Speech-language pathologists ask board for pay, certification recognition to address staffing shortage

A group of Jordan School District speech-language pathologists and speech-language technicians addressed the board March 25 to outline a districtwide staffing shortage and to request pay and policy changes intended to recruit and retain clinicians.

Shelly Ryken (recorded in the transcript as Shelly Ryken), a speech-language pathologist, told the board that speech-language impairment is the most common special-education classification in the district and that SLPs face very high caseloads. She said Jordan SLP pay is among the lowest in the state for comparable positions and noted clinicians have left for higher pay in other districts, private practice or medical settings.

Speakers asked the board to consider three specific changes: (1) raise pay to be comparable with occupational and physical therapists and/or reclassify SLP pay steps accordingly; (2) provide supplemental pay or recognition for the ASHA Certificate of Clinical Competence (CCC) similar to teachers' national-board stipends; and (3) permit SLPs access to district discretionary funds (formerly TSSP, now Shine funds) used to support recruitment and retention. Jordan Blazevich and others described caseloads that in some cases exceed 100 students across multiple schools.

Board members heard a request to treat SLPs “completely as a teacher or a therapist” and to investigate short-term and structural steps to reduce caseloads and improve retention. Staff and board members asked for updated data; SLPs offered to share an updated slide deck with current caseload and vacancy numbers.

No formal board action was taken at the meeting; board members asked staff to receive the updated materials and to study compensation and staffing options.