Grow Your Own Program for SLPs and SLPAs: How to Create a Program

Before building your program, learn from those who have done it. Understanding existing models will help you anticipate challenges and identify what has worked in comparable contexts.

Key Resources

• Grow Your Own Program for SLPs and SLPAs: Successful GYO Programs
• Take Action!—Strategies, policy recommendations, recorded presentations, and success stories from the National Center on Personnel Shortages in Special Education and Related Services.
• Motivating Speech-Language Pathologists to Stay Where They Train—ASHA Leader article on how school districts are developing SLP and SLPA pathways to address workforce shortages and improve access to services in rural communities.
• Incentives to Launch SLPs-to-Be Into Unfilled School Slots—ASHA Leader article on universities-school partnerships offering tuition waivers and other incentives.
• Can You “Grow Your Own”?—ASHA Leader article on what it takes to expand a graduate program.

Compensation and role clarity are among the first practical questions that arise. Review the guidance below before setting up your program's structure.

Can a graduate student be paid for practicum?

Yes. As noted in Issues in Ethics: Ethical Issues Related to Clinical Services Provided by Audiology and Speech-Language Pathology Students, it is acceptable to charge for services provided by students. Thus, it is acceptable to pay students in practicum settings. Payment should not influence the level of supervision or the services provided.

Can a graduate student work as an audiology assistant or a speech-language pathology assistant (SLPA) while in graduate school?

Yes, but the roles of “student” and “assistant” must be clearly separated. Assistants have a limited scope of practice, whereas graduate students may provide broader clinical services under supervision. If a student works as an assistant and also completes practicum hours—especially in the same setting—then clear communication among the student, academic program, employer, and supervisor is essential. In doing so, you avoid role confusion and ensure proper supervision. See Issues in Ethics: Ethical Issues Related to Clinical Services Provided by Audiology and Speech-Language Pathology Students.

Additional Resources

• Issues in Ethics: Supervision of Student Clinicians
• Issues in Ethics: Speech-Language Pathology Assistants
• ASHA Supervision Hub
• SLP Graduate Student Supervision
• Scope of Practice for the Speech-Language Pathology Assistant (SLPA)
• Advocacy Template Letters: Stipends for SLPs in Schools for Supervision of Graduate Students and Clinical Fellows [PDF]

Is each partner ready for a GYO partnership? After initial relationship‑building and exploratory conversations, it's important for districts and universities to assess whether they are prepared to move forward with more structured planning for a GYO partnership.

Use ASHA’s readiness scales to see where each partner is in the process:

• Grow Your Own Program for SLPs/SLPAs: Readiness Scale for School Districts [PDF]
• Grow Your Own Program for SLPs/SLPAs: Readiness Scale for Universities [PDF]

Customize the slide decks below to provide an overview of the GYO program for SLP/SLPA model from both the school district and university perspectives. Each presentation helps leadership understand the opportunity, assess and review readiness, and follow a clear roadmap for planning next steps.

• Exploring a School District Grow Your Own Program for SLPs and SLPAs [PPTX]
• Exploring a University Grow Your Own Program for SLPs and SLPAs [PPTX]

To present the idea of establishing a GYO program to your administration, build a case for its need. Numbers make the case credible and compelling.

• Gather SLP vacancy data for the past 3-5 years for your school district.
• Use the ASHA Workload Calculator to provide data on how many SLPs your school setting may need.
• If you’re a lead SLP focused on supervision, use the Supervision Workload Calculator [XLSX] instead. It provides data on the amount of time spent supervising graduate students, clinical fellows, and/or speech-language pathology assistants.
• Share Recruiting and Retaining Qualified SLPs with administrators to illustrate that growing more SLPs is one part of a multi-pronged approach alongside:
  • a supportive and collaborative work environment,
  • competitive salaries and benefits,
  • professional development opportunities, and
  • recognition of the SLP’s expertise to attract new—and retain current—SLPs.

Finding potential programs and partners is a critical step in this journey.

