Speech and Language Teacher

Most days tend to involve direct therapy sessions with students (typically in small groups), evaluations, IEP team meetings, classroom consultations, and the documentation that supports speech-language services under IDEA. You'll often work with a caseload of students with varied communication needs across speech sound disorders, language disorders, fluency, social communication, and AAC, balancing intensive treatment with broader student support.

The variance between settings is real — CCC-SLP school-based clinicians work under both ASHA and state education credentials, providing the bulk of school speech services; teachers of speech and language (in some states, a distinct teaching credential rather than SLP credentialing) provide similar services with different qualification paths; specialized communication classrooms for students with significant needs blend SLP and special education work. State-specific credentialing matters substantially here.

People who tend to thrive here are patient with caseload demands, capable of working under IEP-driven schedules, and committed to the educational rather than medical model of school-based communication support. Credentialing requirements vary by state. The work tends to offer school calendar predictability, education-sector benefits, and meaningful student impact across academic years, with the trade-off being caseload size and modest pay relative to medical SLP roles — for those drawn to school-based communication work, the role offers durable purpose.