School Speech-Language Pathologist job description
107 verified openings in Speech-Language Pathologists
A two-month summer break and a shorter one in midwinter come with many school speech-language pathology jobs, according to the Handbook, which also counts educational services as the largest single employer of SLPs, at 39 percent of the jobs. In a school, the pathologist evaluates students for speech and language disorders, then works with teachers, other staff, and parents on individual or group programs. BLS publishes one wage line for speech-language pathologists, and its row for elementary and secondary schools counted 72,130 of them in May 2025 at a median of $83,080. That is below the all-industry median of $97,870, and the schools row ran from $59,620 at the tenth percentile to $130,270 at the ninetieth.
Core Duties and Responsibilities
The school job draws on the same O*NET task list as any SLP position, from testing students to planning treatment and tracking progress, plus the reports for individualized education planning meetings, in-service meetings, and intervention assistance team meetings. O*NET's supplemental tasks read like a school posting: building individual or group programs for behavior, speech, language, or swallowing problems, running lessons and therapeutic games alongside teachers, working with dialect speakers and students with limited English proficiency, and communicating with students who use sign language or computer technology. The Handbook adds that some SLPs travel between schools.
Common Skills and Technologies
O*NET rates learning strategies alongside writing and speaking, just below reading comprehension, active listening, critical thinking, and social perceptiveness. Its administrative tasks for the occupation include writing lesson plans. Records can include Medicaid billing, and postings name eClinicalWorks and Microsoft Office.
Education, Training, and Career Path
The clinical path matches any SLP's: an accredited master's degree, supervised clinical experience, a passing exam score, and a license from the state where the school sits. Schools can add a layer, and the Handbook says school SLPs may need a teaching certification. California requires a Speech-Language Pathology Services Credential from its Commission on Teacher Credentialing, a separate body from the board that issues the clinical license, and the credential moves from a two-year preliminary stage to a clear one. Texas went the other way. Its education agency stopped issuing school speech therapy certificates after August 31, 1996, and Texas public schools now staff SLP services with people licensed through the Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation.
Sources: O*NET 30.0, 29-1127.00 Speech-Language Pathologists, https://www.onetonline.org/link/summary/29-1127.00. BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2025, 29-1127, elementary and secondary schools, https://www.bls.gov/oes/tables.htm. BLS Occupational Outlook Handbook, https://www.bls.gov/ooh/healthcare/speech-language-pathologists.htm. California Commission on Teacher Credentialing, https://www.ctc.ca.gov/credentials/leaflets/cl-879/. Texas Speech-Language-Hearing Association, Credentials and Assignments for Personnel Providing Public School Speech-Language Therapy Services, April 2022.