Here are some suggestions to use as a starting point:

• School districts: Use ASHA’s EdFind, an online directory for undergraduate and graduate degree programs in communication sciences and disorders, to locate nearby university programs.
• Universities and school districts: Contact state departments of education to determine interest and funding opportunities.

Discussions could center around:

• What specific challenges are being solved with a GYO partnership?
• In consideration of funding and supervision, how many candidates are the school district and the university prepared to support each year? In what ways will each partner support the students?
• What are the school district’s expectations for candidates (employment hours, service commitment, etc.)? What are the university’s expectations for graduate students selected to receive tuition support?
• What incentives will help the school district attract internal candidates? What incentives will help the university attract graduate students to their program?

Start with an honest discussion. As the discussion evolves, develop a focus: Pinpoint some specific problems that the proposed partnership can address.

For example, perhaps you can address the declining pipeline of SLP candidates in a school district and ways to defray graduate school costs for SLP students. Brainstorm components of the GYO partnership.

Schools may want to

• improve their pipeline of SLP and SLPA candidates,
• start a multi-tiered system of support (MTSS) program,
• improve literacy skills,
• develop a feeding and swallowing team, and/or
• improve resources for students who are Deaf/Hard of Hearing.

Universities may want to

• defray tuition costs for SLP graduate students,
• create funded pathways for undergraduates considering becoming SLPAs,
• expand supervised clinical placement opportunities, and/or
• support research through graduate student placements in schools.

Funding is consistently identified as one of the greatest challenges in launching and sustaining a GYO program. Early planning for sustainable funding helps school district and university partners avoid reliance on one-time grants and ensures long-term support for candidates, supervisors, and program coordination. Explore multiple avenues through your state department of labor and/or your state department of education.

• Consider applying for a grant. Here are some sites to get you started:
  • U.S. Department of Education Grants and Programs
  • Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act
  • State Personnel Development Grants

• Consider sharing the program costs between partners. For example, the university provides clinical supervisors in the school setting, and the school district provides stipends or tuition assistance for graduate student clinicians.

Additional Resources

• ASHA’s Grow Your Own Program for SLPs and SLPAs: Budget Considerations
• ASHA’s Grow Your Own Program for SLPs and SLPAs: Budget Planning Template [PDF] 

Clarify Roles and Formalize Agreements

It’s important to identify, and agree upon, some shared understandings and expectations among all parties. Here are some questions to consider:

• Will the school district agree to provide supervised placements, ensure access to diverse caseloads, and support professional learning?
• Will the university agree to advertise the opportunity, provide supervision, and mentor graduate students along the way?
• Will the student agree to meet academic and clinical program expectations, follow school district policies and commit to a period of service after graduation?

Create a memorandum of agreement (MOA) or memorandum of understanding (MOU) that all GYO partners can turn to for consistency and standards.

See this sample MOU [PDF] and this sample MOA [PDF] to get started.

Develop an Implementation Timeline

Discuss a potential timeline for implementation of this new GYO partnership. For example:

Plan for Retention from the Start

Retention needs to be planned before GYO participants complete their training—not after they are hired. Districts are encouraged to identify the onboarding, mentorship, workload, and professional growth supports that will help GYO graduates transition successfully into long‑term employment and build sustainable careers.

Planning for retention early helps ensure that GYO programs lead to lasting workforce stability rather than delayed turnover.

ASHA’s Grow Your Own Retention Checklist [PDF] is an action‑oriented checklist that supports districts in establishing systems, supports, and policies to retain GYO graduates as long‑term employees and reduce early‑career turnover.

If you’ve seen success, don’t stop there: Tell us about it! We’d love to feature you and share your efforts with our members. Sharing outcomes also helps ASHA refine tools, elevate effective models, and support broader workforce solutions across school settings.

Grow your own programs are most successful when partnerships plan not only for launch, but for long-term workforce stability.

Questions? Know of any additional GYO programs? Email us at schools@asha.org.