MSHA Caseload Characteristics Survey

Dear Mississippi SLPs,

In an effort to assess the current caseloads of school-based SLPs in Mississippi, we ask that you complete this follow up Caseload Characteristics’ survey. Please also share this survey link with your colleagues for them to complete. We believe this information will be an asset to guide school adminstrators, teachers, and SLPs, particularly in light of the new 216 Bachelor’s level Speech Teacher license from Mississippi Department of Education that goes into effect in 2013.  

The following survey consists of 10 multiple choice questions and will take approximately 3-5 minutes to complete.  We hope that you will look for the results of the ‘Caseload Characteristics’ survey at ASHA in Atlanta in November 2012.  

CLICK HERE to go to the Caseload Characteristics Survey

Please contact either Ashley Bourque Meaux (ashleymeaux@gmail.com) or Rachel Powell (rpowellslp@gmail.com) if you have any questions or desire the results of the survey.

We thank you for your time and participation,

Ashley and Rachel

Use of evidence based practices survey

You are invited to participate in an online survey about Evidence-Based Practices (EBP) in school speech-language pathology.

This study is being conducted by LaVae Hoffman, Ph.D., CCC-SLP, assistant professor of speech-language pathology at the University of Virginia, and is sponsored by the State Education Associates Communication Disorders Council (SEACDC) with funding from the Virginia Department of Education (VDOE), Office of Special Education.

Your input would help to identify and define training and technical support needs in your state and across the nation.

You are not required to participate in this study, however, if you do complete the survey, your responses would be grouped with others for reporting purposes, and no individually identifiable information would be distributed.

We know that as a public school-based SLP your time is very valuable.  Therefore, the survey is short and will be available from January 9 until February 10, 2012.  You can complete the survey any time that you would like from any computer that has internet access by going to:

https://www.surveymonkey.com/s/WD2YBPH

If you have questions or concerns about this study, please contact LaVae Hoffman, Ph.D. at lmh3f@virginia.edu.

ASHA Schools Program and Leadership Conference

Representing MSHA as the VP: School Issues, I attended the ASHA Leadership Development Program in conjunction with the ASHA Schools Conference at the Gaylord National Convention Center in Maryland July 7-10. I was selected for participation in this program by a panel from ASHA based on an application I submitted earlier this year. The Leadership Program had 32 participants, consisting of SLPs in schools from across the country, each of whom selected an individual leadership project to implement. The leadership project which I submitted was to develop a handbook for school-based SLPs to use in our state, including sections on evaluation and eligibility determination, IEP development, potential goals and objectives aligning with general education and the common core curriculum, and forms for SLPs to use. The leadership program will consist of monthly team meetings and webinars throughout the next school year that will serve to further develop the participants’ leadership qualities and help them in completing their leadership projects.

Following the Leadership Development Program, I attended the ASHA Schools Conference. Topics for sessions included SLPs and Assistants: Partners in Practice (information can be found on ASHA’s website under SLPA Guidelines), SLPs and Response to Intervention (RTI) in Schools (www.childlanguageresearch.com), Legal Hot Spots in Special Education, Developing a Roadmap for Cultural Intelligence, Evaluation of Nonspeech Oral Motor Exercises (NSOME) for Speech Sound Disorders, Mobile “Apps” for Therapy, and Legal and Ethical Issues in Clinical Supervision. In addition, Poster sessions were held that featured researchers in action.

I am excited about the upcoming school year, and as always I am looking for new members for the schools committee. If you would like to participate in the schools committee and help with projects such as the SLP Handbook, please email me at rpowellslp@gmail.com. Enjoy the rest of the summer!

Respectfully submitted,

Rachel Powell

VP: School Issues

Schools Update

Thanks to everyone who attended the annual MSHA Conference. It was so good to see and hear from many of you, and I look forward to continuing to serve you over the next 2 years.

If you attended the MDE Update presentation at Conference, or if you were unable to come but are interested in the information, CLICK HERE for the handout.

If anyone is interested in my other session I presented, The Roles of SLPs in RTI, CLICK HERE for the handout.

