Where is the SLP?

How to Avoid 6 Costly

Compliance Mistakes Related to
Staffing
A

Courtesy The Hello Foundation, LLC

www.thehellofoundation.com
White Paper 301
May 2014

SUMMARY

Administrators are expected to know and implement a thousand logistics related to
running a school district the first of which being the securement of highly qualified staff to
serve students. After all, serving children is a school districts most fundamental objective.

But what happens when good administrators make strong efforts to secure great people,
and positions still remain vacant? In particular, within special education, what happens when
administrators are left asking, Where is the SLP?

School district administrators may confront the beginning of the school year with SLP
vacancies for a number of reasons, including:
A shortage of qualified personnel
A difficult geographic area for which to lure candidates
Unsuccessful recruitment efforts
Short-term or temporary vacancies due to illnesses, personal leaves or mid-year retirements

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WHERE IS THE SLP? HOW TO AVOID 6 COSTLY COMPLIANCE MISTAKES RELATED TO STAFFING

What happens when there is no SLP in place? First and foremost, we are abandoning
already established needs of children. SLP staffing is about supporting families
within our communities, and serving children of all abilities. But in addition to this
clear consequence to children, any interruption of IEP services also constitutes a
risk of violating special education compliance regulations.

Of course, staffing isnt about checking a compliance box - but an interruption
in speech service can result in costly consequences for districts. This paper
outlines 6 common compliance mistakes that districts face, the financial consequences
of failing to meet regulations, as well as a framework for addressing this
compliance risk before it becomes a problem, and administrators are left asking
Where is the SLP?

THE VIEW FROM ABOVE

School administrators and SLPs can both agree: no one wants to experience an
interruption in service. Not only is it detrimental to students and their families,
it can also have severe financial implications for districts. Therefore, as much as
possible, IEPs should be executed as-written.

However, with high demands and tight program budgets, school district administrators
are often forced to balance risky decisions (i.e., extending recruitment or
hoping for someones quick recovery) at the risk of foregoing service continuity.

Sometimes, as with the diagnosis of a serious illness, an interruption in service
simply cant be anticipated. But for other kinds of short-term leaves, preventing
such an interruption is possible by securing private help for vacant positions, or
planning for family leaves in advance. In these cases, and considering the potential
fiscal repercussions involved any preventative expense incurred to avoid an
interruption in service will save a school district far more in the future.

WHEN TO WORRY
If a suspension in service is limited to one or two days, school district programs
are not at risk of being found out of compliance. However, with a service interruption
of as little as two weeks, parents are within their legal rights to request an
IEP review to discuss how service and compensatory services will be addressed
for their child.

Unfortunately, the vast majority of school districts do not have a substitute pool of
speech pathologists to draw from in the case of temporary vacancies (as general
and special education teachers often do). Nevertheless, a shortage of substitutes

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WHERE IS THE SLP? HOW TO AVOID 6 COSTLY COMPLIANCE MISTAKES RELATED TO STAFFING

or other recruitment challenges does not exempt school districts from providing
service or adhering to school calendar timelines.

Additionally while these compliance issues primarily denote a consecutive
absence, any pattern of intermittent but consistent vacancies could also be
deemed an interruption in service. Such a pattern could result in the same
students missing multiple scheduled speech therapy sessions over a period of
months, and parents could contend that their child had been denied mandated
service thereby putting the district out of compliance.
Administrators do have options, the most straightforward of which include shortand
long-term agreements with private resources. While these partnerships
require a larger investment, they greatly outweigh the far-reaching and expensive
ramifications that stem from delayed or interrupted service. Most importantly,
by taking proactive measures to avoid these vacancies, districts can ensure their
students have the social and academic resources they need to be successful.

HOW YOU COMPARE AND HOW TO IMPROVE

In her 2011 Inclusion Works! Seminar for school administrators, Dawn White
(ESC20) outlined school districts most common mistakes related to not appropriately
implementing a students IEP. Of the eight reviewed, five are related to
technical portions of the IEP, only three are related to service.

Technical mistakes related to implementing an IEP:

Modifications
Schedule of service
Behavior Intervention Plans
Content mastery
Instructional settings

Service mistakes related to implementing an IEP:

Related Services
Speech therapy services
ESY services
For this reason, school administrators are advised to give special scrutiny to their
arrangements for speech-language services. In many cases, students receive these
services in both early intervention and within the K-12 school settings making any
delay or interruption present an even greater risk.

