Related Services | Research Focus Areas

Research Spotlight

The 1990s saw a 48 percent increase in the employment of instructional paraprofessionals in comparison with an 18 percent increase in teacher employment and a 13 percent increase in student enrollment.

Learn More

Legislation passed in 32 states requires hospitals to conduct newborn hearing screening tests. Such screening practices may result in more students being identified as deaf or hard of hearing in the schools.

Learn More

Questions & Answers

Q:What strategies can you recommend for supporting the retention of qualified related service personnel?

A:Various researchers and experts working in this area recommend that school districts consider making salaries competitive with the private sector and providing adequate work/office space, equipment, materials, and access to technology and clerical assistance. In addition, consider minimizing excessive travel time between schools, reducing paperwork burdens, and assigning manageable caseloads.

Learn More

Q:As a parent of a child who benefits from related services, I have been hearing that the school district is experiencing shortages of qualified personnel. What are the implications for my child?

A:Shortages often result in larger ratios of students to service providers. Even with the expansion of consultative and team models for the delivery of services, therapist expertise often is spread thin, potentially compromising the benefit to students.

Learn More

Notify Me with Updates

For many students with disabilities, related services are an essential element of their individualized education program. However, there is a growing shortage of qualified school-based related services personnel, especially in the areas of physical therapy, occupational therapy, speech-language pathology, audiology, and school psychology. COPSSE research provides a look at effective preparation practices for school-based related service providers.

Date	Type	Title/Description	Download
08/01/2007	Report	Review of Selected Physical Therapy Interventions for School Age Children with Disabilities Discusses physical therapy procedural interventions and provides recommendations for application to physical therapy school-based practice as well as future research.	Download Full Document Download Summary
06/01/2007	Report	Occupational Therapy: Effective School-Based Practices within a Policy Context Describes the field of school-based occupational therapy and provides an overview of current research and evidence that supports effective occupational therapy practices and interventions in schools.	Download Full Document Download Summary
10/01/2006	Report	Review of Evidence-Based Practices for Language Intervention of School-Age Children: Implications for Treatment, Research, and Personnel Preparation in Speech-Language Pathology Discusses effective language intervention practices used by SLPs that lead to positive outcomes for school-age children with language disorders as well as implications for personnel preparation based on what is known about effective practices for language intervention in schools.	Download Full Document Download Summary
06/01/2006	Issue Brief	School Psychology Discusses the history of school psychology in the context of professional roles, training, and credentialing and considers key issues currently facing the profession.	Download Full Document Download Summary
07/13/2005	Report	Update on the Related Services Design Panel Work—2005 Provides an up-to-date look at Related Services Research Design Panel activities.	Download Full Document
11/01/2004	Presentation	Update: Related Service Providers, Program Design, and Teacher Quality and Student Outcomes Describes COPSSE research agenda and ongoing studies.	Download Full Document
07/01/2004	Report	Related Services Research Agenda Describes the COPSSE research agenda for related services personnel.	Download Full Document
02/01/2004	Workforce Watch	An Insufficient Supply and a Growing Demand for Qualified Related Service Personnel: Are School Districts Prepared? Overviews shortage issues for physical therapists, occupational therapists, speech-language pathologists, and audiologists.	Download Full Document
02/01/2004	Workforce Watch	An Insufficient Supply and a Growing Demand for Qualified Special Education Personnel: What School Districts Should Know Overviews special education personnel shortage issues facing school districts.	Download Full Document
02/01/2004	Workforce Watch	Paraprofessionals: What You Should Know About Ensuring a Highly Qualified Workforce Discusses retention considerations and how to ensure paraprofessionals are qualified.	Download Full Document
02/01/2004	Workforce Watch	An Insufficient Supply and a Growing Demand for Qualified Special Education Personnel: What State Policymakers Should Know Overviews special education personnel shortage issues facing states.	Download Full Document
07/01/2003	Issue Brief	Audiology Services in the Schools Examines supply and demand, professional preparation, and certification and licensure for audiologists.	Download Full Document Download Summary
07/01/2003	Issue Brief	Paraprofessionals Examines supply and demand, preparation, and certification and licensure for paraprofessionals.	Download Full Document Download Summary
06/01/2003	Issue Brief	Issue Brief on Personnel Preparation and Credentialing in Speech-Language Pathology Describes supply and demand, professional preparation, and certification and licensure for speech-language pathologists.	Download Full Document Download Summary
05/01/2003	Issue Brief	Personnel Issues in School-Based Occupational Therapy: Supply and Demand, Preparation, and Certification and Licensure Describes supply and demand, professional preparation, and certification and licensure for occupational therapists.	Download Full Document Download Summary
04/01/2003	Issue Brief	Personnel Issues in School-Based Physical Therapy: Supply and Demand, Professional Preparation, Certification, and Licensure Discusses supply and demand, professional preparation, and certification and licensure for physical therapists.	Download Full Document Download Summary