served
• 91 of SLPs serve students with
  artic/phonological disorders
• 80 - Autism/PDD
• 76 - Pragmatic impairment
• 75 - Learning disability
• 74 - Mental retardation/developmental disability
• 71 - Fluency

13

• Salaries
• Overall median annual salary was 52,000 West
  South Central (includes Texas ) was 41,487
• Salaries in rural areas lagged behind others
• Only 12 reported a salary supplement for CCCs
• Fewer than 1 received a supplement for being a
  bilingual service provider
• 68 reported that they did not receive any
  supplement
• Contract employees who worked 26 or more weekly
  hours averaged 40 per hour

14

• Supply and Demand
• 68 of respondents indicated that job openings
  were more numerous that job seekers (up from 51
  in 2000 survey)
• Impact of Shortage
• Increased caseload
• Decreased opportunities for individual services
• Less opportunity for networking and collaborating
• Decreased opportunities for individual students
• Decreased quality of services

15

• Greatest Challenges
• Large amounts of paperwork (80)
• Lack of time for planning, collaboration and
  meeting with teachers (66)
• High caseload size (60)

16

• Impact of SLP-As on Workload
• 52 - increased supervision
• 38 - more time for direct service
• 32 - more time for planning/consultation
• SLP-A Activities
• 25 - direct intervention
• 23 - non-instructional activities

17

• US Bureau of Labor Statistics (2006)
• National employment rate of SLPs is expected to
  demonstrate average growth (increase of 9 17)
  through 2014
• SLP ranks 17th out of the 20 large growth
  occupations that require a masters, doctoral, or
  first-professional degree
• 14,000 additional SLPs are needed to fill demand
  between 2004-2014
• 13,900 job openings for SLPs are projected due to
  growth and net replacements
• Some decline seen in need since 2003 projections
  for 2000-2010

18

• Texas Study of Personnel Needs in Special
  Education, Texas Center for Educational Research
  (May 2006)
• Most critical shortages
• Teachers working with students in resource and/or
  content mastery
• Teachers working with students who have adaptive
  behavior issues
• Other professionals including
• Educational diagnosticians
• Speech-Language Pathologists
• Bilingual SLPs
• Bilingual licensed specialists in school
  psychology
• Paraprofessionals greatest number of vacancies

19

• Turnover for special education personnel is about
  14
• Reasons include
• Teaching position in another district
• Relocation to another community
• Retirement
• Statewide Vacancies (460 districts responded)
• SLP certified or licensed 8.7
• Single districts 8.7
• Shared Service Arrangements 16.2
• Bilingual SLP certified or licensed 19.1
• Single districts 18.7
• Shared Service Arrangements - 40.7

20

• Most other special ed professionals (including
  SLPs) worked with up to 60 students in a typical
  week
• Most other professionals (including SLPs) spent
  40 of their time on tasks other than direct
  services
• Paperwork including IEPs
• Serving on ARD committees
• Planning for student services
• Meeting with special ed and general ed teachers
• Traveling among campuses
• Testing students
• Approximately only 57 hours per month (14.25
  hours per week) are spent on direct services

21

• SI students served in Texas (2005-2006)
• Grades 9-12 Primary 1,264
• Secondary 10,553
• Tertiary 3,039
• Total 14,856
• Grades 6 8 Primary 5,194
• Secondary 16,931
• Tertiary 3,060
• Total 25,285
• Grades K-5 Primary 76,474
• Secondary 45,435
• Tertiary 5,684
• Total 127,593
• Ages 3 5 Primary 30,250
• Grand Total 197,884

22
ISSUE 2 CHANGES IN PUBLIC SCHOOLS

• Increase in number of disabled students
• National Assn. of State Directors of Special
  Education (2003) reported that the number of
  disabled students is growing at a rate almost
  three times greater than the overall student
  population
• Texas Number of children ages 6-21 served under
  IDEA Part B for a primary disorder of
  Speech-Language Impairment increased 17 in 10
  years (1990/91-2000/01)

23

• Increase in scope of practice
• Augmentative Communication
• Dysphagia
• Pragmatics
• Focus on Literacy
• Increase in complexity of disorders
• Survival rate of premature babies
• Crack babies
• Autism