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WHERE IS THE SLP? HOW TO AVOID 6 COSTLY COMPLIANCE MISTAKES RELATED TO STAFFING

CONSEQUENCES TO INTERRUPTING SLP SERVICE

Lawyer Peter W. D. Wright, who specializes in special education law and advocacy,
summarizes the legal compensation expectations of missed service on an IEP with:
If the school agrees that the service has not been delivered, then the
only question is how to make up for the lost service effectively.
In other words why the service may have been interrupted is irrelevant.
Wright asserts that if any interruption in service occurs, scheduled therapy
sessions must still be individually accounted for. If one hour is missed, one hour
needs to be provided.
This means that upon any disruption in speech therapy services, there is legal
precedent for parents to request any of the following six compensatory remedies,
at the expense of the district:

1. Doubling weekly service

Sally is scheduled for speech therapy twice a week in her elementary school,
but the SLP is not hired until a month into the school year. By virtue of the legalities
outlined by Wright, Sally and the entire caseload of students are now owed
additional speech sessions. As a compensatory measure, Sallys parents request
that her scheduled therapy sessions be doubled to four per week, until the debt
is repaid.

Trying to double up on weekly service for an entire caseload of students would
be logistically impossible for any SLP, requiring additional hours (and subsequent
expense) or the need to bring in short-term private help which is not only expensive
but hard to secure.

2. Service during vacation periods

Douglas is scheduled for speech therapy once a week. The SLP retires at the
end of January, and a substitute SLP begins in mid-March resulting in a six
week-interruption in speech service. Douglas is now owed 6 weeks of sessions,
and his parents request service to continue past the last day of school into
summer vacation.

If the district is able to retain their employee over the summer (in accordance with

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WHERE IS THE SLP? HOW TO AVOID 6 COSTLY COMPLIANCE MISTAKES RELATED TO STAFFING

union agreements, etc.) the cost may be higher. If such continuity is not possible,
the district will be obligated to seek out a short-term SLP contract, which comes
with significant cost implications and caseload concerns.

3. Reimbursement for outside private services

Madi has an IEP that mandates she receive social skills instruction once a week.
Due to a delay in services at the beginning of the school year, Madi does not begin
social skills group until November.
Because Madis parents do not want services to be extended into vacation periods
and the SLP cannot offer an additional social skills group during the school
week, they seek out outside private services and request that the district
compensate them for this expense.

4. Banking of lost services to use later

Kaylees IEP stipulates she receives articulation and language skill therapy each
week. However, her SLP gives notice a month into the school year and leaves
October 15th. A replacement SLP is secured, but cannot begin until January (after
Kaylees scheduled re-evaluation).

Following 2.5 months without service, Kaylees parents request that the district
commit to ongoing additional service time regardless as to the outcome of her
upcoming re-evaluation. Adherence to this request could open Pandoras Box of
future issues about continuing to work with someone who potentially no longer
qualifies for service.

5. Extending services after the maximum age of eligibility

Zach is a 21 year old student in a transition program that prepares him for work
in the community and group home living. His IEP outlines 60 minutes a month of
speech and language service to support his efforts with this transition. Due to
an illness, the SLP serving this group was out on medical leave from December
until April.

Zachs parents requested that he continue to receive services in speech and
language following his aging-out of the public school special education program.
This cost for this request requires a redistribution of resources by the district, and the SLP will
likely struggle to serve this student without the support of the transition
services he had been receiving.

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WHERE IS THE SLP? HOW TO AVOID 6 COSTLY COMPLIANCE MISTAKES RELATED TO STAFFING

6. Requests for awarded financial damages (in addition to service)

Historically, compensatory services have addressed making up the time for any

interruption in services. However, legal sources report that some have started to
seek financial damages in addition to this compensatory service (Mr. Wright notes,
the law is just developing in this area).
The request for damages may be a reflection of missed learning opportunities
due to the absence of speech and language services. Families may also be seeking
financial damages as a means to inform administrations that interruptions in
speech and language service will not be tolerated.

AVOID INTERRUPTING SPEECH SERVICES

Considering the potential costs of noncompliance, forward thinking administrators
must always weigh the cost of an immediate investment against long-term
potential expense. When filling a vacancy, short-sighted financial thinking leads to
traditional recruiting efforts as a means of keeping expenses down. This approach:
Fails to mitigate against the risk of additional costs in the case that a candidate cannot be
secured
Lays the groundwork for potential internal employee discontent and conflict as workloads are
shifted/increased to address short-term and/or long-term vacancies
Strengthens the threat of increased financial costs when the gamble of recruiting fails

SOLUTIONS FOR MITIGATING COMPLIANCE RISK

At the Hello Foundation, weve been helping school districts across the country
address compliance concerns and avoid costly errors for more than 10 years. One
approach that we have seen strong results with (and that many administrators are
not yet even aware of) involves sourcing outside of the district, private help as a
flexible solution for SLP staffing challenges whether they are needed all year or
for just a month or two.
But there are many concerns to consider associated with navigating the complex
landscape of private providers, namely:
When utilizing private agencies, it is difficult to guarantee that you will receive highlyqualified specialists, and that students will receive the singular attention they deserve.

