BY HALEY VELASCO
The cost
Looking ahead
Number of SLPs, contractors hired at CCISD SLP sta SLP contractors
Total SLPs
Ashley said she hopes the state will implement lower caseload caps and better pay structures in the future to help address retention and recruitment for SLPs in schools. Colletti and TSHA’s Advocacy Communications Chair Nathalie Lebrun both said no items for SLPs passed in the 89th Texas Legislature. An interstate licensure compact bill, which would have allowed SLPs licensed in other states to practice in Texas more easily, was considered during the legislative session. It failed to pass despite 35 states already participating in similar agreements nationwide. “Sometimes it’s one step forward and two steps back,” Colletti said. “We understand that sometimes it’s not just ‘did the bill we favored pass or not.’ ... It takes several legislative sessions before you can be successful.” Lebrun said the TSHA will continue to advocate for SLPs when the state is not in a legislative session and educate community members about the importance of SLPs. “We’re not just helping kids today; we’re aecting the future of the workforce and the future of our neighbors and voting members in our society,” Lebrun said. “If we don’t have the right combination of salary, retention tools and support, our kids face longer wait times for assessment, less individualized services and, ultimately, a diminished ability to communicate eectively in life.”
Over time, CCISD has leaned on contracted SLP positions, hiring over 23 contracted SLPs and SLP assistants to address the growing number of students with a speech impairment for the 2024-25 school year, Ashley said. That almost doubled the amount the district contracted the year before. Ashley said SLPs are responsible for telether- apy, virtual supervision of SLP assistants, direct therapy and evaluations. While the contracted positions have lled vacancies and helped ensure evaluations and services for students are completed on time, Ash- ley said hiring contractors is a “costly option,” resulting in an expense of nearly $2.5 million for scal year 2024-25, which is about $1.4 million more than what the district spent on SLPs the year prior. Ashley said contracted rates for SLPs increased by an average of $12 per hour from 2023-24, with the highest cost being about $95 per hour.
72.5
12 66
23
61
60
58
57
7
11
9
6
2019 49
2020 49
2021 51
2022 54
2023 54
2024 49.5
CCISD’s total cost to hire SLPs, SLPAs $2.5M $2M $1.5M $1M $500k $0 +222.04%
SOURCE: CLEAR CREEK ISD COMMUNITY IMPACT
Median monthly caseload size for SLPs in schools
Zooming out
Texas
U.S.
80
Median caseoad
In 2021, 36% of health-based SLP providers reported more job openings than applicants—a gure that rose to 57% by 2023, according to the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association. In schools, over 78% of SLPs reported the same in 2024. A 2022 survey from the organization found 58% of school-based SLPs listed high workloads as their top challenge. Moreover, by 2024, Texas SLPs reported a median caseload of 65 students, although since 2022, survey results show 40 is the median caseload.
60
40
20
0
SOURCE: AMERICAN SPEECH LANGUAGE HEARING ASSOCIATION COMMUNITY IMPACT
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