Speech and Language Program Guidebook, School Year 2023-2024. Version 11.0. Updated

District of Columbia Public Schools. 825 North Capitol Street NE 9th Floor, Washington, DC 20002. Tel: 202-422-5635; Web site: http://dcps.dc.gov

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265

Practitioners

Speech Evaluation; Speech Language Pathology; Speech Therapy; Public Schools; Allied Health Personnel; Professional Development; Students with Disabilities; Special Education; Personnel Policy; Multi Tiered Systems of Support; Intervention

The purpose of this guidebook is to: (1) Assist Speech-Language Pathology service providers as they support the educational goals of eligible students with disabilities in the District of Columbia Public Schools (DCPS); and (2) Ensure that all Speech-Language Pathologists (SLPs) in the District of Columbia Public Schools (DCPS) operate with the same premises, utilize the same procedures and guidelines, and are uniform in presentation. This guidebook is an internal document written specifically for providers of Speech-Language Pathology. The procedures and best practices in this guidebook are designed to provide optimal school-based interventions as part of a Free Appropriate Public Education (FAPE) in the Least Restrictive Environment (LRE), following IDEA 2004 while simultaneously maximizing equal access to speech-language pathologists for all of the District of Columbia Public Schools students. DCPS regulates the practice of Speech-Language Pathology services to the students in public schools of the District of Columbia while the Department of Health, Board of Audiology and Speech-Language Pathology regulates the practice of speech-language pathology. In this guidebook, providers will find guidelines, procedures, suggestions, and ideas that should be used daily to guide them in assuring a high level of professional services for all students and invested stakeholders. This guidebook replaces any guidebook introduced previously. Providers should expect to receive supplemental policy and procedure documents and/or trainings throughout the school year. Implicit within this document is the following core principles: (1) The criteria for eligibility must include both the presence of a composite depressed score and documented impact on the student's access to the academic curriculum; (2) Services should not be instituted until accommodations have been implemented and given a chance to work; (3) The intensity and modalities of interventions should dwindle over time; (4) The default delivery service need not be 1:1, unless otherwise required and justified, as applicable, by the clinician; and (5) Discharge from services should be stated at the first IEP meeting as a desirable and celebrated outcome and not a denial of services; discharge may, and should, occur at any time in the process.

ERIC

2024

ED658230