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WHERE IS THE SLP? HOW TO AVOID 6 COSTLY COMPLIANCE MISTAKES RELATED TO STAFFING

Some staffing companies claim to have personnel available to be of assistance throughout the
year. However, it is not uncommon for them to make this claim, secure a districts interest and
commitment, and only then start rapidly searching for a potential recruit to fill the position.
Many agencies do not permit administrators to interview potential candidates in advance of
their placement meaning that districts are stuck with their assigned SLP, and often do
not even have the opportunity to meet him/her until the first day of school.
Should the school district want to hire the candidate following the placement, a significant
buy-out fee is usually required.
Below, Ive outlined a 6-step framework for ensuring that school district administrators
select the right SLP partner to meet their unique staffing needs, with the
most program (and financial) flexibility possible.
1. Seek to work with companies that share your values of putting students first. These are
the companies that value and nurture experienced and highly qualified staff ready to
address your challenges.
2. Work with a company that offers short-term help. Securing short-term help (whether 2
weeks or 2 quarters) is the #1 way to eliminate risk of families demanding compensatory
service.
3. Ensure your private specialist plans to be on-site in your building periodically during the
month. In a school setting, specialists must develop relationships within a building to have
an understanding of a childs classroom, curriculum and instructional demands. This is
effectively done when the SLP is in the building intermittently.
4. Work with a company that has a strong internal network of support for specialists. Ask
direct questions: if the specialist needs additional support or alternative materials, who do
they turn to? A good company will provide more than an annual review to staff.
5. Identify a company that can move swiftly to implement change in your setting. If a
specialist is not the right fit for your program, you want to work with a company that can
immediately offer you alternative solutions.
6. Ask how a company puts kids first. The investment being made in quality service is not
just about ensuring compliance. The right partner will explain how its about kids and
give you examples of business practices theyve implemented not in their own financial
interests, but for the benefit of students.

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WHERE IS THE SLP? HOW TO AVOID 6 COSTLY COMPLIANCE MISTAKES RELATED TO STAFFING

CONCLUSION

The financial cost of securing short-term help or a year-long specialist is a significant
consideration for administrators, especially with tight budgets. However, this
expense is minimal in comparison to the immediate and long-term risks of not
complying with necessary service for students.

But the true cost comes at the expense of students within special education, who
have invested every part of themselves to be successful in the general education
curriculum. Speech and language services as outlined on an IEP are designed
to give these dedicated students a more level playing field, and the opportunity
for success. Any interruption in service sends a message to students that direct
service is a lowest cost possible consideration only. Not only does such thinking
warrant the penalties of non-compliance, it is truly demonstrating that students
are not a programs first priority.

School district administrators generally agree there is a point in which you must
consider outside private assistance, and this paper serves as a framework for how
to navigate that consideration. Taking a proactive approach to these needs is the
foundation for a successful district experience or more importantly, a successful
student experience.

RESOURCES:
1. Junge, Melissa; Krvaric, Sheara; Federal Compliance Works Against
Education Policy Goals American Enterprise Institute,
Web http://www.aei.org/; 28 July, 2011
2. The Arc (Texas), http://www.thearcoftexas.org/; 5 April, 2014
3. White, Dawn; Inclusion Works! Conference, Texas, 6, February, 2011
4. Wright, Pete; Resources http://www.wrightslaw.com/; 5 April, 2014

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ABOUT THE HELLO FOUNDATION

The Hello Foundation is a forward thinking company that invests heavily in their
internal network of specialists. Hello believes by making business decisions and
practices that are in the best interest of students and school districts they are
poised as the only ideal staffing company. Any company can supply a body. Hello
stops to ask what your students need.

Copyright 2014
Published by The Hello Foundation
PO Box 623
Gladstone, OR 97027
All rights reserved. Except as permitted under U.S. Copyright Act of
1976, no part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed, or
transmitted in any form or by any means, or stored in a database or
retrieval system, without the prior written permission of the publisher.
Visit our website at www.TheHelloFoundation.com

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