24
Licensure of SLPs in Texas

• Became law in 1983
• Licensed SLP
• Requires Masters or Bachelors degree (1984-1986
  grandfather period)
• Qualified to work independently
• Has unrestricted responsibilities
• Can supervise SLP-A or SLP Intern
• 10 CEUs required annually for license renewal

25

• TEA Certificate (Not issued after Aug 1996)
• Requires Masters or Bachelors degree
• Qualified to work independently
• Has unrestricted responsibilities
• Can supervise teacher aides
• Not licensed has no CEU annual requirements

26

• Licensed SLP Intern
• Requires Masters degree
• Must be supervised by Masters level licensed SLP
• Has unrestricted responsibilities
• Cannot supervise others
• 10 CEUs required annually for license renewal
• May apply for regular SLP license upon completion
  of 36 weeks fulltime professional internship

27

• Licensed Assistant in SLP
• Requires Bachelors degree
• Must be supervised by licensed SLP
• Has restricted responsibilities may not assess,
  can assist in development of IEP, may implement
  IEP as directed by supervisor, may only attend
  annual review ARD meetings
• Cannot supervise others
• 10 CEUS required annually for renewal of license

28
ISSUE 4 Proposed Legislation (HB2822)

• Introduced in 2002. Purpose was to solve the SLP
  shortage in Texas, particularly in rural areas
• Promoted by TCASE and supported by TASB
• Essentially proposed establishment of a two tier
  system of care for children with communication
  disorders with a lower standard for school
  children
• Sought to establish a limited license to practice
  SLP in the public schools as a Licensed
  Specialist in School SLP
• Proposed removal of requirement that persons
  licensed under current licensure law must hold a
  Masters degree if working in a public school

29

• Persons licensed under proposed Limited License
  could hold a baccalaureate degree in speech
  hearing or its equivalent and perform tasks as
  determined by the school district
• District could determine that person could
  evaluate/diagnose, plan/provide therapy, develop
  IEPs and communicate at ARD meetings with
  parents, all without supervision, if supervision
  was not available
• Problem If supervision was available, the
  supervising SLP would be in jeopardy of unethical
  conduct

30

• Introduction of the bill was a surprise to TSHA
• Fortunately, the bill died in Calendar Committee

31
ISSUE 5 SUNSET OF LICENSURE (2009)

• We have learned that licensure is never secure
  during a legislative session
• We anticipated that proposed legislation in 2005
  could ultimately impact licensure and it was
  attempted
• We expect that licensure will again be challenged
  in the 2007 legislative session
• We forsee that proposed legislation in 2009 will
  again attempt to lower standards in the State

32

• THUS, THE IMPORTANCE OF COALITION BUILDING to
  identify issues and develop strategies for
  addressing the issues collectively

33
Activities to Date

• TSHA Public School Task Force established (Aug
  2003)
• University Student Survey (Nov 2003)
• Summary of Findings (776 responses
• 361 U / 414 G) (17 universities)
• Intended work setting
• Health Care
• Public Schools
• Results were 1 greater for health care setting
  among undergraduates and 7 greater among
  graduates

34

• Reasons for working in health care setting
• More variety in clients types of disorders, age
  ranges
• Medical setting
• Opportunity to work with multidisciplinary team
• Better pay
• More flexibility
• Less paperwork than in the schools
• Reasons for working in public schools
• Calendar Academic year schedule
• Love of children
• Opportunity to work with children and youth

35

• Only 10 of undergraduates and 12 of graduate
  students planned to practice in a
  college/university setting
• 86 of students were aware of shortage in public
  schools
• 91 of undergraduates indicated plan to complete
  masters degree
• 80 planned to attend graduate school in Texas
• 91 of undergraduates and 85 of graduates
  indicated plan to practice in Texas after
  graduation

36

• Few undergraduates (16) and graduate students
  (10) indicated plan to pursue doctoral studies
• Obstacles to pursuing a graduate degree cited by
  graduates
• 1 Cost
• 2 Time involved
• 3 Limited number of programs to accommodate
  students who need to work while attending school
• Obstacles cited by undergraduates
• 1 Limited admissions by universities
• 2 Cost

