Financial Incentives
A number of school systems have gone beyond traditional compensation to attract and retain the high-quality staff they need. Strategies such as the following are being employed:
Salary Supplements
Joye McLeod, Papillion-LaVista School District, Nebraska
Read about an ASHA-certified SLP who received a salary supplement for certification, analogous to the bonus for certification from the National Board for Professional Teaching Standards (NBPTS).
See a complete list of ASHA's local district salary supplement successes and The ASHA Leader article "Salary Supplements Increase Nationwide."
Increased salaries to compete with neighboring districts or states
Increased contract time per day for paperwork and extra days of pay
Salary increase for processing Medicaid reimbursement paperwork
Pay Scales
- Master's level SLPs paid on a doctoral level scale
- Salary commensurate with that of psychologists
- Higher starting salaries/pay scale for SLPs than for classroom teachers
- Pay lane change for achieving advanced credential (e.g., Certificate of Clinical Competence [CCC]) or credits
- Creation of career ladder with different pay scales
- Full credit for work experience in settings other than school settings for assignment to maximum salary level on entry to the system
Bonuses
- Bonuses: sign-on, $3,000; Year 1, $2,000; Year 2, $1,000
- Additional $1,500 for SLPs in schools having vacancies for 2 years or more
- $1,000 stipend for SLPs who do bilingual assessments
- Normal pay scale for summertime work in the district
- Additional money for district's before and after school speech-language programs
- Monetary bonus for high-need subject area candidates
- Stipends for mentors and clinical fellowship (CF) supervisors
- Bonus for high student achievement
- Reimbursement of licensure or registration fees
- Reimbursement of dues and certification fees
Other Financial Incentives
- Incentives for veteran/retiree SLPs
- Tuition-free degrees or reimbursement costs for graduate work
- Service scholarship programs for hard to serve areas
- Incentives for national certification
- Professional development allowance
- Paid release time for professional development
- Reimbursed costs of continuing education
- Phone and supplies allowance
- Tax credits
- Pay for performance
- Low-interest housing loans, housing assistance, closing expenses, relocation benefits, moving expenses
See Peggy Flach's success story, and The ASHA Leader article "California Clinicians Win School Salary Gains."
ASHA's Guidebook for the Salary Supplement Initiative includes a side-by-side comparison chart of supplements for ASHA certification and NBPTS certification, media and advocacy tips.