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Board renews contracts for therapy and placement as district reports difficulty hiring SLPs and PTs
Summary
Trustees approved renewals and new contracts for speech, physical therapy and a single non‑public residential placement. District special‑education leaders said staffing shortages and rising demand mean the district will continue to use outside providers while recruiting more in‑district clinicians.
The board approved several special‑education service contracts on June 12 as Washington Unified leaders described continued difficulty filling in‑district speech‑language pathologist (SLP) and therapy positions.
Director of Special Services Carla Salva told trustees that while the district has been recruiting and has added several staff this year, demand continues to rise. "To fill all of our required speech, I would need 16 full‑time SLPs; right now we have six district employees," Salva said. Because of that gap, the district renewed a contract with Connected Speech Therapy, Inc. for districtwide speech services (noted up to $930,720) and approved renewal or new contracts for other related services.
The board also approved a contract for a non‑public residential placement at Hannah Academy for one student whose needs exceed the district’s local placements, and renewed a contract with Jabber Gym LLC for physical therapy services (approximately $87,660). Salva explained district efforts to vet agencies, request in‑person clinicians and interview candidates before placements to protect student continuity and quality of care.
Trustees asked for clearer reporting on where contracted providers are placed by site and how many positions the district has converted to district employees; staff had prepared a table and indicated they would provide it to trustees to clarify which school sites are served by in‑district staff versus contracted providers.
The board approved the contracts by motion. Staff said they will continue targeted recruitment and planned to reduce contracted reliance as district hires increase, but noted special‑education caseloads have also grown, sustaining demand for outside providers in the near term.
Next steps: staff to provide trustees with a site‑by‑site table of contracted versus district clinicians and to update the board on hiring progress at a future meeting.