37

• Only 25 of graduate students had completed
  externships/affiliations in public schools, 18
  in rehab facilities, and 13 in hospitals
• Majority indicated plan to pursue
• ASHA certification (82 U / 98 G)
• Texas Licensure (84 U / 90 G)
• Respondents were
• 97 female
• 95 white
• 23 fluent in language other than English
  primarily Spanish

38

• Means for financing education
• Graduates
• 1 Loans (64)
• 2 Self means (51)
• 3 Parents/Family assistance (38)
• Undergraduates
• 1 Parents/Family assistance (61)
• 2 Loans (53)

39

• University Supervisor Survey (Jan 2004)
• Summary of Findings (13 of 17 programs
  responded)
• 371 completed Masters degree (02-03)
• 585 in 2 year graduate program (03-04)
• (50 would be 292 in 2nd year of program)
• Of 371 (02-03), 182 (49) were employed in public
  schools
• Of 585 (03-04), 172 (30) plan to work in schools
• Of 585 (03-04), 140 (24) were non-traditional
  and 128 (22) were employed as SLP-As

40

• 328 completed undergraduate program (02-03)
• Of 328, 38 were continuing in same university
  graduate program
• 4 became employed as SLP-As in 03-04
• 686 upper level (Jr./Sr.) undergraduates (03-04)
• (50 would be 341 Sr. level students)
• Average attrition rate of approximately 23

41

• Curriculum
• 54 of programs embedded specific info regarding
  public schools in courses
• 46 offered 1 to 2 courses
• Practicum/Externship requirements
• None required undergraduates to complete
  practicum in external setting
• 29 required undergraduate clinic (25-50 hrs.)
• 54 required graduates to complete practicum in
  public schools (50-250 hours)

42

• Schedule
• 85 offered evening classes
• 100 offered limited number of summer classes
• TWU offered a Distance Learning Program
• Approx. 50 allowed students to complete masters
  degree w/o resigning part-time employment
• 38 offered bilingual SLP preparation
• 69 had spaces available in graduate programs
• 62 had vacancies in instructional staff

43

• Special Education Director Survey (December 2003)
• Shortage defined to include
• Contracted personnel (SLPs and SLP-As)
• Employed SLP-As
• Unfilled vacancies
• (All other than employed licensed SLPs)
• Summary of Findings (282 surveys 57) (11
  urban / 26 suburban / 63 rural, including SSAs)
  (Representation from all 20 Regional ESCs)

44

• Average caseload of 52
• Highest in rural districts (57) as compared to 48
  in both urban and suburban districts
• 55 indicated unfilled FTE positions for licensed
  SLPs (03-04)
• Average percentage of unfilled vacancies was 4.5
• 5.6 urban / 4.5 suburban / 4.1 rural
• On average, 62 of districts reported that they
  contracted with SLPs and/or SLP-As and/or
  employed SLP-As (03-04) because they could not
  employ a sufficient number of licensed SLPs
• Percentage ranged from 82 in urban districts to
  55 in suburban and rural

45

• 25 of approved licensed SLP FTEs were staffed by
  contracted SLPs and/or SLP-As and/or employed
  SLP-As
• Greatest need was in Region 1 (Rio Grande Valley)
• Assignment of SLP-As
• 33 to campuses
• 35 to licensed SLPs
• 20 of districts provided compensatory services
  for students who were not served due to staffing
  shortages, primarily in summer

46

• Annual attrition rate Approx. 16 statewide
• 17 urban / 13 suburban / 16 rural
• Most prevalent reasons
• 1 Household moves (88)
• 2 More competitive salary (80)
• 3 Retirement (80)

47

• Suggested solutions to shortage problems
• 1 More graduates
• 2 More non-traditional methods for completing a
  masters degree
• 3 Allowing SLP-As to represent speech pathology
  at annual ARD meetings

48

• Most prevalent recruiting methods
• 1 Job fairs (primarily universities) (94)
• 2 District websites (90)
• 3 Professional associations (87)
• 4 ESCs (84) particularly for smaller districts
• On average, 69 indicated that salary incentives
  are offered
• 73 urban / 69 suburban / 68 rural
• Most utilized types
• 1 Stipends (97)
• 2 Expenses for attendance at TSHA Convention
  (76)
• 3 Opportunity for summer employment (75)

