How to Recruit, Support, and Retain Speech-Language Pathologists in Public Schools

Abstract

Over the past two decades, there has been a persistent shortage of qualified speech-language pathologists (SLPs) across the United States. This shortage is predicted to continue, as data reported by the American Speech Language Hearing Association (ASHA) from the US Bureau of Labor Statistics indicates that there will be a 27% increase in job openings through the year 2028. In some states, the shortage has led to service provision from individuals without a background in speech-language pathology and/or without speech-language pathology certification and licensure. Speech and language services that are delivered by unqualified personnel may lead to inadequate time devoted to therapy—either too much, or too little—which is ultimately unethical, illegal, and expensive. However, there is a real issue at hand for school leadership—and that is: How to recruit, support, and retain highly qualified SLPs? In the current tutorial, we will provide evidence-based action steps for how and why to recruit, support, and retain certified and licensed SLPs. Specifically, we discuss the qualifications of the SLP, roles and responsibilities of school-based SLPs, caseload versus workload considerations, various service delivery models, and a review of SLP job satisfaction research. Throughout the tutorial, we will provide concrete and evidence-based ideas for school leadership to consider when recruiting, supporting, and retaining SLPs.

Change in School-Based Speech-Language Pathologists' Job Satisfaction During COVID-19 School Closures: Applying the Conservation of Resources Theory

“…Resources range in their type and value depending on the person but could include objects, space, time, and conditions (Halbesleben et al, 2014). For schoolbased SLPs, these resources could include assessment and treatment materials, a private space to conduct therapy and meetings, time to write evaluation reports and individualized education plans (IEPs), supportive classroom teachers who are willing to collaborate and who make scheduling easy, or administration who financially supports professional development (Farquharson et al, 2020). When there is a possibility of losing resources, individuals become strategic with how they invest additional resources.…”

“…This statistic is not newreports of excessive caseload size were reported over 60 years ago (Sheehan et al, 1960). Yet, caseload size continues to be an issue for SLPs, requiring them to spend additional time advocating for better and more administrative support (Farquharson et al, 2020). Caseload purely refers to the number of children on an SLP's "roster," and it is the most commonly used approach to quantifying the number of students one clinician serves (ASHA, 2020b).…”

“…The need to study job satisfaction during a global pandemic extends beyond understanding a particular school's response to a crisis. Job satisfaction has implications for retaining SLPs (Farquharson et al, 2020), for how SLPs perceive the manageability of their caseloads (Katz et al, 2010), and to the overall quality of the therapy they provide to children with disabilities (Biancone et al, 2014). The purpose of this study was to explore how the COVID-19 pandemic impacted job satisfaction for school-based SLPs.…”

Tackling Burnout in the School Setting: Practical Tips for School-Based Speech-Language Pathologists

“…As previously mentioned, some of these suggestions may take time to implement, or even perfect, for situationspecific circumstances. We also acknowledge the crucial role of district administration in an SLP's ability to implement many of these ideas (Farquharson et al, 2020).…”

“…To do this, it is important to document the specific issues and to provide as much data as possible to support the SLPs' suggestions for change or financial support. For instance, Farquharson et al (2020) compiled a list of evidence-based action steps geared toward school leadership. In this article, the authors review the ways in which administrators can recruit, support, and retain SLPs.…”