As the school year gets busy, you may find yourself facing staffing shortages throughout your campus or district. One way to help address this is by using contract services. Particularly in special education, contractors allow you to hire a provider or teams with specific skills to address the unique needs of your students, fill vacancies, or complete assessments in your schools.
Choosing a qualified and knowledgeable contract provider can be a win-win for the student, parents and you! Special education contractors also reduce back-office workload for your team when it comes to compliance, payroll, insurance, and more. Read on to learn more about the benefits of using a special education contractor and the top three considerations when selecting a service provider or company to contract with in your district.
Why are Special Education teachers and professionals so hard to find?
According to federal statistics, 21 percent of public schools were not fully staffed in special education at the start of the 23-24 school year. This is unsettling news as the number of students who qualify for special education services continues to grow. This conflict is worsened by special education teachers leaving the profession due to lack of funding, materials and support to meet the needs of their students.
Special education contractors overcome these challenges by offering staffing, resources, assessments, and assessments when you need them. Contractors are often experienced in the field and can help solve many of your tough cases too.
Here are three top considerations when choosing an independent contractor for special education assessments and related services.
- Consider your school system’s rules and requirements for vendors of special education services.
Are your schools permitted to seek outside vendors for special education services? Does your school system require vendors to bid on services or complete an RFP? What criteria must be met to provide special education services to your school? Is there a threshold amount of money that triggers the requirement for a bidding process?
- Be aware of your insurance requirements.
Does the special education contractor have the insurance required by your school system? Smaller, single-operator providers tend to have Professional Liability insurance only. Make sure the vendor has Professional and General Liability insurance as well as Workers’ Comp insurance if they have employee providers.
- Is the vendor a solo provider or is it a team?
There are pros and cons to each type. Contracting with a solo provider, especially if they are a former employee (e.g., a retiree) can be easy and efficient, especially if the school system already has familiarity with the provider. However, solo providers may get booked up once they have as much work as they can handle. Solo providers also may not have equipment and they may be less likely to meet insurance requirements for vendors in your school system. A larger, special education staffing agency acts as a team. There may be more variety and availability of providers, as well as administrative support.
About Specialized Assessment & Consulting
Specialized Assessment & Consulting provides special education assessment, therapy and related services for schools nationwide. Our team includes school psychologists, speech-language pathologists, occupational therapists, diagnosticians, social workers, special education teachers, teletherapists, and more.
Our providers enjoy flexible scheduling, full and part-time placements, PRN options, ongoing mentoring, ongoing support from our leadership team, and access to test equipment.
We are actively managed by a team of dedicated special education professionals who are passionate about partnering with our clients to support their staffing needs.
Want to learn more about how we can help your district as a special education contractor? We’d love to hear from you. Reach out today!
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