Lauren Arner, Associate Director School Services in SLP at ASHA
Working in schools can be a unique, rewarding career for a speech-language pathologist (SLP). In schools, SLPs provide services to students ages 3–21.
- SLPs work in public, charter, and private schools.
- SLPs can work
- directly for a school district,
- as an employee for a company, or
- as an independent contractor.
- SLPs provide speech and language services to students—in both special education and general education.
- For more details, see Information for School-Based SLPs on the ASHA website.
See ASHA’s State by State pages for information on your state licensure laws, teaching certifications, state policies, and regulations.
Salary Information
Salaries in schools vary widely. ASHA’s Schools Survey provides salary data for public-school SLPs in each state. See these resources for more information:
SLPs may earn a higher salary by working in after-school or summer programs—called extended school year (ESY).
- Some districts offer salary supplements and may pay for professional development, licensure, or certification.
- Schools also provide retirement plans, health benefits, and academic-year schedules (e.g., 9–10 months)
See these ASHA resources related to SLPs in schools:
Roles and Responsibilities
Eligibility for Services in Schools
Schools follow a structured eligibility process that refers children to speech-language services, which includes special education evaluations.
- Many schools use a multi-tiered system of support (MTSS) to provide students with increasingly intense levels of support to meet their academic and non-academic (behavioral, social, and emotional) needs.
- Schools refer students for speech and language evaluations through MTSS or upon request.
Determining eligibility for special education services is a multistage process with a goal of answering three questions:
- Is there a disability?
- If so, is there an adverse effect on educational performance resulting from the disability?
- If so, does the student need special instruction or related services and support to make progress in curriculum?
Criteria for eligibility and dismissal of services are based on federal, state, or local guidelines. Find your state guidelines and state education agency contacts by visiting ASHA’s State by State pages.
Service Delivery
SLPs provide Service delivery in schools to students using a variety of service delivery models and scheduling.
SLPs partner with many people to support students:
- teachers
- administrators
- speech-language pathology assistants (SLPAs)
- psychologists
- occupational therapists
- physical therapists
- support staff
- families
- Caregivers
Depending on the student’s needs, these individuals may serve on what is known as the IEP team.
Caseload and Workload
- Caseload is the number of children you serve in a school.
- Workload is the time you spend directly and indirectly supporting students.
- Indirect support could include documentation and eligibility (see next section).
- The ASHA Workload Calculator is a tool that helps SLPs visualize—and advocate for—manageable workloads.
Documentation
- IDEA requires that all students who receive special education have an individualized education program (IEP). By law, the IEP must be updated every year to determine progress and revisit goals.
- The IEP is the blueprint for each child’s services. It includes a statement of the child’s present performance, measurable annual goals, and how these goals relate to the state grade-level standards.
- The IEP team reviews special education evaluations every 3 years or when the student needs further assessment.
By law, schools must provide progress reports to students in special education as often as they do for students in general education. SLPs complete IEP progress reports at each grading period—about every 9 weeks, or 4 times per year. For more information, see Documentation in Schools.
Speech-Language Pathology Assistants
Speech-language pathology assistants (SLPAs) typically work in schools under an SLP. Their scope of practice differs from that of an SLP. The SLPA’s main role is to support the SLP. ASHA recommends that SLPs supervise no more than three SLPAs at a time. For more information, see the ASHA Supervision Hub.
More Resources