I will be contacting those that signed up for my Schools Committee as soon as I get their names from the Committees Chair. In the meantime, if you are interested in participating on the Schools Committee and did not have a chance to sign up at Conference, or if you have any questions, feel free to contact me at rpowellslp@gmail.com. I look forward to hearing from you!

Rachel Powell, Vice President: School Issues

MDE Update at 2011 MSHA Conference – Jackson

The Mississippi Department of Education (MDE) will be represented at the 2011 MSHA Annual Continuing Education Conference March 31^st at a presentation with Rachel Powell, MSHA Vice President: School Issues. The MDE wishes to address questions related to language/speech and special education provisions in schools, and MDE is requesting questions from MSHA members. Please take time and submit any questions related to school based SLP issues to Rachel Powell at rpowellslp@gmail.com prior to January 27^th. Thank you for your participation, and we look forward to seeing you at conference!

Rachel Powell, PhD, CCC-SLP

Vice President: School Issues

MDE approves 216 Speech/Language Teacher License

On October 22, 2010, the Mississippi Department of Education (MDE) Board approved the new 216 Speech/Language Teacher License with a vote of 7 to 1. The license was approved with a delayed implementation date of July 1, 2013, at which time the license will go into effect. The MDE Board is acting on the recommendation of MDE Superintendent Dr. Tom Burnham to form a Task Force that will address all of the issues raised by the new license, including effective implementation, supervision, and training for Bachelor’s level students. The Task Force will be headed by the Institutes of Higher Learning (IHL), and chaired by Gloria Kellum, PhD, CCC-SLP. Members of the task force will consist of representatives from K-12 education, university communication sciences and disorders programs, MDE, and IHL.

Rachel Powell, VP: School Issues

2010 School-based SLP Caseload Survey

If you are a school-based SLP in a Mississippi public school, please complete the 2010 School-based SLP Caseload Survey. The survey has ten multiple choice items and will take less than 5 minutes. The survey will be available through November 4, 2010.

CLICK HERE for the 2010 School-based SLP Caseload Survey

Rachel Powell, VP: School Issues

MS DOE seeks B.A. level speech-language teacher license

At the Mississippi State Board of Education Meeting August 20, 2010, the Board approved the recommendation by the licensure commission to begin the Administrative Procedures Act (APA) process for approval of a new five year renewable license and endorsement code 216 for Bachelor’s level speech/language teachers. To view the proposed license, click here: http://board.mde.k12.ms.us/August_2010/Tab_34_EL_Proposed_Speech_216_backup.pdf. By law, the APA process must last 30 days, so the Board will not meet for final approval of the license until October 21-22. 

MSHA representatives met with State Superintendent of Education Dr. Burnham Monday, August 16 to discuss concerns related to this license. MSHA will formally submit comments on the recommended license in the APA process. MSHA’s primary concerns related to the language of the proposed license are the title speech/language teacher, the wording of “monitored by a master’s level fully certified speech/language clinician” instead of the word supervised, and the provisions that allow them to do articulation testing and write IEPs. There are further concerns with how monitoring and/or supervision will be defined, and training for certified SLPs to supervise these new employees.

We are still waiting on the APA process to begin to post MSHA’s comments, and will post the link to the APA on MSHA news once it opens. Know that MSHA is actively working with the Mississippi Department of Education to ensure that the new license does the best for services to children for speech/language deficits. We encourage members to post their comments on the new license as well. You may contact Rachel Powell, VP: School Issues, at rpowellslp@gmail.com for any questions or concerns related to the proposed speech/language teacher license.

– Rachel Powell, VP: School Issues

MDOE posts IDEA FAQs to clarify State Policy

The Mississippi Department of Education (MDOE) has posted a Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) Regarding Children with Disabilities Under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act Amendments of 2004 State Board Policy 7219. There are many questions regarding the new Language/Speech eligibility guidelines and are relevant to SLPs practicing in schools. 

 – Rachel Powell, Ph.D., CCC-SLP  Vice-President: School Issues

New ASHA School-related Documents

New/updated ASHA documents related to school practice:

Roles and Responsibilities of Speech-Language Pathologists in the Schools Professional Issues Statement

Position Statement

Individualized Education Program (IEP) Guidance  

School-Based-Practitioners’ Input Group

– – Rachel Powell, VP: School Issues