49

• Focus Group with University Supervisors (February
  2004)
• Summary of Findings (8 of 17 universities
  participated)
• No value in having statewide standard curriculum
• Scope of practice has increased over years not
  sufficient time to focus on public schools
• Most information regarding public schools is
  embedded in other coursework
• Some require practicum in public schools, others
  allow students to choose where they want to
  complete practicum requirements

50

• Not difficult to find practicum sites
• Of 8 programs, 5 sent students to urban, 6 to
  suburban, and 6 to rural districts
• Problem can be with quality of supervision
• Some qualified SLPs dont want additional
  responsibilities associated with practicum
  supervision
• Some school districts pay students and
  supervisors with intent of students completing
  CFYs in district and eventually becoming
  employees
• Revisions in curriculum have occurred based on
  feedback from supervisors and students
• Reordering sequence of courses
• Purchasing new diagnostic materials
• Including more direct transferred knowledge
  (IDEA, NCLB, etc.)
• Providing practice in writing IEPs before
  students are placed in practicums

51

• Few universities offer accommodations for
  non-traditional students
• Not considered to be cost effective
• Universities do not encourage students to work in
  the public schools more than they do in any other
  work setting
• Some believed students need to be self-directed
  and make own decision
• Others believed best way to assist students in
  determining preferred work setting is to give
  them practicum experiences
• Concerns voiced
• Need for increased funding for university
  training programs
• Need for additional PHDs to fill instructor
  vacancies in universities

52

• Focus Groups with Directors of Special Education
  (Feb 2004)
• Summary of findings (All 20 Regional ESCs
  represented)
• Districts hire masters level, licensed SLPs
  first
• Problem Insufficient number to fill positions
• Districts hire SLP-As when licensed SLPs are not
  available
• Problems
• Insufficient number to fill positions
• Therapy is delivered by less qualified SLP-As
  because licensed SLPs spend their time in
  supervision
• SLP-As are prohibited from participating in ARD
  meeting although they work with the students

53

• Districts contract for up to 130 per hour and
  cannot fill all vacancies
• Concerned with anticipated retirements in the
  next few year
• Confusion in that some Directors believe that
  licensure rules and regs are imposed by TSHA
  rather than by the State Licensing Committee

54

• Pay in the public schools is insufficient and
  SLPs have figured out they can earn more if they
  contract for services
• Not all Directors were in agreement that there
  are shortages in other areas of special
  education. Some noted shortages in teachers of
  the emotionally disturbed.

55

• Sampling of TSHA Members employed in the public
  schools (March/April 2004)
• Summary of Findings (36 responses)
• Caseload range of 40 to 100 (Average of 58)
• Service Delivery Models
• Traditional direct pull-outs (96)
• Collaborative (primarily for severely disabled)
  (26)
• Classroom based (primarily for severely disabled)
  (57)
• Consultation (primarily for more severely
  involved) (61)
• Direct pull-out only (17)
• Combination of models (83)

56

• Participation in SI Eligibility Template Training
• 56 had participated in some training (primarily
  articulation template)
• 3 had implemented
• Another 3 were in process of implementation
• Changes in scope of practice in last 5-10 years
• More variety and greater severity of disabilities
  (64)
• Increase in paperwork (30)
• Increase in other school responsibilities (9)
• More variety in service delivery models (9)

57

• Assignment of SLP-As
• 75 assigned to schools and SLPs
• 17 to schools only
• 8 to licensed SLPs only
• Number of years experience needed by licensed SLP
  to supervise SLP-As
• Range of 2 to 5 years, average of 3
• Changes in service delivery model of licensed SLP
  supervising SLP-A
• None but with more responsibilities assigned (9)
• Reduced caseload (9)
• More paperwork (4)
• Increased evaluations and ARD meeting with less
  direct therapy (4)

58

• Changes needed
• Less therapy and paperwork required when
  supervising
• Number of SLP-As supervised by licensed SLPs
• Range of 1 to 3
• Hours on weekly basis needed for adequate
  supervision
• Range of 2 to 24 with average of 10
• Number of SLP-As a licensed SLP can adequately
  supervise
• Range of 1 to 2

