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Staff of ASHA's State Policy unit joined 289 other exhibitors in presenting their public policy goals to the 7,000 state lawmakers, lobbyists, and legislative aides from across the country who were at the Washington State Convention & Trade Center in Seattle, August 16-20, for the annual meeting of the National Conference of State Legislatures (NCSL). Complimentary tote bags, earplugs, and fortune cookies drew attendees to the ASHA booth. Each tote bag contained educational materials on national and state-by-state funding trends for special education services under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA), a summary of the stringent requirements for the Certificate of Clinical Competence, and the need for increased reimbursement for audiology and speech-language pathology services. Customized messages inside each fortune cookie reinforced these themes.
Several hundred legislators who paused at the booth were thanked for passing legislation this year that was favorable to the professions. Others were encouraged to pass legislation next session to promote recruitment and retention of school speech-language pathologists, to increase reimbursement for services, or to promote follow-up evaluation and intervention in their early hearing detection and intervention programs. Dozens of legislators were interested in specific audiology or speech-language pathology issues and ASHA staff, assisted by volunteers from the Washington Speech-Language-Hearing Association, had extended discussions with them about public policy alternatives.
Next year's NCSL meeting will be held in Nashville, TN, August 15-19. For more information, please contact Susan Pilch, ASHA's Director of State Legislative and Regulatory Advocacy, via e-mail at spilch@asha.org or 800-498-2071, ext. 4284, or Charlie Diggs, ASHA's Director of State and Consumer Advocacy, at cdiggs@asha.org or 800-498-2071, ext. 4151.
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