Only licensed speech-language pathologists or applicants for licensure completing the required nine months of supervised professional experience may contract with schools or work as an employee of an agency contracting with a school to provide speech services. Teachers of the Speech and Hearing Handicapped/Students with Speech and Language Disabilities (TSHH/TSSLD) who are not licensed as speech-language pathologists or completing the experience requirement for licensure may not contract with a school or work for an agency that has a contract with a school to provide speech-language pathology services. The following table shows exactly what the requirements are for providing speech services in a preschool setting. The flow chart illustrates what questions to ask to determine if someone is legally providing speech services in an elementary, middle, secondary or preschool setting.
| Who | Type of Employment | Credential Required |
|---|---|---|
| Person with Bachelor's degree in Speech | Must be a school employee* working in that school. | Must have provisional certificate as Teacher of the Speech and Hearing Handicapped (TSHH) or Teacher of Students with Speech and Language Disabilities (TSSLD) |
| Person with Master's degree in Speech (not licensed or pursuing licensure) | Must be a school employee* working in that school. | Must have provisional or permanent certificate as TSHH/TSSLD |
| NYS licensed speech-language pathologist |
|
Must have provisional or permanent certificate as TSHH/TSSLD And NYS license and current registration as speech-language pathologist |
| Person completing 9 months of supervised experience to meet requirement for NYS licensure as speech-language pathologist |
|
Must have provisional or permanent certificate as TSHH/TSSLD And Must have completed all graduate speech-language pathology program degree requirements And May have Form 6** issued by the NYS Education Department (SED) |
*The term "employee" means that the following three conditions are met:
- The school withholds taxes from the paycheck
- The school pays Social Security tax for the teacher
- The teacher receives a W-2 form from the school at the end of the year
** Form 6, "Identification and Approval of Supervisory Plan for Licensure" is issued by SED once the application is filed, education is approved and the supervisory plan is approved.