59

• Skills of SLP-As
• Varies with experience (30)
• Therapy
• Recommend IEP goals
• Write progress reports
• Complete some assessments
• Implement IEPs
• Prepare therapy materials

60

• Recommendations to address shortage in public
  schools
• More respect and recognition of training and
  skills by administrators in schools (42)
• Increased salaries (22)
• Better marketing of profession (16)
• Decreased paperwork (14)
• Manageable caseload (8)

61

• Participation in Texas Special Education
  Coalition (Nov 2003 Feb 2005)
• Formed by TCASE in conjunction with TEDA and TASB
  to focus on
• Cooperative efforts to address legislative
  efforts
• Communication to develop an understanding of the
  responsibilities and boundaries of various
  professional organizations and the
  interrelationships of the scope of practice of
  each
• 14 organizations involved
• Objectives
• Advocate for funding mechanisms to meet all
  required standards
• Promote streamlined, child-centered special
  education standards
• Actively support increased availability of
  qualified personnel
• Educate legislators and establish legislative
  network among participating organizations

62

• Joint Texas Speech-Language-Hearing Assn/Texas
  Council of Administrators in Special Education
  Committee Formed
• Initiated by TSHA (March 2004)
• Includes representatives from public schools,
  State Board of Examiners (Licensure Board), and
  university setting
• Purpose
• Need for ongoing communication
• Need for education of Directors, Administrators,
  SLPs, and SLP-As
• Need for action plans to address quality of
  services to students
• Initial meeting
• Committee with 4 universities (TCU, UofH, TWU,
  UTD)
• Purpose To provide opportunity for
• University programs to explain standards and ASHA
  accreditation guidelines for SLP programs
• TCASE representatives to explain concerns about
  preparation of public school SLPs
• Initial brainstorming of ideas to address
  shortage and determining next steps

63

• Joint Committee Meetings (April 2004, October
  2004, January 2005)
• Purpose
• To develop short, mid, and long-term solutions to
  address the shortage of SLPs and improve the
  quality of services in the public schools
• Targeted actions for 2005
• Develop statewide Eligibility Criteria and
  disseminate through Trainer-of-Trainers (TOT)
  Model
• Develop plan to address need for more flexibility
  with SLP-As attendance at annual ARD meetings
• Share information with members of TCASE and TSHA

64

• Joint Committee Meetings (Oct Dec 2005)
• Purpose To review and refine action plans,
  develop timeline for implementation and assign
  responsibilities
• Joint Committee Meetings (Feb, April Sept 2006)
• Purpose To monitor progress of activities
  related to action plans

65
JOINT COMMITTEE ACTION STEPSJanuary 2006

• Desired Outcome
• Improve access to and quality of SLP services in
  the public schools in Texas
• Action Steps
• ST (1) Continue to develop statewide Texas
  Eligibility Criteria
• TOT model for dissemination
• Toolkit/Training for Directors
• Establish Reg. ESC training sites with assistance
  of TEA
• Submit proposal for discretionary funds to TEA to
  support training of SLPs in the schools
• Provide training for students at university level
• Monitor attendance and implementation in
  districts

66

• Status
• 35,000 allocated by TSHA to date
• Goal Train 1 trainer per each of 20 Regional
  ESCs for each of the Templates
• Articulation, SI Language Only (SI as only
  handicapping condition), Voice, Language with
  Cognitive overlays (includes severely impaired)
• Fluency April 07
• Cultural Linguistic Diversity (CLD) Development
  in progress
• Met with TEA (Dec 2005)
• Indicated support for Eligibility Criteria
• Suggested using Texas Education Television
  Network (TETN) to solicit participation of
  Regional ESCs as training sites
• Suggested submitting proposal for discretionary
  funds
• TETN presentation to Regional ESCs completed (May
  2006)

67

• Meeting scheduled with University Dept Chairs and
  Clinic Supervisors (Jan 2007)
• System in place for monitoring training and
  implementation in districts
• Application for grant funding for maintenance of
  standards under ASHAs 2006 Focused Initiatives
  submitted to ASHA Awarded 2500 (May 2006)
• Proposal for discretionary funding submitted to
  TEA (April 2006)

