As demand for special education and mental health services grows, schools may face staffing shortages, high caseloads, or limited budgets. Without special education-related support, districts may struggle to provide timely services for students who need evaluations, speech-language therapy, or mental health services.
Teletherapy and remote assessments for schools can be a practical and flexible way to expand access and ease the stress of high caseloads. Teletherapy services connect school districts with state-licensed providers, which can shorten wait times for assessments and services and support onsite staff.
Interested in pushing for teletherapy in your school district’s budget? Read this quick 3-step guide, designed to help special education directors and coordinators, lead clinicians, and school leaders make a data-driven case for teletherapy.
Step 1: Gather data to support teletherapy in your schools
Assess your school’s current needs
Start by understanding gaps in your school’s current service delivery, and where teletherapy and remote assessments can help. Key questions to consider:
- Is there a growing waitlist for evaluations or services?
- Do certain special education positions go unfilled, leading to overworked staff?
- Is it difficult to find support for specialized or bilingual services?
Collect evidence on the efficacy and benefits of teletherapy
Decision-makers may need evidence to move forward, including information that addresses common misconceptions about teletherapy. Research shows that teletherapy and remote assessments can be reliable, secure, and effective:
- Enables speech and language improvements for students. Studies suggest that teletherapy is an effective model for delivery of speech-language services to school-aged children with speech and language needs.
- Leads to positive outcomes for students with impaired spoken language. A review of studies found comparable treatment outcomes between in-person service delivery and telepractice for children exhibiting impaired spoken language production or comprehension.
- Delivers reliable test results when compared to in-person delivery. National studies found that the Woodcock-Johnson® IV and WISC®-V assessments led to outcomes comparable to in-person testing.
Administered by providers who must follow the same strict guidelines to secure information as onsite staff. Teletherapy practitioners are required by federal and state law to protect student privacy and confidentiality.
Step 2: Develop a clear and compelling budget proposal
Frame the problem and the solution
The next step is to create a formal budget proposal that clearly demonstrates how teletherapy and remote evaluations can address school needs. Start by identifying your school’s challenges in a way that’s clear and quantifiable. For example: “We currently have four district SLPs managing caseload numbers that justify 6 full time positions.”
Then, outline your evidence on the impact of teletherapy. Explain how teletherapy can give students access to the services they need, help your school meet IEP goals, and supplement your onsite staff with a network of qualified remote providers.
Present a cost-benefit analysis
Here are a few numbers that can strengthen your case for teletherapy in your school, and help decisionmakers see the financial efficiency of investing in it for the long haul:
- Less turnover and burnout. How can remote teletherapy providers ease your onsite team’s caseload, and potentially improve retention and work-life balance?
- Reduced non-compliance risk. How can teletherapy help your school deliver IEP-mandated services and reduce due process risks?
- The cost of staffing. How much time and effort is your school putting into hiring? How much do you stand to save when you invest in remote providers and teletherapy services to support your onsite team?
Travel and mileage savings. Think about all the hours your onsite team members spend traveling to and from locations to ensure equitable services for all eligible students. How much time and mileage can be saved with remote sessions?
Step 3: Present your case and build a coalition of support
Bring the right people to the table
Key decision-makers should hear your reasoning for teletherapy and remote assessments, and can include special education directors, superintendents, school board members, and administrative staff. Before presenting your case to these leaders, you can also build preliminary support by engaging stakeholders such as impacted parents, lead teachers, and department heads.
Use real-life examples of success
Gather case studies and stories from school districts that have already made improvements with teletherapy. Presence provides examples of successful teletherapy implementation that you can incorporate into your advocacy materials.
Share how teletherapy enhances collaboration
Teletherapy can fill critical service gaps by supplementing onsite clinicians with remote resources and knowledgeable providers. Students receive timely support, and existing staff can manage workloads more effectively.
Teletherapy should be framed as supporting, not replacing, existing staff. Emphasize how teletherapy can allow for frequent, flexible communication between remote providers and onsite educators, improving coordination and continuity of services.
Create a way to “start small”
You may want to consider introducing teletherapy to your school district through a small pilot program. By putting together a pilot, you could give your district a low-risk way to see how teletherapy works in practice and help build trust, demonstrate effectiveness, and ease budget concerns.
Pilot programs can start small, focusing on one school, grade level, or service area. Create a simple plan to track outcomes and gather feedback from students, staff, and families. The insights you gain can help refine your proposal and set your school up for a successful, smooth rollout.
Teletherapy is an investment in a sustainable future for student services
Advocacy for teletherapy and remote assessments consists of compelling data and case studies, a clear and transparent budget proposal, and support from key stakeholders.
Teletherapy isn’t just a stopgap; it can be a long-term, sustainable way to expand access and strengthen special education-related services delivery for students. By including it in your budget, you can help enhance student outcomes, support onsite staff, and maximize resources.
Ready to make a case for investing in remote services for your school? Schedule a call with one of our team members for step-by-step guidance.
