Information for School-based SLPs and SLPAs

Did you know that… 

…ISBE publishes a weekly news bulletin?  In the bulletin for August 5th, you will find an update regarding the release of federal funding that began at the end of July.  You can sign up to receive these weekly updates to have them sent directly to your inbox.  I know…one more thing to read…but receiving information from ISBE may be beneficial.  You can always read what resonates with you, or delete if not!  ISBE offers several resources you can subscribe to at this link! 

…as you prepare to return to the hallowed halls of your school, you can consider joining the School Affairs Committee?  Yes, you can, and it’s FREE!  Generally, the commitment is minimal—an in-person meeting at the convention in February, and other virtual meetings as needed throughout the year.  Members volunteer to write articles for the ISHA Voice (wouldn’t you like to get published?!).  The benefits are great and numerous (networking with other school-based SLPs, hearing about important things early on, learning about therapy tools, caseload management strategies, to name just a few).  This year ISBE is rolling out new IEP paperwork (mostly organizational) that models what is required by federal and state laws.  The Speaking for Children Coalition, with ISHA members, continues to work with ISBE, other stakeholders, and legislators to review IEP paperwork requirements and identifypossible areas of redundancy.  We’re trying to find ways for districts to minimize or eliminate the need to add sections to IEPs and to eliminate duplicative information.  The group working with ISBE has asked them to create a guidance document for describing what information is required in each section of an IEP. 

…the beginning of a new year is a great time to try new ideas with new students (and even your “old” students)?  It’s also a chance to expand your collaboration efforts with other disciplines to help students learn and grow—a “whole-child” approach.  Time to polish those Interprofessional practices (IPP) and interprofessional education (IPE) skills! 

…a new ISBE Guide for SLPs and SLPAs should be available very soon?  It will be announced in a future issue of the ISHA Voice!

…the Eligibility section of the Illinois Speech Language Pathology Guide is being updated?  It too will be available this fall.  Changes will reflect eligibility requirements in IDEA which state that eligibility must be based on identified “adverse effects” and their impact on educational and functional performance.  Dismissal criteria will be based on whether or not the student continues to exhibit any adverse effects that impact performance.  All of this will be included in ISBE’s new guide as well. 

…staff members in the Educator Effectiveness department at ISBE have been given a document describing our licensure requirements, roles and responsibilities for working in schools?  The staff members have indicated that this document will be posted on ISBE’s “Wizard” platform in September.  This is an application used by administrators and HR directors to verify whether or not an applicant is qualified to be employed for the role being sought.