68

• ST (2) Develop staffing guidelines for SLP
  supervisors and SLP-As
• Considerations
• Campus demographics
• Academic performance of campus
• Number of eligible students
• Severity of students
• Location of district-wide programs
• Workload considerations
• Expertise of SLP Supervisors
• SLP-A experience and competencies
• LRE for eligible students
• Recommended service delivery model depending on
  individual needs of eligible students

69

• Status
• Sample survey of districts completed (Dec 2005)
• Lack of consistency in how SLP-As are used
• Appears to be an awareness of rules regarding
  their use
• Sense of anxiety in districts regarding
  legalities related to their use
• Information collected at Roundtable Sessions at
  TCASE Conference (July 2006)
• Presentation to TASPA Conference (Dec 2006)

70

• ST(3) Develop staffing resource document for
  urban, suburban, rural districts
• Considerations
• Job descriptions for SLPs/SLP-As
• Examples of
• Salary schedules
• Stipend scales
• Years of work credit
• Loan/tuition refund/forgiveness, Grow Your Own
  programs

71

• Develop hiring practices guide for HR Departments
• Full/part-time employment
• Flexible scheduling
• Job sharing
• Licensure/supervisory requirements
• Budgeting process for employees/contracted
  employees
• Allocation of staffing FTEs
• Consider proposing and supporting Loan
  Forgiveness legislation

72

• Status
• Information to be posted on TSHA website (Dec
  2006)
• Presentation to TASPA Conference (Dec 2006)
• Opportunity to post job openings on TSHA website
  provided to HR Depts. and/or Sp. Ed. Directors

73

• ST (4) Develop vehicles for marketing profession
• Recruiting high school students into profession
• Current university students into public schools
• Current educators into profession
• Develop Model
• University offers classes for students in public
  schools
• Districts hire university students as clerks,
  employ as SLP-As, provide CFY, and eventually
  hire as licensed SLPs

74

• Develop materials describing desirability of
  school practice
• Nine-ten month calendar
• Variety of work schedules (full-time, part-time,
  flexible, job sharing, etc.)
• Variety and types of severity of disorders
• Opportunity to work on multidisciplinary team
• Stipends for masters degree, license, bilingual
• Credit for years of non-public school experience
• Assignments based on areas of interest/ expertise
• Ongoing professional development opportunities
  (CEUs)
• Structure/consistency provided for CFYs

75

• Train SLPs to coordinate with high school
  counselors and provide information on profession
  at career nights/presentations at high school
• Develop PSA
• Develop telephone hotline to respond to requests
  for information regarding the profession
• Develop information for posting on university
  websites

76

• Status
• ASHA brochure developed with input of Joint
  Committee
• Future distribution to
• Public School Human Resource Departments
• High School Counselors
• University undergraduate programs
• Others
• Link on TSHA website to provide opportunity for
  downloading brochure from ASHA website

77

• Application for grant funding for maintenance of
  standards under ASHAs 2006 Focused Initiatives
  submitted to ASHA Awarded 1500 (May 2006) for
  development of marketing information
• Information collected via survey and Roundtables
  at TCASE Conference (July 2006)
• Presentation at TASP Conference (Dec 2006)
• Student representatives to TSHA Executive Board
  developing content for posting on university
  websites
• Information to be posted on TSHA website (Dec
  2006)

78

• ST (5) Develop and provide supervisory training
  for licensed SLPs
• TSHA Convention
• Resource Guide Training Modules

79

• Status
• Training provided by University Task Force
  (Clinic Directors) at TSHA Conventions (2005
  2006)

80

• ST (6) Work with TEA to develop involvement and
  participation of 20 Regional ESCs
• Provide training through TETN
• History of Joint Committee and Action Plans
• Eligibility Criteria
• Workload Issues
• Re-thinking Service Delivery Models
• Develop a Lead SLP/SLP Supervisor group in each
  region

81

• Status
• TETN presentations broadcasted to ESCs in May
  2006
• May 2 History of Activities/Summary of Data
  Collected/Action Plans Developed/Status of Action
  Plans
• May 16 Eligibility Templates and Workload
  Issues/Alternative Service Delivery Models
• Broadcasts taped by ESCs/TEA for sharing with
  District Administrators, including Directors

