Workload Status of School-Based Speech-Language Pathologists in Texas

Abstract

In 1993, the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association (ASHA) recommended caseloads of 40 for speech-language pathologists (SLPs) practicing in the public schools, a recommendation that was not feasible for most school districts. In addition, new laws and policies substantially increased the paperwork, responsibilities, and time expenditures required of the school-based SLP. ASHA subsequently instigated extensive reviews of the problem and, in 2002, suggested that schools instead use a “workload analysis approach,” considering all of the required activities from prereferral to dismissal, in order to determine the number of children an SLP could appropriately serve. In our study, we attempted to catalog the status of Texas' efforts in using workload considerations. More than 400 school-based respondents indicated the percentages of time they spent fulfilling each professional responsibility at their school. Responses suggest that variation in caseload numbers corresponds to clinician role (SLP vs. supervising SLP vs. SLP Assistant). Most clinicians indicated that they were fairly satisfied with their job; however, many were employed 5 or fewer years in the schools and the average workweek was 48–49 hours. Although it appears that Texas is using workload considerations to some extent, efforts should continue to optimize the quality of treatment for Texas schoolchildren and retention of SLPs in the schools.