82

• ST (7) Develop plan to increase flexibility in
  use of SLP-As
• Investigate possibility of increasing SLP-A
  attendance at all annual review ARD meetings
• Investigate possibility of varying supervision
  requirements based on years of experience

83

• Status
• Joint Committee proposal to State Board of
  Examiners (Nov 2004)
• Proposal SLP-As be allowed to attend all annual
  ARD meetings
• Board agreed to rule change specifying
• Attendance at Articulation only annual review
  meetings with stipulations
• SLP-A must have at least 3 years of experience
• Licensed SLP Supervisor must approve
  participation of SLP-A in writing
• Draft IEP must be developed by SLP and shared
  with SLP-A and parent(s)
• ARD must be discontinued if questions arise or
  changes are recommended to IEP and SLP-A
  Supervisor must be consulted.

84

• Public School Finance Bill (Spring 2005)
• Bill proposed removing masters degree
  requirement, allowing bachelors degree in public
  schools with no practicum experience, no exam,
  and no supervision required
• TEA would provide CE designed to better prepare
  bachelor level practitioners with evaluation and
  therapy skills
• Compromise - struck language reducing standards
  of care and sought to allow attendance of SLP-As
  at all annual ARDs
• Bill died
• Joint Committee submitted proposal to State Board
  of Examiners (Oct 2005)
• Proposal Attendance of SLP-As at all Annual
  Review meetings
• More appropriate to address in rule rather than
  in law

85

• Board agreed to proposal and maintained
  stipulations (Jan 2006)
• 741.64(i) states that an SLP-A who has three
  years experience as an assistant in the school
  setting may represent special education and
  speech pathology at annual ARD meetings, with
  written approval of the supervising SLP. The SLP
  is not required to attend an annual ARD meeting,
  but must draft new IEP goals and objectives for
  the SLP-A to present to the ARD committee, and
  must inform the students parents that the SLP-A
  will represent speech pathology at the ARD. The
  licensed, board approved SLP supervisor of the
  SLP-A maintains undiminished responsibility for
  the services provided and the actions of the
  SLP-A.

86

• Additional stipulations include
• The SLP-A shall discontinue participation in the
  ARD meeting, and contact the supervising SLP when
  questions or changes arise regarding the IEP
  document
• Prior to the annual ARD meeting
• The licensed, board approved SLP shall notify the
  parents of students with speech impairments that
  services will be provided by a SLP-A and
• Shall review draft IEP goals with the SLP-A prior
  to the ARD meeting
• Rule change took effect March 2006

87

• Board requested annual report to be submitted by
  districts in Jan 2007 regarding status of rule
  change
• Format for reporting has been developed by Joint
  Committee and distributed to all Directors of
  Special Education by TCASE
• Data will be collected and compiled in December
  06
• Board will monitor complaints related to rule
  change

88

• ST(8) Communicate activities of Joint Committee
  to TSHA/TCASE membership
• TSHA Convention/TCASE Conferences
• TSHA/TCASE Newsletters, Websites, Audio Postcards
• Invite articles from various authors regarding
  best practices, quality services for students,
  response to intervention, etc.

89

• Status
• Presentations
• TCASE Midwinter Conference (2005 2006) Summer
  Conference (2006)
• TSHA Convention (2005 2006)
• 2006 presentations posted on TCASE/TSHA websites
• Published articles
• Communicologist (Dec 2005) Addressing Vacancies
  of SLPs in the Public Schools
• Communicologist (Feb 2006) Plano ISD
  Promising Practice
• ASHA Leader (Feb 2006) Clinicians Use Workload
  in Texas Schools
• Communicologist (April 2006) Licensure Rules
  Update
• Articles posted on TCASE website

90

• MT(1) Develop Practicum Model for senior level
  undergraduate students
• Components for consideration include
• Targeting universities/districts
• Providing 25 hours supervised clinical practicum
  for senior level students desiring to work in the
  schools
• Paying students and/or paying travel expenses
• Providing supervisory training for SLPs
• Developing grants to pay stipends to SLP
  supervisors
• Work with universities and districts to encourage
  participation and pilot model

91

• Status
• Models researched
• Texas Tech University/Slaton ISD
• Univ. of Houston/Pasadena ISD (proposed)
• Meeting scheduled by Joint Committee with
  University Dept. Chairs and Clinic Directors (Jan
  2007)

92

• MT(2) Provide additional training for SLP-As
• Investigate vehicles available through TEA and
  districts on Regional ESC level
• Solicit assistance of TSHA University Task Force
• TSHA Convention and Mini-Seminar concept

93

• Status
• Assistance of University Task Force solicited
• Irving ISD Model SLP-A Training Program
• Summer program
• New SLP-As are assigned to cases whose parents
  agree to bring them to therapy (Not students who
  qualify for EYS)
• SLP-As have the opportunity to acquire licensure
  requirement of 25 supervised hours
• SLP-A is assigned to an SLP
• SLP and SLP-A are assigned to two campuses and
  they split the caseload
• 3 year program progressing from easy cases in
  year 1 to more difficult in year 3

94

• MT(3) Work with universities to encourage/require
  students to complete practicum in schools

95

• Status
• TSHA selected to receive support under the ASHA
  2005 Focused Initiative on Personnel Issues
  (March 2005)
• Attended meetings at ASHA (Nov 2005 2006)
• Recommendation to ASHA
• Work with universities regarding
• How best to address the need for more SLPs in
  training programs
• Particular needs of the public schools
• On agenda for Joint Committee meeting with
  Universities (Jan 2007)

96

• MT(4) Develop resource documents and provide
  training regarding Best Practices for
  Directors, Principals, SLPs, SLP-As and regular
  education teachers
• Factors to consider re evidence based decisions
• LRE Return to general education program
• Service Delivery models
• Workload issues
• Quality referrals
• Time limited services
• Response to Intervention

97

• Status
• Information being collected
• Representative of Joint Committee invited to
  attend RTI Summit hosted by TEA (Jan 2006)
• Presentation on RtI to TEPSA (Nov 2006)

98

• MT(5) Develop and share Promising Practices to
  highlight SLP programs
• Work with TEA to determine programs in existence
  and availability of grant funding to develop new
  programs, e.g. alternative service delivery
  models in pre-school
• Make information available through TSHA
  Communicologist/TCASE website

99

• Status
• Examples of programs identified
• Plano ISD Eligibility Criteria
• Pasadena ISD RtI Models
• Crosby ISD Workload Analysis Clustering Model
• McKinney ISD Pre-School Articulation and
  Language Services (PALS Program)

100

• MT(6) Provide presentations at TASA, TASB, TCASE,
  TEPSA regarding
• Activities of Committee including
• Eligibility criteria
• Workload issues
• Service delivery alternatives
• Responsiveness to intervention
• Impact on funding of reduced caseload and
  resulting reduction of need for contracted
  services

101

• Status
• Associations contacted
• Calls for Papers being completed or submitted
• Grant funding of 1000 received for conference
  registrations from ASHA for maintenance of
  standards funded under ASHAs 2006 Focused
  Initiative

102

• MT(7) Address the need for additional bilingual
  SLPs
• Work with TEA to determine available funding for
  training purposes
• Work with universities
• Focus on recruiting bilingual teachers into the
  SLP profession
• Develop resource materials and training for
  monolingual SLPs working with bilingual students

103

• Status
• Linguistically Diverse Populations
  Considerations and Resources for Assessment and
  Intervention- Resource Document completed and
  posted on TSHA website by Task Force on CLD
  Issues
• Training provided at TSHA Convention (April 2006)
• Training available to Region ESCs and school
  districts
• Joint Committee Meeting scheduled with University
  representatives (Jan 2007)

104

• LT(1) Provide information to school districts
  regarding Grow Your Own Programs
• Districts hire SLP-A, provide financial
  assistance for masters degree

105

• Status
• Examples and suggested guidelines to be posted on
  TSHA website (Dec 2006)

106

• LT(2) Develop University Collaborative to
  establish Distance Learning Program based on
  Texas Womens University (TWU) Model but with
  increased university involvement
• Model
• Universities provide instructors
• One university serves as accrediting